The Central Paratethys Sea—rise and demise of a Miocene European marine biodiversity hotspot

Abstract

The Miocene Climate Optimum (MCO, ~ 17–14 Ma) was a time of extraordinary marine biodiversity in the Circum-Mediterranean Region. This boom is best recorded in the deposits of the vanished Central Paratethys Sea, which covered large parts of central to southeastern Europe. This sea harbored an extraordinary tropical to subtropical biotic diversity. Here, we present a georeferenced dataset of 859 gastropod species and discuss geodynamics and climate as the main drivers to explain the changes in diversity. The tectonic reorganization around the Early/Middle Miocene boundary resulted in the formation of an archipelago-like landscape and favorable conditions of the MCO allowed the establishment of coral reefs. Both factors increased habitat heterogeneity, which boosted species richness. The subsequent cooling during the Middle Miocene Climate Transition (~ 14–13 Ma) caused a drastic decline in biodiversity of about 67%. Among the most severely hit groups were corallivorous gastropods, reflecting the loss of coral reefs. Deep-water faunas experienced a loss by 57% of the species due to changing patterns in circulation. The low sea level led to a biogeographic fragmentation reflected in higher turnover rates. The largest turnover occurred with the onset of the Sarmatian when bottom water dysoxia eradicated the deep-water fauna whilst surface waters-dwelling planktotrophic species underwent a crisis.