Evolutionary dynamics in the fish faunas of the Mediterranean basin during the Plio-Pleistocene

In the Pleistocene, during the maximum intensity of glacial events and the most intense effects on the Mediterranean areas, the composition of the fish fauna had already developed a clear Mediterranean character (about 75% of the taxa). The residual elements (extinct and extramediterranean) underwent a further strong impoverishment at the Lower-Middle Pleistocene boundary with the Mediterranean component reaching 89.4%. On the basis of the observed trends, and particularly on the basis of the progressive changes in the taxonomic composition of these communities, from the upper Miocene to the present, the idea of a “paleomediterranean” fauna is discussed.