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Research Interests: Geology and Paleontology
Supplementary Material for the manuscript:<br><b>Messinian vegetation and climate of the intermontane Florina-Ptolemais-Servia Basin, NW Greece inferred from palaeobotanical data: How well do plant fossils reflect past... more
Supplementary Material for the manuscript:<br><b>Messinian vegetation and climate of the intermontane Florina-Ptolemais-Servia Basin, NW Greece inferred from palaeobotanical data: How well do plant fossils reflect past environments?</b><b> </b><b>Supplementary Material Tables S1 </b>- Climatic parameters of NLR. <b> </b><b>Table S1 (1).</b> Fossil species and climatic parameters of the corresponding NLR (depending on the fossil-species and their botanical affinities, climate parameters of species, sections, subgenera, genera, or subfamilies are used as NLR). <b>Table S1 (2).</b> Climatic parameters of NLR. <b>Supplementary Material Tables S2 </b>- Köppen-Geiger climate type signatures.<b></b> <b>Table S2 (1).</b> Scored Köppen-Geiger signatures of all NLR species of the macrofossil and pollen flora of Vegora. <b>Tables S2 (2).</b> Köppen-Geiger signature valu...
Supplementary Material for the manuscript:<br><b>Messinian vegetation and climate of the intermontane Florina-Ptolemais-Servia Basin, NW Greece inferred from palaeobotanical data: How well do plant fossils reflect past... more
Supplementary Material for the manuscript:<br><b>Messinian vegetation and climate of the intermontane Florina-Ptolemais-Servia Basin, NW Greece inferred from palaeobotanical data: How well do plant fossils reflect past environments?</b><b> </b><b>Supplementary Material Tables S1 </b>- Climatic parameters of NLR. <b> </b><b>Table S1 (1).</b> Fossil species and climatic parameters of the corresponding NLR (depending on the fossil-species and their botanical affinities, climate parameters of species, sections, subgenera, genera, or subfamilies are used as NLR). <b>Table S1 (2).</b> Climatic parameters of NLR. <b>Supplementary Material Tables S2 </b>- Köppen-Geiger climate type signatures.<b></b> <b>Table S2 (1).</b> Scored Köppen-Geiger signatures of all NLR species of the macrofossil and pollen flora of Vegora. <b>Tables S2 (2).</b> Köppen-Geiger signature valu...
Table S1 (1). Fossil species and climatic parameters of the corresponding NLR (depending on the fossil-species and their botanical affinities, climate parameters of species, sections, subgenera, genera, or subfamilies are used as NLR).... more
Table S1 (1). Fossil species and climatic parameters of the corresponding NLR (depending on the fossil-species and their botanical affinities, climate parameters of species, sections, subgenera, genera, or subfamilies are used as NLR). Table S1 (2). Climatic parameters of NLR.;Table S2 (1). Scored Köppen-Geiger signatures of all NLR species of the macrofossil and pollen flora of Vegora. Tables S2 (2). Köppen-Geiger signature values and diagram of the macrofossil and pollen flora of Vegora.
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The late Miocene is marked by pronounced environmental changes and the appearance of strong temperature and precipitation seasonality. Although environmental heterogeneity is to be expected during this time, it is challenging to... more
The late Miocene is marked by pronounced environmental changes and the appearance of strong temperature and precipitation seasonality. Although environmental heterogeneity is to be expected during this time, it is challenging to reconstruct palaeoenvironments using plant fossils. We investigated leaves and dispersed spores/pollen from 6.4–6 Ma strata in the intermontane Florina-Ptolemais-Servia Basin (FPS) of northwestern Greece. To assess how well plant fossils reflect the actual vegetation of the FPS, we assigned fossil-taxa to biomes providing a measure for environmental heterogeneity. Additionally, the palynological assemblage was compared to pollen spectra from modern lake sediments to assess biases in spore/pollen representation in the pollen record. We found a close match of the Vegora assemblage with modern Fagus–Abies forests of Turkey. Using taxonomic affinities of leaf fossils, we further established close similarities of the Vegora assemblage with modern laurophyllous oa...
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The paper reports a palaeoxylotomical study of petrified palm remains (stem, root, rachis) collected from some fossil sites of Greece (Evros, Lemnos, Lesbos and Kastoria) aged to the late Oligocene to early Miocene. Five species of... more
The paper reports a palaeoxylotomical study of petrified palm remains (stem, root, rachis) collected from some fossil sites of Greece (Evros, Lemnos, Lesbos and Kastoria) aged to the late Oligocene to early Miocene. Five species of Palmoxylon were identified: P. daemonoropsoides (Unger) Kirchheimer, corr., P. chamaeropsoides Iamandei et Iamandei, sp. nov., P. coryphoides Ambwani et Mehrotra, P. sabaloides Greguss, P. trachycarpoides Iamandei et Iamandei, sp. nov. and P. phoenicoides Hofmann. Also found were two species of Rhizopalmoxylon (R. daemonoropsoides Iamandei et Iamandei, sp. nov., R. phoenicoides Iamandei et Iamandei, sp. nov.) and Palmocaulon sp. aff. Phoenix L. These new identifications add new elements to the forest assemblages of the Oligocene–Miocene Greek flora, useful for understanding the evolution of the Cenozoic palaeoclimate in the Aegean area.
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ABSTRACT A new podocnemidoidean turtle, Nostimochelone lampra gen. et sp. nov., was recently recovered from littoral marine-estuarine sediments of the lower Miocene Zeugostasion Formation, near the village of Nostimo in northwestern... more
ABSTRACT A new podocnemidoidean turtle, Nostimochelone lampra gen. et sp. nov., was recently recovered from littoral marine-estuarine sediments of the lower Miocene Zeugostasion Formation, near the village of Nostimo in northwestern Macedonia, Greece. This new taxon is characterized by a mosaic of primitive and derived features most notably the presence of a broad embayment on the anterior carapace margin, which involves both the nuchal (whose width &gt; length) and first pair of peripherals, a continuous series of six markedly elongate and very narrowed hexagonal neural bones, extension of the axillary buttress onto the midline of the anteroposteriorly elongate costal I (leaving a concave scar) and also laterally across the peripheral II–peripheral III suture, medial contact of the humeral scutes (implying a small intergular), and extensive overlap of the pectoral scutes on the entoplastron, probably extending to the epiplastral–hyoplastral suture. Conclusive phylogenetic placement of Nostimochelone is difficult to establish because the remains are incompletely preserved. Nevertheless, its discovery is significant because it represents both the first record of a pleurodiran turtle from Greece and also one of only a handful of fossil podocnemidoidean occurrences thus far documented from the Neogene of Europe.
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Research Interests: Geology, Pleistocene, Palaeobotany, Pliocene, Miocene, and 3 moreCenozoic, Natural Sciences, and Oligocene
The present study describes the geology and mineralogy of the main petrified wood occurrences in Evros-Rhodopi and Limnos and integrates them in a volcanichydro thermal framework taking into consideration the nature of hydrothermal... more
The present study describes the geology and mineralogy of the main petrified wood occurrences in Evros-Rhodopi and Limnos and integrates them in a volcanichydro thermal framework taking into consideration the nature of hydrothermal solutions during the silicification process. In the Lykofi-Fylakto-Lefkymi area, quartz and opal-CT are the main silica polymorph within the wood. The hostrocL· exhibit a zeolitic alteration suggesting reduced and slightly alkaline fluids for the silicification of wood. At Kassiteres/Sappes area the presence ofsilicified wood within kaolinite± alunite altered tuffbreccias indicates that slight acidic fluids were involved in the silicification processes. In Limnos Island the fossiliferous Portianou, Varos- Roussopouli and Moudros-Roussopouli areas occur in the periphery of an eroded volcanic edifice exposed at Fakos peninsula. The silicified wood occurs: (a) within weakly altered pyroclastics and (b) associated to several horizons of sinters interbedded wi...
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Trapa kvacekii Wojcicki & D. Velitzelos (Trapaceae), a new fossil species from the late Miocene of Likudi near Elassone (Thessalia, Greece) is described, illustrated and briefl y discussed. It differs markedly from its congeners by fruit... more
Trapa kvacekii Wojcicki & D. Velitzelos (Trapaceae), a new fossil species from the late Miocene of Likudi near Elassone (Thessalia, Greece) is described, illustrated and briefl y discussed. It differs markedly from its congeners by fruit morphology, primarily by the characteristic fruit body oblong-triangular in outline, well-developed high ring at the base, and stout lower horns inserted 3/5 to 3/4 the distance from the base of the fruit.
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Sclerophyllous oaks (genus Quercus) play important roles in Neogene ecosystems of southwestern Eurasia. Modern analogues ('nearest living relatives') for these oaks have been sought among five of six infrageneric lin-eages of Quercus,... more
Sclerophyllous oaks (genus Quercus) play important roles in Neogene ecosystems of southwestern Eurasia. Modern analogues ('nearest living relatives') for these oaks have been sought among five of six infrageneric lin-eages of Quercus, distributed across the entire Northern Hemisphere. A revision of leaf fossils from lower Miocene to Pliocene deposits suggests that morphotypes of the Quercus drymeja complex are very similar to a number of extant Himalayan, East Asian, and Southeast Asian species of Quercus Group Ilex and may indicate subtropical, relatively humid conditions. Quercus mediterranea comprises leaf morphotypes that are encountered in modern Mediterranean species of Quercus Group Ilex, but also in Himalayan and East Asian members of this group indicating fully humid or summer-wet conditions. The fossil taxa Quercus drymeja and Q. mediterranea should be treated as morphotype complexes, which possibly comprised different biological species at different times. Quercus mediterranea, although readily recognizable as a distinct morphotype in early to late Miocene plant assemblages , may in fact represent small leaves of the same plants that constitute the Quercus drymeja complex. Based on the available evidence, the species forming the Q. drymeja complex and Q. mediterranea thrived in fully humid or summer-wet climates. The onset of the modern vegetational context of Mediterranean sclerophyllous oaks is difficult to trace, but may have been during the latest Pliocene/early Pleistocene.
A new podocnemidoidean turtle, Nostimochelone lampra gen. et sp. nov., was recently recovered fromlittoral marine-estuarine sediments of the lower Miocene Zeugostasion Formation, near the village of Nostimo in... more
A new podocnemidoidean turtle,
Nostimochelone lampra gen. et sp. nov., was recently recovered fromlittoral marine-estuarine sediments of the lower Miocene Zeugostasion Formation, near the village of Nostimo in northwestern Macedonia, Greece. This new taxon is characterized by a mosaic of primitive and derived features most notably the presence of a broad embayment on the anterior carapace margin, which involves both the nuchal (whose width [length) and first pair of peripherals, a continuous series of six markedly elongate and very narrowed hexagonal neural bones, extension of the axillary buttress onto the midline of the anteroposteriorly elongate costal I (leaving a concave scar) and also laterally across the peripheral II-peripheral III suture, medial contact of the humeral scutes (implying a small intergular), and extensive overlap of the pectoral scutes on the entoplastron, probably extending to the epiplastral-hyoplastral suture. Conclusive phylogenetic placement of
Nostimochelone is difficult to establish
because the remains are incompletely preserved. Neverthe-
less, its discovery is significant because it represents both
the first record of a pleurodiran turtle from Greece and also
one of only a handful of fossil podocnemidoidean occur-
rences thus far documented from the Neogene of Europe.
Nostimochelone lampra gen. et sp. nov., was recently recovered fromlittoral marine-estuarine sediments of the lower Miocene Zeugostasion Formation, near the village of Nostimo in northwestern Macedonia, Greece. This new taxon is characterized by a mosaic of primitive and derived features most notably the presence of a broad embayment on the anterior carapace margin, which involves both the nuchal (whose width [length) and first pair of peripherals, a continuous series of six markedly elongate and very narrowed hexagonal neural bones, extension of the axillary buttress onto the midline of the anteroposteriorly elongate costal I (leaving a concave scar) and also laterally across the peripheral II-peripheral III suture, medial contact of the humeral scutes (implying a small intergular), and extensive overlap of the pectoral scutes on the entoplastron, probably extending to the epiplastral-hyoplastral suture. Conclusive phylogenetic placement of
Nostimochelone is difficult to establish
because the remains are incompletely preserved. Neverthe-
less, its discovery is significant because it represents both
the first record of a pleurodiran turtle from Greece and also
one of only a handful of fossil podocnemidoidean occur-
rences thus far documented from the Neogene of Europe.
Research Interests:
Trapa kvacekii Wójcicki & D. Velitzelos (Trapaceae), a new fossil species from the late Miocene of Likudi near Elassone (Thessalia, Greece) is described, illustrated and briefl y discussed. It differs markedly from its congeners by... more
Trapa kvacekii
Wójcicki & D. Velitzelos (Trapaceae), a new fossil species from the late Miocene of Likudi near Elassone (Thessalia, Greece) is described, illustrated and briefl y discussed. It differs markedly
from its congeners by fruit morphology, primarily by the characteristic fruit body oblong-triangular in outline,
well-developed high ring at the base, and stout lower horns inserted 3/5 to 3/4 the distance from the base of
the fruit.
Wójcicki & D. Velitzelos (Trapaceae), a new fossil species from the late Miocene of Likudi near Elassone (Thessalia, Greece) is described, illustrated and briefl y discussed. It differs markedly
from its congeners by fruit morphology, primarily by the characteristic fruit body oblong-triangular in outline,
well-developed high ring at the base, and stout lower horns inserted 3/5 to 3/4 the distance from the base of
the fruit.
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Tertiary leaf compressions of a Ginkgo plant with cuticle displaying all taxonomically important epidermal features are reported for the first time from Greece, and for the Mediterranean area as a whole. The fossils are from Upper Miocene... more
Tertiary leaf compressions of a Ginkgo plant with cuticle displaying all taxonomically important epidermal features are reported for the first time from Greece, and for the Mediterranean area as a whole. The fossils are from Upper Miocene sediments of Vegora, north-western Greece, and assigned to Ginkgo adiantoides (Unger) Heer. The most conspicuous cuticle characteristics are prominent papillae on the subsidiary cells that sometimes completely cover the stomatal apertures. Such papillae also occur in leaves of G. adiantoides from the Pliocene of eastern Central Europe, but are absent in leaves from the Pliocene of Germany also assigned to this species. We observed a high variability in the degree of papillosity of subsidiary cells of stomata in leaves of living Ginkgo biloba that exhibited prominent papillae in mature sun leaves and a total lack of papillae in shade leaves of a potted plant. This may suggest that differences in epidermal characters between the fossil leaves from Greece and Germany are due to ecotypical/intraspecific variability and not to genetically fixed specific differences. It also suggests that a number of Tertiary Ginkgo species from Eurasia that were distinguished from G. adiantoides by having papillate epidermis cells and subsidiary cells of the abaxial cuticle should be included within G. adiantoides. Two lineages of Ginkgo can be distinguished for the Tertiary of the Northern Hemisphere. From the Palaeogene high latitudes leaves were reported that exhibit upper epidermis cells with prominent papillae similar to those of older Mesozoic Ginkgo, whereas G. adiantoides lacks the papillae of the upper epidermis, a feature which is shared with the living G. biloba. In general, the size of stomata is larger in extant Ginkgo leaves than in those of the fossils.