Beydere 3: a new early Miocene small mammal assemblage from western Anatolia, Turkey

The new micromammal site of Beydere 3 represents a typical Anatolian MN3 fauna in the high diversification and abundance of <i>Eumyarion</i>. Notably, two <i>Eumyarion</i> species are new; combined, they make up almost half of the assemblage. While <i>Eumyarion beyderensis</i> sp. nov. shows simple morphology in upper molars, <i>Eumyarion aegeaniensis</i> sp. nov. shows a more complex lophs pattern. In addition, Beydere 3 yielded nine species of rodents and an ochotonid: the hamsters <i>Cricetodon kasapligili, Mirrabella crenulata, Megacricetodon hellenicus, Democricetodon doukasi, Vallaris zappai</i> and <i>Eumyarion</i> sp., the dormice <i>Glirulus ekremi</i> and <i>Glis</i> sp., the beaver <i>Steneofiber eseri</i>, the squirrel <i>Palaeosciurus fissurae</i> and Ochotonidae indet. The fauna is significant in that it represents the first common occurrence of <i>Megacricetodon</i> in Anatolia. <i>Eumyarion</i> and <i>Megacricetodon</i> are both dominant groups which may indicate a signal of environmental change, but still closer to wet conditions. This, in combination with the new species of <i>Eumyarion</i>, suggests that Beydere 3 represents a time slice which was previously not recorded in Anatolia. Radiometric dating of ashes overlying the section indicates that the age of the locality is older than 18.21 (± 0.19) Ma.