Marine Life in the Mediterranean During the Messinian Salinity Crisis: A Paleoichthyological Perspective

Abstract

Almost fifty years after the first definition of the Messinian salinity crisis (MSC), the events that occurred in the Mediterranean during the terminal portion of the Miocene still attract the attention of a large and diverse scientific community. Although fossils are relatively common in the deposits that accumulated during the MSC, their significance for the interpretation of the latest Miocene paleoenvironmental evolution of the Mediterranean has been underevalued. In this paper, we summarize the marine paleoichthyological record of the three stages of the MSC based on both articulated and isolated skeletal remains and otoliths, the latter almost exclusively known from the Lago-Mare phase. We focus on the composition of the marine ichthyofauna of the Mediterranean during the three main stages of the MSC, showing the persistent continuity of marine stenohaline taxa throughout most of the interval between 5.97 and 5.33 Ma. While the record of articulated fish skeletons is unquestionably autochthonous, thereby providing unambiguous evidence of the occurrence of open marine environments in the MSC preceding the Lago-Mare phase, the autochthonous nature of the otolith record has often been questioned. For this reason, the otolith record of marine fishes has been examined in detail from a taxonomic and paleoecological point of view. Three species, Bellottia verecunda n. sp., Benthosema taurinense n. sp., and Bostrychus marsilii n. sp., are described as new and a thorough discussion about the possible origin of the otoliths is provided. Alternative explanations for the occurrence of otoliths of marine fish during the Lago-Mare phase, such as reworking, contamination from overlying Pliocene sediments or import from outside the Mediterranean through aquatic birds are considered unlikely. In our assessment, the occurrence of marine fish otoliths in the Lago-Mare phase can be explained with the presence of normal marine environments in the Mediterranean, at least temporarily. Therefore, we suggest that the paleoichthyological data provided herein should be integrated in the future evolutionary paleoenvironmental reconstructions of the MSC.

The Endemic Marine Fish Fauna From the Eastern Paratethys Reconstructed From Otoliths From the Miocene (Middle Sarmatian S.L.; Bessarabian) of Jurkine (Kerch Peninsula, Crimea)

“…One prime difference is observed in the abundance of fish taxa when comparing otolith and skeleton data from the Sarmatian s.l., which is the abundance of clupeids in skeletons and their rarity in otoliths. The reason for this discrepancy is unknown but could possibly be related to the delicate nature of clupeid otoliths, which can break easily into unrecognizable fragments or become decomposed and/or fragmented in the guts of predators (see discussion in Carnevale & Schwarzhans 2022). We also noted that clupeid otolith specimens smaller than 1 mm in length occur relatively common in certain micro-samples (see below).…”

Geology and stratigraphy of the Neogene section along the Oued Beth between Dar bel Hamri and El Kansera (Rharb Basin, northwestern Morocco) and its otolith-based fish fauna: a faunal inventory for the Early Pliocene remigration into the Mediterranean

“…Van Hinsbergh and Hoedemakers (2022) Discussion Diaphus dirknolfi was originally established on specimens from Dar bel Hamri with incompletely preserved denticles along the ventral rim, which resulted in a too high count of 12-14 denticles. The species was redefined in 2022 by Carnevale and Schwarzhans (2022) based on better preserved specimens from the type locality and the nearby location Sidi Mohammed ech Chleuh, which yielded uneroded specimens. The recount of the denticles along the ventral rim resulted in 6-8.…”

From biogenic silica and organic matter to authigenic clays and dolomite: Insights from Messinian (upper Miocene) sediments of the Northern Mediterranean

“…Both units are typified, in the upper part, by brackish water sediments associated with the so‐called Lago Mare phase, whose origin is still being debated (e.g. Caruso et al ., 2020; Andreetto et al ., 2021; Carnevale & Schwarzhans, 2022).…”