© Majid Mirzaie Ataaabdi (synopsis and Papers III, IV, V, VI) © J. T. Eronen, M. Mirzaie Ataabadi, A. Micheels, A. Karme, R. L. Bernor & M. Fortelius (Paper II) © Reprinted with kind permission of Vertebrata PalAsiatica (Paper I) Cover photo: Late Miocene outcrops, Ivand district, northwestern Iran, September 2007 Author’s address: Majid Mirzaie Ataabadi Department of Geosciences and Geography P. O. Box 64 00014 University of Helsinki Finland [email protected] Supervised by: Professor Mikael Fortelius Department of Geosciences and Geography University of Helsinki Finland Reviewed by: Professor Sevket Sen Departement Histoire De La Terre Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle, Paris France Professor Jordi Agustí Institute of Human Paleoecology and s. Evolution University Rovira Virgili, Tarragona Spain Opponent: Professor George D. Koufos Department of Geology Aristotle University of Thessaloniki Greece ISSN 1798-7911 ISBN 978-952-10-6307-7 (paperback) ISBN 978-952-10-6308-4 (PDF) http://ethesis.helsinki.fi Helsinki University Print Helsinki 2010 Patience brings what you desire, not haste Mowlana Rumi To my Family To the people of IRAN رزا طآدی، م.، ٢٠١٠. ون آی ری، داران ل در ذره ام ھی وری و رژم ھی آب و ھوا. ارات داه ھ. ھ. ۶٩ ور و ١٠ رو. ﭼﻜﻴﺪه آی ری راردان در ذره ره ھی دی دم (ارو، آ و آر) دارای ه زی ات از راه آن وچ و راش داران و ام ھی وری ورت ر ات. وود ان ه وژه، آر داران ل ون در ر آ ادک وده، ودھی زرگ و ز در ن آ ھده ود. در ان ژوھش ش ده ات ام وش ھی را و رر آر داران از ل رد ھ و ی ا د ن ان ودھی ھش د. رر ھی د ده ن داده ات رد ھی داران ون در دن ط از ل و ل ری اران وود دارد. وه ر ان، ی ا داران وود در وا زه ت ده در ل ر اران ر زد آ و ھی وری ورون (٧- ٨ ون ل ش) د. رر ام ھی وری و ھی در ان ژوھش ود دا ھی ن در ان ز ر ده ات و ن دھد در ر آ ر ام وری در رورد دا اد ل ام ھی ن- آو- اران ، آر- رن، وا-وب رق آ، و ن- آی رزی د. رش ان ام ھ در وود ر وھی دی ات ر راش داران ل و اوھی آب و ھوا ار دا ات. دی ر و طوح ر دی اد رن وود در و زن در ون (١۵- ١٧ ون ل ش) آرا رای رش ل ھ و رری داران ھوا وم ھی د وده ات. ازو آب وھوای ، و و روده ھوا در رض ھی را ت ون ث رری وران ھوا وم ھی ز و را ده ات. ان و ال ١٠-١٢ ون ل ش اق اده ات. ر راش و ھی وری ھوان وم ھی و ز ن دھد در ر آ و ھی دارای راش و ھر دو وود دا ات . و ھی ھوان وم ھی د زی ر در ون زرن و دارای راش و ھ ری ب داری د در زی ھوان وم ھی ز د زی را در ون آھ رش ، ر ردن وم ھی ز ل از ودی ل ھ و واش درو اوھی ، داده ات. زی وا (ن- ھد) در ادای ون دارای رش و دود وده ات. ان ژوھش ر ز وش ھی را وده، ن دھد و در وا رده آی ری آر اد در آ ت ده ات ھوز واد ش د. رر ام ھی وری اده از روش ھی آری و ای ت ھی ت ر داری اوھی دا از در ز د ان اوھ در ان ژوھش روز ده ات. ھن روی ر ر ده در رر راوا وودات ھوان وم ھی و ز را روردی ون ات رآدھی ل و ارا داده ات. رر ر رش و ھی وری در زن و ن ز ررد روی ون و زی رورد زه ای ات وان آرا ر ھی زه رش داد. Mirzaie Ataabadi M., 2010. The Miocene of Western Asia; fossil mammals at the crossroads of faunal provinces and climate regimes. Helsinki University Print. Helsinki. 69 pages and 10 figures. Abstract Being at the crossroads of the Old World The provinciality analysis was carried continents, Western Asia has a unique out, using locality clustering, and the position through which the dispersal and relative abundance of the closed- and migration of mammals and the interaction open-adapted taxa was surveyed at the of faunal bioprovinces occurred. Despite family level. The distribution history of the its critical position, the record of Miocene chronofaunas was studied, using faunal mammals in Western Asia is sporadic and resemblance indices and new mapping there are large spatial and temporal gaps techniques, together with humidity analysis between the known fossil localities. based on mean ordinated hypsodonty. Although the development of the Paleoichnological studies revealed the mammalian faunas in the Miocene of the abundance of mammalian footprints in Old World is well known and there is several parts of the basins studied, which ample evidence for environmental shifts in are normally not fossiliferous in terms of this epoch, efforts toward quantification of body fossils. The systematic study and habitat changes and development of biochronology of the newly discovered chronofaunas based on faunal compositions mammalian fossils in northwestern Iran were mostly neglected. Advancement of indicates their close affinities with middle chronological, paleoclimatological, and Turolian faunas. Large cranial remains of paleogeographical reconstruction tools and hipparionine horses, previously unknown techniques and increased numbers of new in Iran and Western Asia, are among the discoveries in recent decades have brought material studied. The initiation of a new the need for updating and modification of field project in the famous Maragheh our level of understanding. locality also brings new opportunities to We under took fieldwork and systematic address questions regarding the chronology study of mammalian trace and body fossils and paleoenvironment of this classical site. from the northwestern parts of Iran along Provinciality analysis modified our with analysis of large mammal data from previous level of understandings, the NOW database. The data analysis was indicating the interaction of four provinces used to study the provinciality, relative in Western Asia. The development of these abundance, and distribution history of the provinces was apparently due to the closed- and open-adapted taxa and presence of high mountain ranges in the chronofaunas in the Miocene of the Old area, which affected the dispersal of World and Western Asia. mammals and also climatic patterns. 5 DEPARTMENT OF GEOSCIENCES AND GEOGRAPHY A6 Higher temperatures and possibly moving in response to changes in humidity higher co2 levels in the Middle Miocene patterns. They abruptly declined due to Climatic Optimum apparently favored the demise of their favored environments. The development of the closed forested Siwalikan chronofauna of the early Late environments that supported the dominance Miocene remained endemic and restricted of the closed-adapted taxa. The increased through all its history. seasonality and the progressive cooling and This study highlights the importance of drying of the midlatitudes toward the Late field investigations and indicates that new Miocene maintained the dominance of surveys in the vast areas of Western Asia, open-adapted faunas. It appears that the which are poorly sampled in terms of fossil late Middle Miocene was the time of mammal localities, can still be promising. transition from a more forested to a less Clustering of the localities supports the forested world. consistency of formerly known patterns The distribution history of the closed- and augments them. Although the and open-adapted chronofaunas shows the quantitative approach to relative abundance presence of cosmopolitan and endemic history of the closed- and open-adapted faunas in Western Asia. The closed- mammals harks back to more than half a adapted faunas, such as the Arabian century ago, it is a novel technique chronofauna of the late Early‒early Middle providing robust results. Tracking the Miocene, demonstrated a rapid buildup and history of the chronofaunas in space and gradual decline. The open-adapted time by means of new computational and chronofaunas, such as the Late Miocene illustration methods is also a new practice Maraghean fauna, climaxed gradually by that can be expanded to new areas and time filling the opening environments and spans. 6 Acknowledgements I thank the almighty God for giving me the I appreciate the curators in the Natural opportunity and assistance to complete my History Museum, London (Dr. P. Brewer, Dr. PhD studies. My sincere gratitude goes to my A. Current, and Dr. J. Hooker), Muséum teachers in Iran who educated and inspired me National d’Histoire Naturelle, Paris (Dr. P. to follow their path in science. I thank Prof. Tassy, Dr. C. Sagne, and Dr. C. Argot), Djafarian (University of Esfahan) and Prof. Naturhistorisches Museum, Vienna (Dr. U. Fakhr (University of Tehran) for mentoring Göhlich), Bayerische Staatssammlung für and Prof. Hamedani (University of Esfahan) Paläontologie/Geologie, Munich (Dr. G. for involving me in his field campaign with Rössner), and Senckenberg Museum, Frankfurt Finnish scientists in 2001, which eventually (Dr. R. Brocke and J. Oelkers-Schaefer) for resulted in my PhD studies at the University of facilitating the study of Miocene fossil Helsinki. mammals hosted in their institutes. I am grateful and deeply indebted to Prof. I also thank Dr. M. Armour-Chelu and D. Mikael Fortelius for facilitating my endeavor Wolf (Howard University, Washington DC), in science outside Iran and also for his USA, Dr. Z. Zhang (Institute of Vertebrate guidance and supervision of my doctoral Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Beijing), studies. I also wish to thank my reviewrs, Prof. China, Dr. M. Nakatsukasa and Dr.