A preliminary zonation of the continental Neogene of Anatolia based on rodents

The inventory of one hundred and sixty rodent assemblages from Anatolia ranging in age from Late Oligocene to Early Pleistocene has resulted in an informal local zonation for the Neogene. The sixteen zones recognized and the correlations to the MN scale suggested are based on the stage of evolution of the Muroidea. The Neogene succession of the Anatolian rodent faunas is briefly reviewed and compared to that of Europe. This leads to the conclusion that the Miocene faunas of Anatolia show a very pronounced endemism, which comes to an abrupt end during the Mio/Pliocene boundary interval.