The Oligo–Miocene closure of the Tethys Ocean and evolution of the proto-Mediterranean Sea

Abstract

The tectonically driven Cenozoic closure of the Tethys Ocean invoked a significant reorganization of oceanic circulation and climate patterns on a global scale. this process culminated between the Mid Oligocene and Late Miocene, although its exact timing has remained so far elusive, as does the subsequent evolution of the proto-Mediterranean, primarily due to a lack of reliable, continuous deep-sea records. Here, we present for the first time the framework of the Oligo-Miocene evolution of the deep Levant Basin, based on the chrono-, chemo-and bio-stratigraphy of two deep boreholes from the eastern Mediterranean. the results reveal a major pulse in terrigeneous mass accumulation rates (MARs) during 24-21 Ma, reflecting the erosional products of the Red Sea rifting and subsequent uplift that drove the collision between the Arabian and Eurasian plates and the effective closure of the Indian Ocean-Mediterranean Seaway. Subsequently, the proto-Mediterranean experienced an increase in primary productivity that peaked during the Mid-Miocene climate optimum. A regionwide hiatus across the Serravallian (13.8-11.6 Ma) and a crash in carbonate MARs during the lower Tortonian reflect a dissolution episode that potentially marks the earliest onset of the global middle to late Miocene carbonate crash.

At the crossroads: early Miocene marine fishes of the proto-Mediterranean Sea

“…The otoliths of Gnathophis elongatus are elongated and more similar to Conger, unlike Pliocene-Holocene specimens of Gnathophis mystax that are more quadrate (Tuset et al, 2008;Agiadi et al, 2020Agiadi et al, , 2019Agiadi et al, , 2018. However, the orientation of the sulcus forms an angle with the otolith length direction, as in Gnathophis species.…”

“…The dorsal rim is straight. Compared to the modern species Mullus surmuletus Linnaeus and Mullus barbatus Linnaeus (Hoedemakers and Batllori, 2005;Tuset et al, 2008;Agiadi et al, 2019), the otoliths of M. elognatus are not as high, but more elongated (OL : OH = 1.76-1.82 in M. elongatus but 1.23 in M. barbatus and 1.52 in M. surmulatus, both values from the Pleistocene of the eastern Mediterranean; Agiadi et al, 2019), more so than Mullus bifurcatus Strashimirov reported from the lower-middle Miocene of the Paratethys (Bratishko et al, 2015).…”

“…In the area of the Western Tethys, the late Eocene-middle Miocene MHB (Fig. 5) constituted a marine corridor at the border between the proto-Mediterranean and the Paratethys (Rögl, 1998); the proto-Mediterranean Sea developed due to the closure of the western part of the Tethys Ocean (Bialik et al, 2019;Torfstein and Steinberg, 2020). At this time, the proto-Mediterranean Sea, including the MHB, transited from a global biodiversity hotspot to a subtropical marine sea (Renema et al, 2008).…”

“…Connectivity between marine realms largely controls the fate of fish populations and biodiversity (Worm and Tittensor, 2018). Early Miocene proto-Mediterranean biodiversity is particularly interesting because, at that time, the basin's connection with the Indo-Pacific realm ceased to exist (Rögl, 1998;Bialik et al, 2019;Torfstein and Steinberg, 2020;Sun et al, 2021), while the marine biodiversity hotspot was shifting toward the southeast (Renema et al, 2008) and the climate was cooling (Cornacchia et al, 2018), marking the onset of a subtropical gradually oligotrophic regime in the proto-Mediterranean Sea. However, the early Miocene fossil fish record from the Mediterranean area is particularly sparse.…”

Evolution, systematics and historical biogeography of sand flies of the subgenus Paraphlebotomus (Diptera, Psychodidae, Phlebotomus) inferred using restriction-site associated DNA markers

“…DEC and DIVALIKE appear to favor a largely distributed MRCA which is compatible with paleogeographical and paleoclimatic events. During the Early and Middle Miocene, closure of the gateway of Proto-Mediterranean Sea [66] followed by the Messinian Salinity Crisis [67] and coupled with the uplift of the Atlas and Zagros Mountains [68], have strongly affected climatic conditions in the area under consideration. These mountain ranges, as well as the uplift of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau on the East, have acted as topographic barriers to moisture and have largely contributed to the aridification of the area.…”