Out of Africa: did African floral elements disperse into Asia Minor and Europe via the Gomphotherium land bridge?

© Grimsson

To assess whether plants migrated from Africa into western Eurasia via the famed Gomphotherium land bridge by identifying African floral elements in western Eurasia. To achieve this, key floras across the early to late Miocene in Anatolia, Greece and Central Europe will be investigated.

To reconstruct terrestrial environments (vegetation) in Anatolia, Greece and Central Europe that were inhabited by mammals of African origin. To achieve this, evidence from previously studied macrofloras (leaves, fruits, and seeds) will be combined with high taxonomic resolution palynological data obtained during this project.

To evaluate whether or not African mammals arriving in Anatolia and Europe during the Miocene occupied new habitats (regarding vegetation units). To achieve this, floras from well documented late Oligocene to middle Miocene sites in Africa north of the equator will be compared to the focal floras from Anatolia, Greece and Central Europe selected for this project.

Link to this project: http://www.fridgeirgrimsson.com/fwf-p29501-b25/

 Project publications

Showing entries 1 - 11 out of 11

2021

Xafis A, Mayda S, Alçiçek CM, Kaya T, Halaçlar K, Grimsson F et al. Large giraffids (Mammalia, Ruminantia) from the new late Miocene fossiliferous locality of Kemiklitepe-E (Western Anatolia, Turkey). Palaeobiodiversity and Palaeoenvironments. 2021 Sep;101(3):853–867. doi: 10.1007/s12549-020-00433-4
Grimsson F, Ulrich S, Coiro M, Graham SA, Jacobs BF, Currano ED et al. Hagenia from the early Miocene of Ethiopia: Evidence for possible niche evolution? Ecology and Evolution. 2021 May;11(10):5164-5186. doi: 10.1002/ece3.7408

2020

Xafis A, Saarinen J, Bastl K, Nagel D, Grímsson F. Palaeodietary traits of large mammals from the middle Miocene of Gračanica (Bugojno Basin, Bosnia-Herzegovina). Palaeobiodiversity and Palaeoenvironments. 2020 Jun;100:457–477. doi: 10.1007/s12549-020-00435-2
Grímsson F, Bouchal JM, Xafis A, Zetter R. Combined LM and SEM study of the middle Miocene (Sarmatian) palynoflora from the Lavanttal Basin, Austria. Part V. Magnoliophyta 3–Myrtales to Ericales. Grana. 2020 May 3;59(2-3):127-193. doi: 10.1080/00173134.2019.1696400
Currano ED, Jacobs BF, Bush RT, Novello A, Feseha M, Grimsson F et al. Ecological dynamic equilibrium in an early Miocene (21.73 Ma) forest, Ethiopia. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology. 2020 Feb 1;539:109425. Epub 2019. doi: 10.1016/j.palaeo.2019.109425
Ulrich S, Grímsson F. The single-grain method: adding TEM to the equation. Grana. 2020;59(1):44-57. Epub 2019 Jan 1. doi: 10.1080/00173134.2019.1666915

2019

Xafis A, Mayda S, Grimsson F, Nagel D, Kaya T, Halaçlar K. Fossil Giraffidae (Mammalia, Artiodactyla) from the early Turolian of Kavakdere (Central Anatolia, Turkey). Academie des Sciences. Comptes Rendus. Palevol. 2019 Sep;18(6):619-642. Epub 2019 Sep 25. doi: 10.1016/j.crpv.2019.04.010
Grimsson F, Graham SA, Coiro M, Jacobs BF, Xafis A, Neumann FH et al. Origin and divergence of Afro-Indian Picrodendraceae: linking pollen morphology, dispersal modes, fossil records, molecular dating and paleogeography. Grana. 2019 Jul 4;58(4):227-275. doi: 10.1080/00173134.2019.1594357
Xafis A, Tsoukala E, Solounias N, Mandic O, Harzhauser M, Grímsson F et al. Fossil Giraffidae (Mammalia, Artiodactyla) from the late Miocene of Thermopigi (Macedonia, Greece). Palaeontologia Electronica. 2019 Jan 1;22(3):22.3.67. doi: 10.26879/889
Grímsson F, van Valkenburg JLCH, Wieringa JJ, Xafis A, Jacobs BF, Zetter R. Pollen morphology of the African Sclerosperma (Arecaceae). Grana. 2019;58(2):99-113. Epub 2018 Nov 20. doi: 10.1080/00173134.2018.1519033
Grímsson F, Jacobs BF, Van Valkenburg JLCH, Wieringa JJ, Xafis A, Tabor N et al. Sclerosperma fossils from the late Oligocene of Chilga, north-western Ethiopia. Grana. 2019;58(2):81-98 . Epub 2018 Oct 25. doi: 10.1080/00173134.2018.1510977
Showing entries 1 - 11 out of 11