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Geodiversitas 27 (4)

Published on
30 December 2005


Geology, mammals and environments at Akkașdağı, late Miocene of Central Anatolia

Edited by Sevket SEN

Akkașdağı is certainly the richest vertebrate locality ever found in Turkey. After my 38 years of experience of field work, I can affirm that I have never seen so many remains of mammals piled up in the same layer, neither in the localities I excavated nor in those that I visited. Such an accumulation is exceptional and must mean that a catastrophic event caused the death of thousands of individuals in a very short time. Our results indicate that a volcanic eruption produced the rhyolitic flow whose tuffs and perhaps gas caused this mass death, Indeed, the fossils of Akkașdağı are concentrated in pockets formed by erosion on the top of the flow which functioned as traps to catch mammal carcasses. These pockets are aligned in a chain, often touching or separated a few meters one from the other, the whole in the same horizon for more than 1 km. We excavated 10 of these pockets during three field campaigns in 1997, 2000 and 2001, totaling less than one month. Nevertheless, we collected and catalogued 3276 identifiable specimens of large mammals, Akkașdağı is a typical name in the tradition of the Anatolian peasant, It means “mountain with white eyebrows” because the tuff layer forms curved reliefs at the middle slope which appear from far as the eyebrows of a mountain with round profile... The Akkașdağı project was a beautiful experiment for all the participants. This volume resulted from the competence of all the contributors and was illustrated with the beautiful photographs of Denis Serrette.

SEN S. (ed.) 2005. — Geology, mammals and environments at Akkașdağı, late Miocene of Central Anatolia/Géologie, mammifères et environnements à Akkașdağı, Miocène supérieur d'Anatolie Centrale. Geodiversitas, vol. 27 (4), arts 16-28.
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en The position of Akkaşdağı mammal locality in the neo-tectonic framework of Çankırı basin, Turkey

Gürol SEYITOĞLU et al.

519-525, Published on 31 December 2005, art. 27 (16)
This article is a part of the thematic issue Geology, mammals and environments at Akkașdağı, late Miocene of Central Anatolia edited by Sevket SEN

en Stratigraphy and sedimentology of Neogene mammal bearing deposits in the Akkaşdağı area, Turkey

Nizamettin KAZANCI et al.

527-551, Published on 31 December 2005, art. 27 (17)
This article is a part of the thematic issue Geology, mammals and environments at Akkașdağı, late Miocene of Central Anatolia edited by Sevket SEN

en Mammal bearing late Miocene tuffs of the Akkașdağı region; distribution, age, petrographical and geochemical characteristics

Levent KARADENIZLI et al.

553-566, Published on 31 December 2005, art. 27 (18)
This article is a part of the thematic issue Geology, mammals and environments at Akkașdağı, late Miocene of Central Anatolia edited by Sevket SEN

en Carnivora (Mammalia) from the late Miocene of Akkașdağı, Turkey

Louis de BONIS

567-590, Published on 31 December 2005, art. 27 (19)
This article is a part of the thematic issue Geology, mammals and environments at Akkașdağı, late Miocene of Central Anatolia edited by Sevket SEN

en Chalicotheriidae (Mammalia, Perissodactyla) from the late Miocene of Akkaşdağı, Turkey

Gerçek SARAÇ & Sevket SEN

591-600, Published on 31 December 2005, art. 27 (20)
This article is a part of the thematic issue Geology, mammals and environments at Akkașdağı, late Miocene of Central Anatolia edited by Sevket SEN

en Rhinocerotidae (Mammalia, Perissodactyla) from the late Miocene of Akkașdağı, Turkey

Pierre-Olivier ANTOINE & Gerçek SARAÇ

601-632, Published on 31 December 2005, art. 27 (21)
This article is a part of the thematic issue Geology, mammals and environments at Akkașdağı, late Miocene of Central Anatolia edited by Sevket SEN

en Equidae (Mammalia, Perissodactyla) from the late Miocene of Akkașdağı, Turkey

George D. KOUFOS & Theodora D. VLACHOU

633-705, Published on 31 December 2005, art. 27 (22)
This article is a part of the thematic issue Geology, mammals and environments at Akkașdağı, late Miocene of Central Anatolia edited by Sevket SEN

en Proboscideans (Mammalia) from the late Miocene of Akkașdağı, Turkey

Pascal TASSY

707-714, Published on 31 December 2005, art. 27 (23)
This article is a part of the thematic issue Geology, mammals and environments at Akkașdağı, late Miocene of Central Anatolia edited by Sevket SEN

en Suidae (Mammalia, Artiodactyla) from the late Miocene of Akkașdağı, Turkey

Xianhui LIU et al.

715-733, Published on 31 December 2005, art. 27 (24)
This article is a part of the thematic issue Geology, mammals and environments at Akkașdağı, late Miocene of Central Anatolia edited by Sevket SEN

en Giraffidae (Mammalia, Artiodactyla) from the late Miocene of Akkașdağı, Turkey

Dimitris S. KOSTOPOULOS & Gerçek SARAÇ

735-745, Published on 31 December 2005, art. 27 (25)
This article is a part of the thematic issue Geology, mammals and environments at Akkașdağı, late Miocene of Central Anatolia edited by Sevket SEN

en The Bovidae (Mammalia, Artiodactyla) from the late Miocene of Akkașdağı, Turkey

Dimitris S. KOSTOPOULOS

747-791, Published on 31 December 2005, art. 27 (26)
This article is a part of the thematic issue Geology, mammals and environments at Akkașdağı, late Miocene of Central Anatolia edited by Sevket SEN

en Taphonomy of the late Miocene of Akkașdağı, Turkey

Andrea M. F. VALLI

793-808, Published on 31 December 2005, art. 27 (27)
This article is a part of the thematic issue Geology, mammals and environments at Akkașdağı, late Miocene of Central Anatolia edited by Sevket SEN

en Paleoecology of the Akkașdağı hipparions (Mammalia, Equidae), late Miocene of Turkey

Robert S. SCOTT & Murat MAGA

809-830, Published on 31 December 2005, art. 27 (28)
This article is a part of the thematic issue Geology, mammals and environments at Akkașdağı, late Miocene of Central Anatolia edited by Sevket SEN