The Paleozoic sediments of the Chal-i-Sheh area in southwestern Iran comprising of Mila Formation, Ilebek Formation and Faraghan Formation, were studied palynologically. The samples containing well-preserved palynomorphs include acritarchs, chitinozoans, scolecodonts and pollenlspores. A palynological zonation has been established and comparison was made with other parts of the world. Based...

Ascidians are the largest and most diverse class of subphylum Tunicata, important components marine benthic communities. They also renowned worldwide invaders, growing concern due to ease spread impacts on native biota. We hereby combined bathymetric habitat mapping, extensive transect photo-quadrat sampling, a morphological molecular study selected specimens evaluate taxonomic composition, cov...

Onuphis eremita, type species of the genus, and Onuphis pancerii, originally from La Rochelle (France) and Gulf of Naples (Italy) respectively, are two of the earliest described species of the family Onuphidae. Yet, the definition of the former was extremely confused, the latter was considered its synonym for nearly a century, and types do not exist. We have examined a large amount of material,...

It is widely agreed that a pivotal shift from wild animal hunting to herd animal management, at least of goats, began in the southern Levant by the Middle Pre-Pottery Neolithic B period (10,000-9,500 cal. BP) when evidence of ritual activities flourished in the region. As our knowledge of this critical change grows, sites that represent different functions and multiple time periods are needed t...

Chestnut-leaved oak (Quercus castaneifolia C. A. Mey) is one of the most important native oaks of Iran distributed in the Hyrcanian Forests. The pure and mixed stands of it cover about 6.5% of these forests. The species represents morphological variations which have resulted in the description of several infraspecific taxa by different authors. Eight taxa were recognized as subspecies and varie...

Integration of foraminiferal and geochemical data (stable isotope elemental composition) from West Alboran Basin (WAB) ODP Site 976 allowed evaluation the effects initial Mediterranean – Atlantic restriction event preceding Messinian Salinity Crisis (MSC) in a context late Miocene cooling diminishing water mass exchange close to Gibraltar Strait. At 7.17 Ma prominent shift benthic foraminifer a...

During the past decades intensive investigations on the zoobenthic fauna of Izmir Bay have been carried out (Çınar et al., 2012). This area has suffered from intense pollution due to the influx of untreated wastes of different origin. Until the year 2000, the inner part of Izmir Bay, where the Alsancak harbour is located, has been considered as one of the most polluted areas in the Mediterranea...

In most lineages, most species have restricted geographic ranges, with only few reaching widespread distributions. How these widespread species reached their current ranges is an intriguing biogeographic and evolutionary question, especially in groups known to be poor dispersers. We reconstructed the biogeographic and temporal origin of the widespread species in a lineage with particularly poor...

Recent morphological and genetic studies on the Caulerpa racemosa (Forsskål) J. Agardh complex have demonstrated that three taxa occur in the Mediterranean Sea. One of them, the ‘invasive variety’, provisionally regarded as close to C. racemosa var. occidentalis J. Agardh, is currently spreading spectacularly throughout the Mediterranean. On the basis of new morphological and molecular studies ...

In this study, we investigated, for the first time, the potential impact of environmental changes on zooplankton abundance over a fourteen year period (2000-2013) at an offshore station in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea (the Levantine basin, offshore Lebanon). Samples were collected monthly and analyzed using the semi-automated system ZooScan. Salinity, temperature and phytoplankton abundance (n...