A historic biogeography of the aquatic fauna of the Levant

Abstract

The historic biogeography of the aquatic fauna of the Levant is reconstructed upon evidence of the gastropod groups with a well-established taxonomy and a rich fossil record. Faunal origins include ancient northern elements coming from an Anatolian-Iberian faunal province that, in the early Miocene, bypassed mainland Italy. This scenario is more plausible than the current 'Lago Mare' biogeographical theory. Palaeotropical elements represent either an Oriental or an African source; in either case these elements could have first reached Anatolia, from where they eventually spread southwards into the Levant, perhaps broadly coinciding in time with the invasion of the northern elements. Within the Levant, the faunas of the Euphrates, Orontes, and Jordan formed at first one common pool, but by 2 Mya the fauna of the Jordan had diverged from that of the Orontes; later, the Orontes fauna diverged from that of the Euphrates. By 1.4 Mya the fauna of the Levant consisted of both ancient survivors and new species. Some 780 000 years ago there was an exceptionally diversified fauna with many new, northern elements. Many of these elements did not survive to recent times. The fossil record suggests that the fauna of the Jordan Valley was separate from that of the Orontes throughout the Pliocene-Pleistocene. Taxa common today to the Jordan Valley and coastal sites may reflect an ancient system of rivers that drained westwards to the Mediterranean Sea, across the Jordan Valley of today. © 2007 The Linnean Society of London.