Geology and vertebrate paleontology of the middle Miocene hominoid locality Candır (Central Anatolia, Turkey)

The Miocene age mammalian fossil bearing Candir deposits, named after a small village 80 kms north east of Ankara has long been subject of considerable interest. Aside from an important hominoid mandible find of Griphopithecus alpani, relevant to hominoid evolution and dispersal in Eurasia, this location has yielded a rich mammalial paleofauna (rhinoceroses, anchitheriums, mastodonts, carnivores, suidae and tayasuidae, insectivores, bovidae and chiroptera). This study presents new dates and a unified picture of the stratigraphy, depositional environment, paleoecology, paleogeography of this Miocene steppe environment.