This document summarizes a study of brachiopod fossils from Plio-Pleistocene sediments in Rhodes, Greece. A total of 1248 brachiopod shells were collected from two formations - the Lindos Bay Clay and Kolymbia Limestone. Thirteen brachiopod species were identified belonging to either shallow water or deeper water groups. The dominant species found differed between the formations, with Gryphus vitreus dominant in the Kolymbia Limestone and Megathiris detruncata, Terebratulina retusa, Gryphus vitreus and Megerlia truncata most common in the Lindos Bay Clay. Several species from both formations showed signs of

1. 1
Figure
1
-­‐
The
Plio-­Pleistocene
lithostratigraphy
of
the
different
formations
of
northeast
Rhodes.
The
samples
dealt
with
in
this
article
are
from
the
Lindos
Bay
Clay
and
Kolymbia
Limestone
facies.
Hanken
et
al.,
1996.
Brachiopods
from
the
Plio-­Pleistocene
sediments
of
northeast
Rhodes,
Greece.
Tara
Love
Department
of
Earth
Sciences
Introduction
This
project
investigated
brachiopod
fossils
from
the
Plio-­‐Pleistocene
sediments
from
the
largest
of
Greece’s
Dodecanese
islands,
Rhodes.
The
material
was
fully
sorted,
identified
and
photographed.
Geological
Background
Each
brachiopod
species
has
a
preferred
substrate
and
live
at
different
(bio-­‐)
depth
zones.
Within
these
sedimentary
rocks,
brachiopods
(along
with
other
types
of
fossils)
can
be
used,
together
with
other
methods,
to
interpret
palaeoenvironments.
The
brachiopods
collected
are
from
a
group
of
coastal
basins
in
the
northeast
of
Rhodes
and
this
is
where
Plio-­‐Pleistocene
sediments
accumulated;
these
sections
have
superior
preservation
where
they
were
protected
from
erosion
by
headlands
or
“islands
of
basement
limestone”
(Hanken
et
al.,
1996).
According
to
Hanken
et
al.
(1996),
these
sediments
formed
“complex
facies
mosaics
reflecting
several
cycles
of
regression
and
transgressions”;
the
Rhodes
Formation
was
formed
during
a
“major
phase
of
transgression”
in
the
Late
Pliocene
and
a
forced
regression
during
the
Lower
Pleistocene.
The
specimens
all
came
from
the
Lindos
Bay
Clay
or
Kolymbia
Limestone
facies
within
the
Rhodes
Formation
(as
seen
in
Fig.1).
According
to
Hanken
et
al.
(1996),
their
ages
range
from
the
Pliocene
to
the
Pleistocene;
the
Kolymbia
Limestone
being
Late
Pliocene
(~5.33
Ma)
in
age
and
the
Lindos
Bay
Clay
3
Ma
(Lovelie
et
al.,
1989)
at
the
base
to
an
age
of
0.7
Ma
at
the
top.
Methods
The
shells
size
ranged
from
1
mm
to
1.5
cm
in
width,
and
a
microscope
was
often
required
to
identify
most
of
the
fossils.
‘Manuals’
were
used
to
help
identify
species;
The
Brachiopods
of
the
Mediterranean
Sea
(Logan.
1979)
was
particularly
useful.
Identification
of
species
was
achieved
by
observations
made
of
internal
and
external
shell
characteristics
and
the
comparison
with
the
‘manuals’
at
my
disposal
and
with
that
of
Davidson’s
Monograph.

2. 2
Figure
2
-­‐
A
summary
of
results
from
within
the
Rhodes
Formation.
This
is
without
differentiating
between
the
different
facies
groups.
Preliminary
Results
The
brachiopods
identified
(all
from
the
Rhodes
Formation)
appear
to
be
from
two
depth
groups;
those
of
shallow
water
(down
to
about
200
m)
and
the
eurybathic
species
(a
depth
of
about
600
m)
(Logan
et
al.,
2004).
From
the
1248
shells
that
were
sorted,
13
brachiopod
species
were
identified.
12
of
the
species
would
have
been
attached
to
either
submarine
rocks
or
cave
walls
by
pedicle
attachment,
whereas
Neocrania
anomala
would
have
been
cemented
to
submarine
cave
walls
in
the
Mediterranean
region.
Within
the
Kolymbia
Limestone
the
eurybathic
species,
Gryphus
vitreus,
was
dominant.
This
species,
as
well
as
Megerlia
truncata
and
Terebratulina
retusa
(as
seen
in
Figure
3),
showed
signs
of
predation
in
the
form
of
boreholes
(Fig.3.
B)
from
samples
in
both
facies.
The
majority
of
the
samples
came
from
the
Lindos
Bay
Clay
facies;
a
calcareous,
silty
clay
(Hanken
et
al.,
1996).
Due
to
the
high
numbers
of
calcareous
microfossils,
the
clay
is
carbonate-­‐rich
(Hanken
et
al.,
1996).
The
dominant
species
in
this
facies
were
Megathiris
detruncata,
Terebratulina
retusa
(Fig.3
A),
Gryphus
vitreus
and
Megerlia
truncata
(Fig.3
B).
There
were
a
number
of
samples
that
were
too
fragmented,
or
had
no
useful
identifying
features,
so
these
were
catalogued
separately
and
not
included
in
the
Summary
of
Results.
I
will
be
going
through
these
difficult
samples
Formation
Species
Number
of
species
Rhodes
Megerlia
truncata
35
Rhodes
Megerlia
echinata
6
Rhodes
Megathiris
detruncata
478
Rhodes
Argyrotheca
cuneata
62
Rhodes
Agyrotheca
cistellula
16
Rhodes
Arygyrotheca
cordata
50
Rhodes
Platidia
spp
54
Rhodes
Platidia
anomala
2
Rhodes
Platidia
anomoides
4
Rhodes
Platidia
davidsoni
1
Rhodes
Gryphus
vitreus
232
Rhodes
Terebratulina
retusa
223
Rhodes
Platidia
anomala
85
Figure
3
-­‐
Examples
of
two
common
species
from
the
Rhodes
samples.
A
-­
Terebratulina
retusa.
B
-­
Megerlia
truncata.
The
specimen
on
the
left
shows
an
example
of
bioerosion
that
seems
common
to
this
species
from
the
Lindos
Bay
Clay.
B
A

3. 3
and
double-­‐check
the
previous
identifiable
ones
to
ensure
that
the
correct
species
names
have
been
given
to
each
shell.
Acknowledgements
Richard
G.
Bromley
kindly
left
the
majority
of
the
fossils
and
the
final
samples
were
from
Professor
David
A.T.
Harper’s
own
collection.
Many
thanks
to
Van
Mildert
College
for
support
and
for
allowing
use
of
the
Postgraduate
Rooms
and
to
the
Earth
Science
Department
(Durham)
for
access
to
rooms
and
equipment.
Special
thanks
must
go
to
Professor
David
A.T.
Harper
for
his
supervision,
continued
advice
and
support
and
to
Dr
Howard
Armstrong
for
his
academic
advice.
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&
Harper,
D.A.T.
2009.
Introduction
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R.G.,
and
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