On the use of extant Middle-East mangroves as modern analogs for Miocene Mediterranean-Paratethyan mangroves
Rull, Valentí (Institut Català de Paleontologia Miquel Crusafont)
Vicente, Alba 1985- (Institut Català de Paleontologia Miquel Crusafont)
Bouchal, Johannes M. (University of Vienna)
Casanovas i Vilar, Isaac (Institut Català de Paleontologia Miquel Crusafont)

Date:	2026
Abstract:	During the Miocene Climatic Optimum (MCO; 17-15 Ma), the northern boundary of mangroves-now situated at ~30° N-extended along the northern Mediterranean-Paratethyan (M-P) coasts (~45° N). These Avicennia-only mangroves have been considered impoverished mangroves controlled by the general latitudinal temperature gradient. They have also been compared with the extant Middle East (ME) mangroves around the Arabian Peninsula, characterised by the dominance of Avicennia and their low diversity. However, these extant communities are not a latitudinal feature but rather an anomaly shaped by extreme environmental conditions (aridity, hypersalinity, sediment supply) that only a few mangrove species can tolerate. In contrast, reconstructed palaeoenvironments for MCO M-P mangroves indicate mild rainy climates. Currently, Avicennia (represented by A. marina) is mainly tropical and its latitudinal boundaries are characterised by warm-temperate, humid climates with frost-free mild winters. We conclude that current ME mangroves cannot be considered modern analogues for the MCO M-P mangroves. Finding such modern analogues is challenging, and further studies are recommended to uncover their ecological and biogeographical patterns.
Grants:	Generalitat de Catalunya 2021/SGR-00620 Agencia Estatal de Investigación PID2020/117289GB-I00 Generalitat de Catalunya 2022/BP-00179
Rights:	Aquest document està subjecte a una llicència d'ús Creative Commons. Es permet la reproducció total o parcial, la distribució, la comunicació pública de l'obra i la creació d'obres derivades, fins i tot amb finalitats comercials, sempre i quan es reconegui l'autoria de l'obra original.
Language:	Anglès
Document:	Article ; recerca ; Versió publicada
Subject:	Miocene ; Mangroves ; Mediterranean ; Paratethys ; Middle East ; Modern analogues ; Avicennia
Published in:	Palaeoebiodiversity and Palaeoenvironments, February 2026, ISSN 1867-1608

DOI: 10.1007/s12549-025-00693-y

The record appears in these collections:
Research literature > UAB research groups literature > Research Centres and Groups (research output) > Experimental sciences > Institut Català de Paleontologia Miquel Crusafont (ICP)
Articles > Research articles
Articles > Published articles