The Pliocene ( ; also Pleiocene) is the epoch in the geologic time scale that extends from 5.333 million to 2.58[Kizilcahamam, found near Belpınar village by ](_blank)Osman Güldemir
Osman Güldemir is a Turkish writer and teacher of Turkish cuisine, he is and has been a tutor at food culture classes at different colleges and universities in Turkey. In November 2015 his book about the food culture of the Ottoman Empire 'Bir O ...
, a teacher at the Anadolu University in Eskişehir, Turkey
Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...
.
Image:Mahalle.jpg, Güvem village with the Seyhamamı mosque
A mosque (; from ar, مَسْجِد, masjid, ; literally "place of ritual prostration"), also called masjid, is a place of prayer for Muslims. Mosques are usually covered buildings, but can be any place where prayers ( sujud) are performed, ...
.
Image:Basalt Columns.JPG, Columnar basalt formed by lava
Lava is molten or partially molten rock (magma) that has been expelled from the interior of a terrestrial planet (such as Earth) or a moon onto its surface. Lava may be erupted at a volcano or through a fracture in the crust, on land or un ...
flows at Beşkonak village.
Image:06890 Kızılcahamam-Ankara, Turkey - panoramio (11).jpg, Due to drying and cooling of the climate at the onset of the Pleistocene
The Pleistocene ( , often referred to as the ''Ice age'') is the geological Epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from about 2,580,000 to 11,700 years ago, spanning the Earth's most recent period of repeated glaciations. Before a change was fina ...
ice age
An ice age is a long period of reduction in the temperature of Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence or expansion of continental and polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers. Earth's climate alternates between ice ages and gree ...
in Kizilcahamam, the Sequoia forests with their many exotic plant species disappeared and have now been replaced by Scots pine ( Pinus sylvestris) forests.
Image:06890 Ortaköy-Kızılcahamam-Ankara, Turkey - panoramio.jpg, Professor Baki Kasaplıgil collected many of his fossil
A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserved ...
specimens along dirt roads
A dirt road or track is a type of unpaved road not paved with asphalt, concrete, brick, or stone; made from the native material of the land surface through which it passes, known to highway engineers as subgrade material. Dirt roads are suitable ...
that had newly been made by a bulldozer
A bulldozer or dozer (also called a crawler) is a large, motorized machine equipped with a metal blade to the front for pushing material: soil, sand, snow, rubble, or rock during construction work. It travels most commonly on continuous track ...
.
Fossil plant species so far described from the deposits
Pteridophyta
* Salviniaceae
:*'' Salvinia'' sp.
* Pteridaceae
:*''Cryptogramma
''Cryptogramma'' is a genus of ferns known commonly as rockbrakes or parsley ferns. They are one of the three genera in the Cryptogrammoideae subfamily of the Pteridaceae. ''Cryptogramma'' ferns can be found in temperate regions on several cont ...
aff. crispo''
Gymnosperms
The gymnosperms ( lit. revealed seeds) are a group of seed-producing plants that includes conifers, cycads, ''Ginkgo'', and gnetophytes, forming the clade Gymnospermae. The term ''gymnosperm'' comes from the composite word in el, γυμνό ...
:*†''Glyptostrobus europaeus
''Glyptostrobus europaeus'' is an extinct conifer species of the family Cupressaceae that is found as fossils throughout the Northern Hemisphere. The sole living species of ''Glyptostrobus'' (''Glyptostrobus pensilis'') was described from Chi ...
''
:*'' Pinus canariensis''
:*'' Pinus morrisonicola''
:*†'' Sequoia'' langsdorfi''
:*'' Tsuga'' sp.
:*'' Ephedra'' sp.
Angiosperms
Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants th ...
, dicots
*Cercidiphyllaceae
''Cercidiphyllum'' is a genus containing two species of plants, both commonly called katsura. They are the sole members of the monotypic family Cercidiphyllaceae. The genus is native to Japan and China and unrelated to ''Cercis'' (redbuds).
Desc ...
:*†''Cercidiphyllum
''Cercidiphyllum'' is a genus containing two species of plants, both commonly called katsura. They are the sole members of the monotypic family Cercidiphyllaceae. The genus is native to Japan and China and unrelated to ''Cercis'' (redbuds).
Desc ...
crenatum''
* Magnoliaceae
:*''Magnolia sprengeri
''Magnolia sprengeri'', or Sprenger's magnolia, is a species of ''Magnolia'' native to China, occurring in Gansu, Henan, Hubei, Hunan, Shaanxi, and Sichuan in forests or thickets at 1300–2400 m altitude. Named for Carl Ludwig Sprenger, a bo ...
''
* Menispermaceae
:*''Menispermum
''Menispermum'' (moonseed) is a small genus of deciduous climbing woody vines in the moonseed family (Menispermaceae). Plants in this genus have small dioecious flowers, and clusters of small grape-like drupes. The name, moonseed, comes from the ...
'' sp.
*Lauraceae
Lauraceae, or the laurels, is a plant family that includes the true laurel and its closest relatives. This family comprises about 2850 known species in about 45 genera worldwide (Christenhusz & Byng 2016 ). They are dicotyledons, and occur ma ...
:*'' Persea indica''
* Platanaceae
:*''Platanus
''Platanus'' is a genus consisting of a small number of tree species native to the Northern Hemisphere. They are the sole living members of the family Platanaceae.
All mature members of ''Platanus'' are tall, reaching in height. All except f ...
'' sp.
* Juglandaceae
:*†''Platycarya
''Platycarya'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Juglandaceae native to eastern Asia in China, Korea, and Japan.Flora of China''Platycarya''/ref>Flora of China''Platycarya strobilacea''/ref>
It is a deciduous tree growing to 15 m tall ...
miocenica''
:*'' Pterocarya fraxinifolia''
* Salicaceae
:*'' Salix'' sp.
:*'' Populus tremula''
* Myricaceae
:*'' Comptonia'' sp.
:*'' Myrica banksiaefolia''
*Fagaceae
The Fagaceae are a family of flowering plants that includes beeches, chestnuts and oaks, and comprises eight genera with about 927 species. Fagaceae in temperate regions are mostly deciduous, whereas in the tropics, many species occur as evergre ...
:*''Castanea
The chestnuts are the deciduous trees and shrubs in the genus ''Castanea'', in the beech family Fagaceae. They are native to temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere.
The name also refers to the edible nut (fruit), nuts they produce.
Th ...
'' sp.
:*'' Castanopsis'' sp.
:*'' Fagus'' sp.
:*†''Quercus
An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' (; Latin "oak tree") of the beech family, Fagaceae. There are approximately 500 extant species of oaks. The common name "oak" also appears in the names of species in related genera, notably '' ...
drymeja''
:*†''Quercus
An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' (; Latin "oak tree") of the beech family, Fagaceae. There are approximately 500 extant species of oaks. The common name "oak" also appears in the names of species in related genera, notably '' ...
heidingeri''
:*†''Quercus
An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' (; Latin "oak tree") of the beech family, Fagaceae. There are approximately 500 extant species of oaks. The common name "oak" also appears in the names of species in related genera, notably '' ...
kubinyi''
:*†''Quercus
An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' (; Latin "oak tree") of the beech family, Fagaceae. There are approximately 500 extant species of oaks. The common name "oak" also appears in the names of species in related genera, notably '' ...
aff. lonchitis''
:*'' Quercus petroela aff.
:*'' Quercus sclerophyllina''
:*'' Quercus semecarpifolia''
:*†''Quercus
An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' (; Latin "oak tree") of the beech family, Fagaceae. There are approximately 500 extant species of oaks. The common name "oak" also appears in the names of species in related genera, notably '' ...
seyfriedii'' (very similar to '' Quercus phellos'' from eastern and central United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
)
:*†''Quercus
An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' (; Latin "oak tree") of the beech family, Fagaceae. There are approximately 500 extant species of oaks. The common name "oak" also appears in the names of species in related genera, notably '' ...
sosnoisky''
:*''Quercus hartwissiana
''Quercus hartwissiana'', the Strandzha oak ( bg, странджански дъб), is a species of oak, native to southeastern Bulgaria, northern Asia Minor along the Black Sea, and the Caucasus. It was described by the Finnish-born Russian bota ...
''
:*'' Quercus trojana'';aff.
* Betulaceae
:*''Alnus
Alders are trees comprising the genus ''Alnus'' in the birch family Betulaceae. The genus comprises about 35 species of monoecious trees and shrubs, a few reaching a large size, distributed throughout the north temperate zone with a few spec ...
'' sp.
:*'' Betula luminifera'' aff.
:*''Carpinus
Hornbeams are hardwood trees in the flowering plant genus ''Carpinus'' in the birch family Betulaceae. The 30–40 species occur across much of the temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere.
Origin of names
The common English name ''hornbeam' ...
miocenica''
*Sapindaceae
The Sapindaceae are a family of flowering plants in the order Sapindales known as the soapberry family. It contains 138 genera and 1858 accepted species. Examples include horse chestnut, maples, ackee and lychee.
The Sapindaceae occur in tempera ...
:*†'' Acer angustilobum''
:*†'' Acer tribolatum''
* Anacardiaceae
:*''Astronium
''Astronium'' is a genus of flowering plants in the cashew family, Anacardiaceae. It is native to Central and South America.
''Astronium'' is a genus of dioecious trees. Leaves are deciduous, alternate, and odd-pinnate.
Species
, Plants of the ...
'' sp.
*Ebenaceae
The Ebenaceae are a family of flowering plants belonging to order Ericales. The family includes ebony and persimmon among about 768 species of trees and shrubs. It is distributed across the tropical and warmer temperate regions of the world. It ...
:*'' Diospyros aff. miokaki''
* Aquifoliaceae
:*''Ilex
''Ilex'' (), or holly, is a genus of over 570 species of flowering plants in the family (biology), family Aquifoliaceae, and the only living genus in that family. ''Ilex'' has the most species of any woody dioecious angiosperm genus. The speci ...
gracilis'' (close to '' Ilex serrata'')
*Rosaceae
Rosaceae (), the rose family, is a medium-sized family of flowering plants that includes 4,828 known species in 91 genera.
The name is derived from the type genus ''Rosa''. Among the most species-rich genera are ''Alchemilla'' (270), ''Sorbus ...
:*''Sorbus aucuparia
''Sorbus aucuparia'', commonly called rowan (UK: /ˈrəʊən/, US: /ˈroʊən/) and mountain-ash, is a species of deciduous tree or shrub in the rose family. It is a highly variable species, and botanists have used different Circumscription (taxo ...
'' aff.
*
:*'' Cercis'' sp.
:*†'' Sophora sp.''
*Malvaceae
Malvaceae, or the mallows, is a family of flowering plants estimated to contain 244 genera with 4225 known species. Well-known members of economic importance include okra, cotton, cacao and durian. There are also some genera containing familiar ...
:*'' Tilia platyphyllos'' aff,
* Ulmaceae
:*''Ulmus
Elms are deciduous and semi-deciduous trees comprising the flowering plant genus ''Ulmus'' in the plant family Ulmaceae. They are distributed over most of the Northern Hemisphere, inhabiting the temperate and tropical-montane regions of Nor ...
'' sp.
:*†'' Zelkova ungeri''
* Berberidaceae
:*''Berberis chinensis
''Berberis'' (), commonly known as barberry, is a large genus of deciduous and evergreen shrubs from tall, found throughout Temperateness, temperate and subtropical regions of the world (apart from Australia). Species diversity is greatest in S ...
'' aff.
* Moraceae
:*''Ficus
''Ficus'' ( or ) is a genus of about 850 species of woody trees, shrubs, vines, epiphytes and hemiepiphytes in the family Moraceae. Collectively known as fig trees or figs, they are native throughout the tropics with a few species extending in ...
'' sp.
*Altingiaceae
Altingiaceae is a small family of flowering plants in the order Saxifragales, Peter F. Stevens (2001 onwards). "Altingiaceae". At: Angiosperm Phylogeny Website. At: Missouri Botanical Garden Website. (see ''External links'' below) consisting of ...
:*†''Liquidambar
''Liquidambar'', commonly called sweetgum
(star gum in the UK),
gum, redgum, satin-walnut, or American storax, is the only genus in the flowering plant family Altingiaceae and has 15 species. They were formerly often treated in Hamamelidaceae ...
europaeum''
* Simaroubaceae
:*'' Ailanthus altissima'' aff.
Angiosperms
Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants th ...
, monocots
* Smilaceae
:*'' Smilax aspera''
*Potamogetonaceae
The Potamogetonaceae, commonly referred to as the pondweed family, is an aquatic family of monocotyledonous flowering plants. The roughly 110 known species are divided over six genera. The largest genus in the family by far is ''Potamogeton'', w ...
:*''Potamogeton
''Potamogeton'' is a genus of aquatic, mostly freshwater, plants of the family Potamogetonaceae. Most are known by the common name pondweed, although many unrelated plants may be called pondweed, such as Canadian pondweed (''Elodea canadensis'' ...
'' sp.
* Hydrocharitaceae
:*''Egeria densa
''Egeria densa'', the large-flowered waterweed or Brazilian waterweed, is a species of '' Egeria'' native to warm temperate South America in southeastern Brazil, Argentina, Chile and Uruguay. It is considered a problematic invasive species due t ...
'' aff.
:*'' Najas'' sp.
* Typhaceae
:*''Typha
''Typha'' is a genus of about 30 species of monocotyledonous flowering plants in the family Typhaceae. These plants have a variety of common names, in British English as bulrush or reedmace, in American English as reed, cattail, or punks, in A ...
'' sp.
Images of some extant close relatives of the fossil species
Image:Redwood slope.jpg, '' Sequoia'', giant redwood forests were common at higher altitudes of Anatolia
Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The re ...
in the Tertiary
Tertiary ( ) is a widely used but obsolete term for the geologic period from 66 million to 2.6 million years ago.
The period began with the demise of the non-avian dinosaurs in the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event, at the start ...
and early Pleistocene
The Pleistocene ( , often referred to as the ''Ice age'') is the geological Epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from about 2,580,000 to 11,700 years ago, spanning the Earth's most recent period of repeated glaciations. Before a change was fina ...
.
Image:Redwoods in Richardson Grove State Park 1.jpg, '' Sequoia''
Image:Sequoia sempervirens BigSur.jpg, '' Sequoia''
Image:Sequoia sempervirens foliage cones Mount Tamalpais 1.jpg, '' Sequoia'' branch of seed cones.
Image:Sequoia sempervirens - foliage.jpg, '' Sequoia''
Image:Sequoia sempervirens2.jpg, '' Sequoia''
Image:Glyptostrobus pensilis 2007.06.28 10.10.35-p6280031.jpg, ''Glyptostrobus europaeus
''Glyptostrobus europaeus'' is an extinct conifer species of the family Cupressaceae that is found as fossils throughout the Northern Hemisphere. The sole living species of ''Glyptostrobus'' (''Glyptostrobus pensilis'') was described from Chi ...
'' may have survived in some refugia pockets of wetlands
A wetland is a distinct ecosystem that is flooded or saturated by water, either permanently (for years or decades) or seasonally (for weeks or months). Flooding results in oxygen-free (anoxic) processes prevailing, especially in the soils. The ...
along Turkey's Black Sea
The Black Sea is a marginal mediterranean sea of the Atlantic Ocean lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bounded by Bulgaria, Georgia, Roma ...
coast until the early Holocene
The Holocene ( ) is the current geological epoch. It began approximately 11,650 cal years Before Present (), after the Last Glacial Period, which concluded with the Holocene glacial retreat. The Holocene and the preceding Pleistocene togethe ...
. Fossil
A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserved ...
''Glyptostrobus europaeus
''Glyptostrobus europaeus'' is an extinct conifer species of the family Cupressaceae that is found as fossils throughout the Northern Hemisphere. The sole living species of ''Glyptostrobus'' (''Glyptostrobus pensilis'') was described from Chi ...
'' pollen
Pollen is a powdery substance produced by seed plants. It consists of pollen grains (highly reduced microgametophytes), which produce male gametes (sperm cells). Pollen grains have a hard coat made of sporopollenin that protects the gametophyt ...
from early Holocene
The Holocene ( ) is the current geological epoch. It began approximately 11,650 cal years Before Present (), after the Last Glacial Period, which concluded with the Holocene glacial retreat. The Holocene and the preceding Pleistocene togethe ...
deposits prove such a recent existence of this species in Turkey
Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...
. So recent fossil pollen
Paleobotany, which is also spelled as palaeobotany, is the branch of botany dealing with the recovery and identification of plant remains from geological contexts, and their use for the biological reconstruction of past environments (paleogeogr ...
have not been found in other countries bordering the Black Sea
The Black Sea is a marginal mediterranean sea of the Atlantic Ocean lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bounded by Bulgaria, Georgia, Roma ...
.
Image:Glyptostrobus pensilis Villa Taranto.jpg, '' Glyptostrobus''
Image:Pinares canarios de El Hierro 14.jpg, '' Pinus canariensis''
Image:Pinares canarios de El Hierro 02.jpg, '' Pinus canariensis''
Image:Pinus canariensis (Barlovento) 02 ies.jpg, '' Pinus canariensis''
Image:Castanopsis cuspidata.JPG, '' Castanopsis''
Image:Castanopsis sieboldii1.jpg, '' Castanopsis''
Image:Castanopsis sieboldii (Makino) Hatus. — スダジイ by urasimaru.jpg, '' Castanopsis'' acorn
The acorn, or oaknut, is the nut of the oaks and their close relatives (genera ''Quercus'' and '' Lithocarpus'', in the family Fagaceae). It usually contains one seed (occasionally
two seeds), enclosed in a tough, leathery shell, and borne ...
s.
Image:Castanopsis sieboldii2.jpg, '' Castanopsis''
Image:Ailanthus altissima-1.jpg, ''Ailanthus
''Ailanthus'' (; derived from ''ailanto,'' an Ambonese word probably meaning "tree of the gods" or "tree of heaven") is a genus of trees belonging to the family Simaroubaceae, in the order Sapindales (formerly Rutales or Geraniales). The genus ...
''
Image:Ailanthus altissima1.jpg, ''Ailanthus
''Ailanthus'' (; derived from ''ailanto,'' an Ambonese word probably meaning "tree of the gods" or "tree of heaven") is a genus of trees belonging to the family Simaroubaceae, in the order Sapindales (formerly Rutales or Geraniales). The genus ...
'' seeds
Image:Persea indica.jpg, '' Persea indica''
Image:Comptonia peregrina.jpg, '' Comptonia''
Image:Comptonia peregrina BotGardBln1105HabitusFall.JPG, '' Comptonia''
Image:Comptonia peregrina HabitusLeavesFall BotGardBln0906.JPG, '' Comptonia''
Image:Platycarya strobilacea 2.JPG, ''Platycarya
''Platycarya'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Juglandaceae native to eastern Asia in China, Korea, and Japan.Flora of China''Platycarya''/ref>Flora of China''Platycarya strobilacea''/ref>
It is a deciduous tree growing to 15 m tall ...
''
Image:Platycarya strobilacea 1.JPG, ''Platycarya
''Platycarya'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Juglandaceae native to eastern Asia in China, Korea, and Japan.Flora of China''Platycarya''/ref>Flora of China''Platycarya strobilacea''/ref>
It is a deciduous tree growing to 15 m tall ...
''
Image:Platycarya strobilacea4.jpg, ''Platycarya
''Platycarya'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Juglandaceae native to eastern Asia in China, Korea, and Japan.Flora of China''Platycarya''/ref>Flora of China''Platycarya strobilacea''/ref>
It is a deciduous tree growing to 15 m tall ...
''
Image:Astronium balansae.jpg, ''Astronium
''Astronium'' is a genus of flowering plants in the cashew family, Anacardiaceae. It is native to Central and South America.
''Astronium'' is a genus of dioecious trees. Leaves are deciduous, alternate, and odd-pinnate.
Species
, Plants of the ...
''
Image:Magnolia sprengeri 01 by Line1.JPG, ''Magnolia sprengeri
''Magnolia sprengeri'', or Sprenger's magnolia, is a species of ''Magnolia'' native to China, occurring in Gansu, Henan, Hubei, Hunan, Shaanxi, and Sichuan in forests or thickets at 1300–2400 m altitude. Named for Carl Ludwig Sprenger, a bo ...
''
Image:Magnolia sprengeri 'Diva' Leaves 3008px.jpg, ''Magnolia sprengeri
''Magnolia sprengeri'', or Sprenger's magnolia, is a species of ''Magnolia'' native to China, occurring in Gansu, Henan, Hubei, Hunan, Shaanxi, and Sichuan in forests or thickets at 1300–2400 m altitude. Named for Carl Ludwig Sprenger, a bo ...
''
References
Pliocene
Paleobotany
Ankara Province
Fossils of Turkey