Otoliths from the middle Miocene (Serravallian) of the Karaman Basin, Turkey

Otoliths are described from middle Miocene, Serravallian rocks of the Karaman Basin of southeastern Turkey. Nearly 1100 specimens were identified representing a total of 47 species, thereof 27 fossil species, 6 extant species and 14 species left in open nomenclature. 11 species are new: Mascarenichthys exilis n. sp., Scorpaena? landaui n. sp., Serranus? ariejansseni n. sp., Lethrinus anatolicus n. sp.,Spicara pamphyliensis n. sp., Gobius mustus n. sp., Gobius reichenbacherae n. sp., Gobius vandervoorti n. sp., Knipowitschia suavis n. sp., Pomatoschistus rueckertae n. sp. and Thorogobius iucundus n. sp. The predominant group represented by otoliths are the Gobiidae, a family typical for shallow marine to brackish environments, followed by Sparidae and Lethrinidae. The teleost association is typical for warm, shallow, sheltered seas without any significant open marine influence, which is corroborated by other fossil groups previously studied from the area. The faunal correlation of the Serravallian otoliths from the Karaman Basin shows the nearest relationship to the fish fauna of the slightly older Badenian (Langhian to early Serravallian) of the Vienna Basin of the Central Paratethys, which is similar to the conclusions recently also reached for molluscs. Twelve of the 16 previously known fossil species have also been recorded from the Badenian of the Paratethys and four exclusively so, while two species are of NE Atlantic affinities. However, comparative and time equivalent shallow marine otolith data from the Mediterranean are still poorly known. A few species indicate relation to the present-day Indo West-Pacific fish fauna, namely of the genera Mascarenichthys, Sillago and Lethrinus, and are indicative of an earlier faunal interchange between the two areas, which terminated only during the Langhian to Serravallian interface. Certain species of the Gobiidae are interpreted to represent derived forms from earlier, Badenian and older gobiid species from the Paratethys and thus indicate potential for a local biostratigraphic application.