A multidisciplinary study of the Gölbaşı-Harmanlı coal seam, SE Turkey

Ostracoda and Mollusca fauna from intercalating clastic layers within the coal seam provide important information about the geographic distribution of fossil taxa, environmental evaluation of the intercalations, and the age of the studied coal seam. The Ostracoda species Gomphocythere geareyi was identified within the coal seam for the first time. Humphcypris subterranea is the first fossil record of this Ostracoda genus in Turkey. These, along with the presence of the Gastropoda subspecies Bithynia phialensis syriaca, imply a transport into the palaeomire via migratory birds from the Eastern Mediterranean areas. Discovery of Humphcypris subterranea, Bithynia phialensis syriaca, and the African originated genus Gomphocythere in the Gölbaşı-Harmanlı coal deposit marks their northernmost worldwide occurrence.