Giant rhinoceros Paraceratherium and other vertebrates from Oligocene and middle Miocene deposits of the Kağızman-Tuzluca Basin, Eastern Turkey.

A recent fieldwork in the Kağızman-Tuzluca Basin in northeastern Turkey led us to the discovery of three vertebrate localities which yielded some limb bones of the giant rhino Paraceratherium, a crocodile tooth, and some small mammals, respectively. These discoveries allowed, for the first time to date some parts of the sedimentary units of this basin. This study also shows that the dispersal area of Paraceratherium is wider than it was known before. Eastern Turkey has several Cenozoic sedimentary basins formed during the collision of the Arabian and Eurasian plates. They are poorly documented for vertebrate paleontology. Consequently, the timing of tectonic activities, which led to the formation of the East Anatolian accretionary complex, is not constrained enough with a solid chronological framework. This study provides the first biostratigraphic evidences for the infill under the control of the compressive tectonic regime, which built the East Anatolian Plateau.