Lower miocene stratigraphy of the Eastern Paratethys: Problems and state of the art

Abstract

The Lower Miocene regional stages of the Eastern Paratethys, the Caucasian, Sakaraulian, and Kozakhurian, have been recognized in different structural facies zones of the basin and have no reliable universal stratigraphic basis for defining their boundaries and volume. Mollusks, benthic and planktonic foraminifers, calcareous nannoplankton, and dinocysts have been studied in a number of Lower Miocene sections in stratotype areas of the Central Ciscaucasia and Kartli Depression in Georgia. The fossil biota groups of the Caucasian, Sakaraulian, and Kozakhurian sediments are briefly characterized. The available new data on the phytoplankton of these regional stratigraphic units as well as the records of the benthos composition in the marginal facies of the Ciscaucasian Basin allow a comparison between the stratotype regions and show possibilities for a more detailed correlation among them.

Keywords

• lower miocene
• eastern paratethys
• ciscaucasia
• kartli depression of georgia
• mollusks
• foraminifera
• calcareous nannofossils
• dinocysts
• correlation