Deep roots of the Messinian salinity crisis

Abstract

The Messinian salinity crisis--the desiccation of the Mediterranean Sea between 5.96 and 5.33 million years (Myr) ago--was one of the most dramatic events on Earth during the Cenozoic era. It resulted from the closure of marine gateways between the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea, the causes of which remain enigmatic. Here we use the age and composition of volcanic rocks to reconstruct the geodynamic evolution of the westernmost Mediterranean from the Middle Miocene epoch to the Pleistocene epoch (about 12.1-0.65 Myr ago). Our data show that a marked shift in the geochemistry of mantle-derived volcanic rocks, reflecting a change from subduction-related to intraplate-type volcanism, occurred between 6.3 and 4.8 Myr ago, largely synchronous with the Messinian salinity crisis. Using a thermomechanical model, we show that westward roll back of subducted Tethys oceanic lithosphere and associated asthenospheric upwelling provides a plausible mechanism for producing the shift in magma chemistry and the necessary uplift (approximately 1 km) along the African and Iberian continental margins to close the Miocene marine gateways, thereby causing the Messinian salinity crisis.

Systematics and biogeography of New World sea catfishes (Siluriformes: Ariidae) as inferred from mitochondrial, nuclear, and morphological evidence

“…Golani and Sonin, 1996), ariines are absent from the Mediterranean Sea, the remnant of the Tethys Sea. This is probably due to the Messinian salinity crisis of the Mediterranean (5-6 My a), which caused local extirpation of several marine taxa (Duggen et al, 2003).…”

Tropical fishes in a temperate sea: evolution of the wrasse Thalassoma pavo and the parrotfish Sparisoma cretense in the Mediterranean and the adjacent Macaronesian and Cape Verde Archipelagos

“…Approximately 5-6 million years ago (Mya), the Mediterranean Sea experienced a desiccation event, the Messinian Salitiny Crisis (MSC), that lasted for some hundred thousands years and resulted in a major extinction of its marine fauna (Hsü et al 1977;Krijgsman et al 1999;Duggen et al 2003). This event was followed by replenishment from the adjacent Atlantic Ocean, at the base of the Pliocene, suddenly restoring the open marine conditions.…”

Resolving taxonomic uncertainty in vulnerable elasmobranchs: are the Madeira skate (Raja maderensis) and the thornback ray (Raja clavata) distinct species?

“…Similarly, the rough ray (Raja radula), restricted to the Mediterranean (Morey et al 2009) is regarded as a sister species to R. clavata. This species is considered to have split from the main lineage (Valsecchi et al 2005), following re-colonisation of the western Mediterranean basin by R. clavata after the Late Miocene Messinian salinity crisis, around 5 Myr ago (Rogl 1998;Duggen et al 2003). The question of whether R. maderensis represents a distinct species, or merely another morphological variant of the polytypic thornback ray, therefore remains unanswered.…”