Safran coal section (Miocene of Turkey)

Also known as Yalova

Where: Yalova, Turkey (40.6° N, 29.3° E: paleocoordinates 41.0° N, 28.6° E)

• coordinate stated in text

When: Yalakdere Formation, Tortonian (11.6 - 7.2 Ma)

• Neogene and younger sedimentary rocks, which contain the Safran coal section, rest unconformably on pre- Neogene basement around Yalova city. These sedimentary rocks can be divided into two parts: the Kilic and Yalakdere formations. Upper Pleistocene marine terrace deposits crop out between Yalova and Karamürsel. Along its stratigraphic contact with the K›l›ç Formation, the Yalakdere Formation begins with reddish mudstone or sandy limestone-marl succession on the yellowish conglomerate-sandstone of the K›l›ç Formation. The mudstone is about 10 m thick and shows gradual transition into a white coloured marl and clayey limestone. South of Safran village, the formation is represented mainly by white, thin- to medium-bedded algal limestone (lacustrine?), and also thin-bedded limestone-marl alternation with graded-, and thick- bedded sandstone intercalations. The Yalakdere Formation may be interpreted as deposited within a low energy lacustrine-swamp environment (Emre et al. 1998).

Environment/lithology: mire or swamp; white claystone and sandy claystone

• The Yalakdere Formation may be interpreted as deposited within a low energy lacustrine-swamp environment
• The sediments of the Safran coal section are assigned to the Yalakdere Formation (Figure 2). They consist, from bottom to top, of: 100 cm coal, 40 cm white clay, 52 cm coal, 10 cm light clay, 150 cm coal (intensely folded and broken), 48 cm white sandy clay (laminated and fossiliferous), 64 cm coal, 170 cm light beige clay, 10 cm clay with chalk, 90 cm light beige clayey marl, 200 cm alternations of coaly and thin clayey beds, 200–250 cm coal, 40–120 cm beige clay, 150–180 cm alternations of coaly, peaty and clayey beds, 35 cm fossiliferous sand with overlying laminated clay, 300–350 cm fossiliferous clay and coal, 300 cm beige clay, 500 cm light brown clay. The fossils were collected from the 40 cm white clay.

Size classes: macrofossils, mesofossils, microfossils

Collection methods: sieve,

• Bavarian State Collection, BSP 1980 X and Zoological State Collection ZSM 3105, Münich.

Primary reference: N. Ruckert-Ulkumen and E. Yigitbas. 2007. Pharyngeal Teeth, Lateral Ethmoids, and Jaw Teeth of Fishes and Additional Fossils From the Late Miocene (Late Khersonian / Early Maeotian) of Eastern Paratethys (Yalova, Near Istanbul, Turkey). Turkish Journal of Earth Sciences 16:211-224 [E. Vlachos/E. Vlachos]more details

Purpose of describing collection: taxonomic analysis

PaleoDB collection 184470: authorized by Evangelos Vlachos, entered by Evangelos Vlachos on 03.03.2017

Creative Commons license: CC BY (attribution)

Taxonomic list

unclassified
  -
Algae
  - Botryococcaceae
Botryococcus sp. Kutzing 1849
Polypodiopsida
  - Polypodiaceae
Polypodiaceae indet. Presl and Presl 1822
Ginkgoopsida
 Ephedrales - Ephedraceae
Ephedra sp. Linnaeus 1753 jointfir
Angiospermae
 Sapindales - Sapindaceae
Acer sp. Linnaeus 1753 maple
 Malpighiales - Euphorbiaceae
 Fagales - Fagaceae
Fagus sp. Linnaeus 1753 beech
Quercus sp. Linnaeus 1753 oak
 Fagales - Betulaceae
Alnus sp. Miller 1754 alder
Betula sp. Linnaeus 1753 birch
 Fagales - Juglandaceae
Pterocarya sp. Kunth 1824 wingnut
Carya sp. Nuttall 1818 hickory
 Rosales - Ulmaceae
Ulmus sp. Linnaeus 1753 elm
Dicotyledoneae
 Ericales - Ericaceae
Ericaceae indet. Jussieu 1789 heather
Angiospermae
 Caryophyllales - Polygonaceae
 Caryophyllales - Chenopodiaceae
Chenopodiaceae indet. Ventenant 1799
 Saxifragales - Hamamelidaceae
Liquidambar sp. Linnaeus 1753 sweetgum
 Poales - Poaceae
"Gramineae indet." = Poaceae
"Gramineae indet." = Poaceae Barnhart 1895 true grass
 Poales - Cyperaceae
Cyperaceae indet. Jussieu 1789 sedge
Cladiocarya sp. Reid and Chandler 1926 sedge
 Alismatales - Potamogetonaceae
Potamogeton sp. Linnaeus 1753 pondweed
Pinopsida
 Pinales - Taxodiaceae
Taxodiaceae indet. Saporta 1865
 Pinales - Pinaceae
Pinus sp. Linnaeus 1753 pine
Abies sp. Miller 1754 fir
Picea sp. Dietrich 1824 spruce
 Charales - Feistiellaceae
 Charales - Characea
Chara aspera stonewort
Chara globularis stonewort
Chlorophyceae
  -
Pediastrum sp. Meyen 1829
Gastropoda
 Cerithioidea - Melanopsidae
 Architaenioglossa - Viviparidae
 Sorbeoconcha - Bithyniidae
Bithynia sp.2 Leach 1818 snail
 Sorbeoconcha - Hydrobiidae
"Valvata simplex" = Hauffenia simplex2
"Valvata simplex" = Hauffenia simplex2 Fuchs 1870 snail
 Heterostropha - Valvatidae
 Heterostropha - Planorbidae
 Heterostropha - Lymnaeidae
Galba cf. halavatsi2 Wenz 1923 snail
Stagnicola sp.2 Jeffreys 1830 snail
Ostracoda
 Podocopida - Darwinulidae
Darwinula stevensoni1 Brady and Robertson 1870 ostracod
 Podocopida - Cytherideidae
 Podocopida - Candonidae
  -
Mammalia
 Rodentia - Gliridae
cf. Eliomys intermedius Priant 1953 dormouse
1 molar
Reptilia
 Testudines - Trionychidae
Trionyx sp. Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire 1809 softshell turtle
numerous shell fragments
Actinopteri
 Esociformes - Esocidae
Esox sp. Linnaeus 1758 pike
11 tips of teeth
 Cypriniformes - Cobitidae
Cobitis sp. Linnaeus 1758 carp-like fish
3 lateral ethmoids
 Cypriniformes - Cyprinidae
Barbus sp. Cuvier and Cloquet 1816 carp-like fish
33 pharyngeal teeth
Leuciscus sp. Cuvier 1817 carp-like fish
11 pharyngeal teeth
Scardinius sp. Sauvage 1873 carp-like fish
9 pharyngeal teeth
Tinca sp. Cuvier 1817 carp-like fish
8 pharyngeal teeth
 Siluriformes - Siluridae
Silurus sp. Linnaeus 1758 catfish
44 teeth