Miocene Fauna Of North-Eastern Paratethys

The largest mid Miocene deposits in Ukraine are situated near Ternopil city. Here several species of corals, crabs, mollusks and whales have been found. One of the most interesting discoveries is a daira speciosa carapace with a haliotis shell. Probably it had symbiotic relationship with this crab.

13 million years ago the area was part of a shallow sea called the Paratethys, which is why there were found few vertebrate fossils. Grains of sedimentary rock were too large to preserve soft tissues or small and delicate bones. However, shells and crabs carapaces, because they were hard enough, survived.

Most of the fossils found there are displayed in the Kyiv paleontological museum.

List of fossil species

Echinoids

• Euptagus

Crabs

• Daira speciosa
• Xantho moldavicus

Mollusks

• Lithophaga sp.
• Turbo sp.
• Haliotis volhynica
• Conus sp.
• Cypraea sp.

Corals

• Unidentified species

Whales

• Phocoena sp.

See also

• Miocene

References

• Radwański, Andrzej; Górka, Marcin; Wysocka, Anna (10 March 2006). "Middle Miocene coralgal facies at Maksymivka near Ternopil (Ukraine): A preliminary account". Acta Geologica Polonica 56 (1): 89–103. OCLC 70123144. Archived from the original on 13 April 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20140413150052/https://geojournals.pgi.gov.pl/agp/article/view/9842/8376. Retrieved 11 April 2014. 

External links

• Miocene crabs. Palaeotm.com
• Kyiv paleontological museum (in Ukrainian)

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