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Quaternary Foraminifera
of the Caspian-Black Sea-
Mediterranean Corridors:
Volume1
ValentinaYanko
Ponto-Caspian Foraminifera

Quaternary Foraminifera of the Caspian-Black
Sea-Mediterranean Corridors: Volume 1

Valentina Yanko
Quaternary Foraminifera
of the Caspian-Black
Sea-Mediterranean Corridors:
Volume 1
Ponto-Caspian Foraminifera

Valentina Yanko
Department of Physical, Marine Geology and Paleontology
Odessa I. I. Mechnikov National University
Odessa, Ukraine
Avalon Institute of Applied Science
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
ISBN 978-3-031-12373-3 ISBN 978-3-031-12374-0 (eBook)
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-12374-0
# Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2022
This work is subject to copyright. All rights are reserved by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is
concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction
on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation,
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The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not
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The publisher, the authors, and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to
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made. The publisher remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Cover illustration: Map in the middle - The Ponto-Caspian- Mediterranean Corridor Around the map foraminiferal
species: 1. Canalifera parkerae Yanko, 1974, 2. Ammonia ammoniformis (d’Orbigny), 1826, 3. Ammobaculites
ponticus Mikhalevich, 1968, 4. Bolivina pseudoplicata Heron-Allen et Earland, 1930, 5. Elphidium ponticum
Dolgopolskaja and Pauli, 1931, 6. Haynesina anglica (Murray), 1965, 7. Bulimina aculeata d’Orbigny, 1826,
8. Eggerelloides scaber (Williamson, 1858)
This Springer imprint is published by the registered company Springer Nature Switzerland AG
The registered company address is: Gewerbestrasse 11, 6330 Cham, Switzerland

Foreword
The region known as the Ponto-Caspian includes the Black Sea, the Sea of Azov, the Caspian
Sea, and the Aral Sea and connecting straits. While this region has been well studied and
described in the Russian and Ukrainian literature, the details are much less widely known by
scientists without access to or knowledge of those works. Valentina Yanko has produced a
synthesis of a vast array of research, including her own and that of her collaborators over the
past 50 years. While this work focuses on the Pleistocene through Recent foraminiferal
assemblages, the implications extend far beyond to interpretation of basin closures throughout
geologic history. And such basin closures include some of the major hydrocarbon sources on
Earth, including those of the Ponto-Caspian region. Many lessons from geologic history appear
in this extensive and detailed description of the repeated cycles of marine flooding and
freshening across a series of related, sometimes interconnected, marginal seas.
The pioneering micropaleontologists in the region that began in the last decades of the
nineteenth century are mentioned in Chap. 1. More importantly, detailed investigations and
descriptions of foraminiferal species and assemblages exploded in the mid-twentieth century.
With the author’s career beginning in the mid-1970s, she was incredibly productive as a
member of the second generation of mid-late twentieth century researchers who were not
simply describing the assemblages but also applying their findings to understanding the
geologic history of this series of basins. When glaciation reduced sea levels worldwide, basins
freshened and oligohaline species prevailed. Subsequent transgressions allowed marine-
influenced taxa to migrate stepwise through the basins.
The series of basins are described in Chap. 2, including their geographic locations as well as
bathymetric and hydrographic features, while touching upon their geologic histories. The
environmental tragedy of the Aral Sea is lamented. Formerly the fourth largest lake in the
world, the Aral Sea has largely dried up, eliminating a once prosperous fishing industry
resulting in economic hardship and human suffering. In the second part of Chap. 2, the author
describes the sources of the more than 30 thousand sediment samples that were summarized and
evaluated in subsequent chapters. The numerous organizations that supported collections and
the many scientists whose works are utilized in the synthesis are recognized and documented.
Samples were collected from grab samples, gravity cores, piston cores, multi cores, box cores,
boreholes, and outcrops, including Quaternary stratotypes. Sites and habitats sampled included
limans, lagoons, river deltas, shelves, and continental slopes. Analyses included lithological as
well as foraminiferal analyses, and often analyses of other shelled biota, especially mollusks.
The discussion of foraminiferal taxonomy in Chap. 3 elaborates on the theme that is
absolutely central to the overall work. Taxonomy is a specialty in which Prof. Yanko has
superb expertise that she has honed throughout her career. As she emphasizes at the beginning
of the chapter, precise taxonomic identification is absolutely essential to high-resolution
stratigraphy and paleoenvironmental analyses. And understanding the basic characteristics
and biological
limitations inherent to higher taxa, specifically the major orders, provides vast insight into
where lower taxa originated, and why they were able to proliferate, or were unsuited to thrive,
across the euryhaline habitats of these marginal seas.
v

vi Foreword
Prof. Yanko emphasizes that recognition and consistent understanding of the characteristics
of each species at all stages of ontogeny are essential to precise identification. She reminds the
reader that a species is composed of many populations that can differ from each other to some
degree as a result of founder effects or adaptations to local conditions. If individuals from these
populations differ consistently in diagnostic morphological characteristics and are geographi-
cally isolated, they are considered as subspecies. Given the frequent isolation of the individual
basins through the Pleistocene and Holocene, local adaptations were inevitable, allowing
differences to emerge that are recognized as subspecies. This extensive analysis on the
relatively recent geologic history of this series of basins provides insight into both the widely
recognized process of allopatric speciation and somewhat lesser-known process of reticulate
evolution, whereby taxa separated for millennia can diverge somewhat, but when populations
are reconnected, new assortments and adaptations can emerge. Thus, reconnection of the basins
has allowed subsequent mixing of those subspecies and occurrences in environmental
conditions to which they have adapted. For example, salinity can be incredibly variable locally
within limans, deltas, and lagoons, on seasonal and interannual time scales, or even daily or
weekly cycles depending upon weather. Prof. Yanko recognizes 173 lower taxa (i.e., species,
subspecies, some of them in open nomenclature) of Quaternary benthic foraminifera across the
Ponto-Caspian basins, providing an excellent review of the principles of taxonomic classifica-
tion of the orders that occur there.
With the essentials of foraminiferal taxonomy established, in Chap. 4 the modern basins are
described in regional detail. For example, the Black Sea study sites are subdivided into
14 regions, with environmental conditions described and the lower taxa identified for each.
This chapter provides detailed lessons in regional geography, as well as both regional and
sometimes obscure terminology. The reader will want to keep bookmarks on location maps and
detailed facies, bathymetric and salinity definitions. The reader should also keep in mind that
this chapter describes something like 70 years of research on thousands of samples in places
that many readers may be unfamiliar. Don’t be discouraged, the details are here for historical
reference and to define and support syntheses to come both later in the chapter and in the
volume.
The fossil assemblages of the Pleistocene and Holocene are presented and interpreted in
substantial detail in Chap. 5. The chapter begins by discussing the diversity of stratigraphic
schemes used by researchers who have carried out investigations in the region. Prof. Yanko
provides the plethora of terminology essential to understand the regional geology and
interpretations of the glacial-interglacial (i.e., regressive/ transgressive) cycles of the Ponto-
Caspian Corridor. Biostratigraphic diagnoses of fossil foraminiferal assemblages were based on
the appearance of new species/subspecies that characterized an assemblage. Eco-stratigraphy
and paleo-events are recognized lithologically and from changes in dominance of foraminiferal,
Molluscan, and other fossil taxa, in particular, with their relationships to salinity. This
chapter represents a synthesis of multidisciplinary studies of an enormous amount of geological
material and, as such, should be a treasure for anyone interested in the region or in the level of
detail available from a synthesis of data on a series of interconnected basins during times of
sea-level fluctuations. Another potential readership should be anthropologists and
archaeologists studying this important corridor of migrations of hominid populations.
The paleogeographic origins of the Pleistocene foraminiferal taxa of the Ponto-Caspian
basins, and an exploration of why certain taxa were able to thrive in the individual basins in
response to opening and closing of corridors, are explored in Chap. 6. Among the species and
subspecies, about 40% are calcareous members of the order Rotaliida, nearly a quarter are
Miliolida, and about 20% are Lagenida. The other roughly 15% include calcareous Buliminida
and members of three agglutinated orders. The foraminiferal species and subspecies found in
the Caspian are overwhelmingly endemics (88%), with a few cosmopolitan species that are
known to inhabit brackish environments. More than half the species and subspecies found in
Caspian are agglutinated. Thus, the Caspian fauna represent descendants of Tethyan taxa that

have diverged in isolation. That abundance of endemic species could provide outstanding
material for molecular-genetic and morphological comparisons of the endemic species with
their likely closest Tethyan relatives with outstanding potential for addressing both rates and
degrees of divergence. This is just one small example of the wealth of future studies for which
the amazing details documented in this book could provide impetus. In contrast, the species and
subspecies found in the Black Sea region (Pont) are predominantly Mediterranean immigrants
(83%), with endemics and Caspian immigrants accounting for most of the remainder at less
than 10% each.
Foreword vii
Prof. Yanko documents eight major waves of foraminiferal migration into the Black Sea
from the Mediterranean, corresponding to major glacio-eustatic sea-level transgression events.
The fourth wave brought 52 lower taxa, many of which are not still found, likely indicating
higher salinities than presently occur in the Black Sea. A distinctive feature of the faunas is the
predominance of the Ammoniidae-Elphidiidae shelf genera. All Pontic foraminifera are either
shallow-dwelling or descendants of shallow-dwelling taxa, reﬂecting the shallow nature of the
straights that connected the Black Sea with the Mediterranean.
The inﬂuence of anthropogenic pollution—freshwater input that results in low and variable
salinities and natural methane emissions— is summarized in Chap. 7, providing examples of
applications of meiobenthos, especially foraminifera, to studies of both naturally occurring
stresses and those associated with human activities. This chapter uses results from three sets of
cruises that sampled more than 240 stations on the northwestern shelf of the Black Sea. A major
advantage of studying foraminifera is that their tests are commonly preserved in sediment. And,
in studies of environmental stresses, morphological anomalies are commonly seen in the tests of
the foraminifera that lived and grew under stressful conditions. Pyritization of tests is another
stress indicator. Ammonia tepida, A. compacta, A. ammoniformis, Canalifera parkerae, and
Porosononion martkobi ponticus are taxa that can survive in polluted or otherwise stressed
environments on the Black Sea shelf, and their tests most frequently exhibit morphological
anomalies or pyritization.
Chapter 8 represents a volume on its own! Taxonomic descriptions are provided for a vast
majority of the genera, species, and subspecies encountered in the region. Morphological
descriptions include scanning electron micrographs, statements regarding variability, and
comparisons with similar taxa. In most cases, ecological settings and known distributions in
the region are also provided. Thus, this chapter will provide a treasure trove of information for
others studying modern and Quaternary-fossil foraminifera in this region.
This comprehensive presentation and synthesis of the foraminiferal faunas of the Ponto-
Caspian region is encyclopedic. The book will be an essential resource for anyone working on
the foraminifera, meiobenthos, ecology, paleoecology, biostratigraphy, and Quaternary history
of this region. Ultimately, even more valuable may be the potential insights and future studies
that readers of this work, or of individual chapters, may envision within the region or far from it,
either geographically or in geologic time.
It is my great pleasure to introduce this book. I am in awe of the detailed information from
thousands of samples from her own work and that of many other researchers. I am even more
impressed by the syntheses and ecostratigraphic interpretations, and the potential for this work
to inspire a diverse array of future investigations, ranging from molecular and morphological
evolutionary studies of the development of endemic species, to detailed investigation of closing
basins in the Permo-Carboniferous, to many other possibilities that are far beyond my
imagination.
College of Marine Science
University of South Florida
St Petersburg, FL, USA
e-mail: pmuller@usf.edu
Pamela Hallock

Preface
In these prefatory paragraphs, the author presents essential information that includes the
background for the creation of this book, the process by which it came to be, and appreciative
words for those who made this publication possible.
The study area known as the Ponto-Caspian includes the Black Sea, the Sea of Azov, the
Caspian Sea, the Aral Sea (currently dried up), and connecting straits. The Black Sea, with a
maximum depth of 2212 m, is the easternmost of the seas of the Atlantic Ocean basin and the
most isolated sea of the modern Global Ocean. The Sea of Azov, with depth up to 14 m, is
connected to the Black Sea via the Kerch Strait, which is 45 km long, 4.5 km wide, and up to
6 m deep. The shallowness of the strait results in limited water exchange between the two
basins. The Bosporus Strait meanders along its 35 km in length and 0.7–3.5 km in width. It is
35.8 m deep, on average, with a few elongate potholes (about 110 m in depth each) on the
bottom. Carrying 5–10 times more water flow than the Kerch Strait, waterflow within the strait
is stratified and bidirectional, resembling salt-wedge estuarine circulation. Limited transport of
low density, lower-salinity (average 18 psu) water from the Black Sea flows southward; while
the dominant transport is subsurface, flowing northward, carrying more saline (average 38 psu),
denser seawater from the Sea of Marmara into the Black Sea.
The Black Sea exhibits the standard oceanic provinces of continental shelf, slope, and
abyssal plain. The extensive continental shelf accounts for 25% of the sea area; the isobath
200 m is commonly taken as the shelf boundary. The sea was formed at the end of the Mesozoic
as a back-arc basin. The details and taphonomic conditions of the Black Sea are unusual. It is
the world’s largest anoxic (oxygen-free) marine basin. Its strongly stratified water column
possesses
(1) a thin, well-oxygenated surface layer (20–30 m) with low salinity and warm
temperatures; (2) a low-oxygen (suboxic) transition layer (30–150 m); and (3) a thick bottom
layer of colder, denser, and more saline water lacking oxygen but high in sulfides.
The Caspian Sea is completely isolated from the World Ocean and thus is technically an
endorheic lake. It is divided into three distinct physical regions: the Northern, Middle, and
Southern Caspian. The Northern Caspian only includes the Caspian shelf and is very shallow,
with an average depth of only 5–6 m; it accounts for less than 1% of the total water volume. The
Middle and Southern Caspian account for 33% and 66% of the total water volume, respectively.
The Aral Sea was also an endorheic lake; lying between Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, it
began shrinking in the 1960s and had largely dried up by the 2010s. UNESCO added the
historical documents concerning the collapse of the Aral Sea to its Memory of the World
Register as a unique resource to study this “environmental tragedy.”
The pioneering micropaleontologists in the region began their work in the last decades of the
nineteenth century. Detailed investigations and descriptions of foraminiferal species and
assemblages exploded in the mid-twentieth century. Since the mid-1970s, the author of this
book has extensively studied taxonomy, ecology, paleoecology, paleogeography, and biostra-
tigraphy of the Ponto-Caspian region, specializing in benthic foraminifera.
This book contains an introduction, eight chapters, a conclusions section, and an extensive
reference list for each chapter, many of which were published in regional languages, and as
such are not well known in the west. The Ponto-Caspian Quaternary benthic foraminifera are
ix

represented by 7 orders, 35 families, 66 genera, 173 species (some in open nomenclature), and
subspecies (i.e., lower taxa). Of the 173, 123 lower taxa inhabit the Black and Caspian Seas
today. This in-depth study of benthic foraminifera provides invaluable data on taxonomy of
benthic foraminifera, sea level, and salinity changes as well as pollution monitoring and
contouring methane reservoirs under the sea bottom. The 107 ﬁgures present regional maps,
data analyses, and other essential information. The 36 plates that present SEM images of
foraminifera include images to illustrate descriptions of all species and subspecies of forami-
nifera found by the author in the Ponto-Caspian region. The coverage encompasses both
terrestrial and underwater areas, and a broad approach ranging from geological subjects to
environmental applications.
x Preface
Odessa, Ukraine Valentina Yanko

Introduction
This monograph is written on the basis of the long-lasting study of the late Quaternary benthic
foraminifera of the Ponto-Caspian region (e.g., Yanko 1974, 1989, 1990; Yanko-Hombach
2007; Yanko and Kondariuk 2020). The region is defined here as the large geographical area
covering (from west to east) the Black Sea, the Sea of Azov, the ancient Manych Outlet, the
Caspian Sea, the Aral Sea, their coasts, and connecting straits. This Pionto-Caspian is of a
strategic importance not only for the Caspian (Republic of Azerbaijan, Russia, Iran,
Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan) and Black Sea (Bulgaria, Romania, Ukraine, Russia, Georgia,
Turkey) countries but also for at least 17 other countries, which share a drainage basin of the
Ponto-Caspian Region that is one-third the size of the European continent.
The Ponto-Caspian region acts as a paleoenvironmental amplifier and as a sensitive recorder
for climatic events where variations in sea level, hydrological regime, and coastline migration
are especially pronounced due to its geographical location and semi-isolation from the open
ocean (e.g., Fedorov 1978; Yanko 1990). It also provides a linkage between the marine and
continental realms. This region is among the basins, which have been cited in literature as
having conditions suitable for natural gas hydrate reserves that are increasingly being consid-
ered as a potential energy resource (Kvenvolden 1993). Lately, this region has spurred a
tremendous international interest as a possible place where the biblical story of the Great
Flood (Ryan et al. 1997, 2003; Chepalyga 2007) originated, encouraging a new round of
controversial research on paleoenvironmental reconstructions, e.g., the hydrological regime in
connecting straits, transition from a lacustrine to a marine environment, an influence of the
Black Sea outflow on deposition of the Eastern Mediterranean sapropels as well as past/present/
future adaptation of humans to environmental change (Yanko-Hombach 2007; Yanko-
Hombach 2007; Yanko-Hombach et al. 2014). During the Late Quaternary, the Black Sea
was repeatedly isolated from the Mediterranean Sea by sea-level fluctuations. Geographical
location and periodic connection of the Black Sea either with the Mediterranean or Caspian seas
predetermined specific hydrogeological regimes in the basin, making it an excellent paleoenvir-
onmental amplifier and a sensitive recorder of climatic events
All this makes the Ponto-Caspian region and its foraminiferal assemblages unique, both
from the modern and fossil perspectives, and also in the context of its
tectonic history and sea-level changes in isolated and semi isolated from the World Ocean
basins. Because these basins are quite different from more oceanic regions, the author is dealing
with more subtle distinctions with respect to salinities and estuarine conditions, and therefore at
the end of the volume, there is a glossary of terms that includes the Black Sea, the Sea of Azov,
the Caspian Sea, Aral Sea (currently dried up), and connecting straits.
The potential of benthic foraminifera for paleoenvironmental reconstructions is well known.
These hard-shelled microorganisms have tremendous taxonomic diversity enabling a wide
range of biological reactions to varied environmental factors, including many species-specific
responses to ecological conditions (Fursenko 1978), which adds to their potential as index
species for monitoring sea-level and salinity changes. They have very short reproductive
cycles—6 months to 1 year (Boltovskoy 1964)—and rapid growth (Walton 1964) that makes
even their community structure particularly responsive to environmental change. Their tests are
xi

References
xii References
readily preserved in the sediments and can record evidence of environmental variability through
time. They are small and abundant compared to other larger, hard-shelled taxa (such as
mollusks), making them particularly easy to recover in statistically significant numbers
(Yanko et al. 1999).
The main goal of the work is taxonomy and ecology of the Late Quaternary benthic
foraminifera with hard tests and their application for biostratigraphy, environmental
reconstructions, and paleogeography of the Ponto-Caspian region. To reach the goal the
following objectives have been set: (1) detailed description of recent and Late Quaternary
benthic foraminifera from bottom sediments and coastal outcrops of the Ponto-Caspian region
in order to establish their taxonomic classification; (2) determination of the ecological
preferences for all lower taxa in order to supplement the classification with ecological/paleo-
ecological information; (3) determination of biofacial types among the Late Quaternary
foraminiferal assemblages as well as their migration in space and time; (4) based on objectives
1–3 high-resolution paleoenvironmental reconstructions of the Ponto-Caspian region
supplemented whenever possible by isotopic and OSL records.
Boltovskoy E (1964) Seasonal occurrences of some living foraminifera in Puerto Deseado’ (Patagonia,
Argentina). ICES J Mar Sci 29(2):136–145
Chepalyga AL (2007) The late glacial great flood in the Ponto-Caspian basin. In: Yanko-Hombach V, Gilbert
AS, Panin N, Dolukhanov PM (eds) The Black Sea flood question: changes in coastline, climate and human
settlement. Dordrecht, Springer, pp 119–148
Fedorov PV (1978) Pleistotsen Ponto-Kaspiya (The Pleistocene of the Ponto- Caspian). Moscow, Nauka (in
Russian)
Fursenko AV (1978) Vvedenie v izuchenie foraminifer (Introduction to the study of Foraminifera). Trudy
Instituta Geologii i Geofiziki 391. Novosibirsk, Nauka, 242 pp (in Russian)
Kvenvolden KA (1993) Gas hydrates-geological perspective and global change. Rev Geophys 31(2):173–187
Ryan WBF, Pitman WC III, Major CO, Shimkus K, Maskalenko V, Jones GA, Dimitrov P, Görür N, Sak{nç M,
Yüce H (1997) An abrupt drowning of the Black Sea shelf. Mar Geol 138:119–126
Ryan WBF, Major CO, Lericolais G, Goldstein SL (2003) Catastrophic flooding of the Black Sea. Ann Rev
Earth Planet Sci 31:525–554
Walton WR (1964) Recent foraminiferal ecology and paleoecology. In: Imbrie J, Newell ND (eds) Approaches
to paleoecology, pp. 151–237
Yanko V (1974) Novye vidy bentosnykh foraminifer iz golode-novykh otlozheniy Severo-8apadnogo shelfa
Chernogo morya (New species of benthic foraminifera from Holocene sediments of the north-western shelf
of the Black Sea). Paleontologicheskiy Sbornik 11:24–30 (in Russian)
Yanko V (1989) Quaternary Foraminifera of the Ponto-Caspian Region (the Black Sea, the Sea of Azov, the
Caspian Sea and the Aral Sea): Taxonomy, biostratigraphy, history, ecology. Doctoral thesis. Moscow State
University, two volumes, 1000 pp (in Russian)
Yanko V (1990) Stratigraphy and paleogeography of marine Pleistocene and Holocene deposits of the southern
seas of the USSR. Memorie della Società Geologica Italiana 44:167–187
Yanko V, Kondariuk T (2020) Origin and taxonomy of the Neopleistocene-Holocene Ponto-Caspian benthic
foraminifera. Geologichnyy zhurnal 1:17–33
Yanko V, Arnold A, Parker W (1999) The effect of marine pollution on benthic foraminifera. In: Sen Gupta BK
(ed) Modern Foraminifera. Dordrecht, Kluwer Academic, The Netherlands, pp 217–238
Yanko-Hombach VV (2007) Controversy over Noah’s flood in the Black Sea: geological and foraminiferal
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flood question: changes in coastline, climate and human settlement. Dordrecht, Springer, pp 149–204
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Black Sea: new evidence from the northwestern Black Sea shelf. Quat Int 345:100–118

Acknowledgments
The author has studied the Quaternary Ponto-Caspian foraminifera for nearly 50 years, and the
results of her research are presented in a significant number of monographs and articles, many
of which are published in Russian or Ukrainian. The information presented in this book
represents the results of research conducted not only by the author but also by many geologists
from an array of scientific and applied geological organizations who collected sediment from
throughout the region. Samples for foraminiferal analysis were obtained from multiple
organizations (e.g., Siberian Branch of the USSR Academy of Sciences; Southern Branch of
the Institute of Oceanology, USSR Academy of Sciences; Institute of Oceanology of the
Bulgarian Academy of Sciences; Yuzhmorgeologiya, GeoEcoMar; Odessa I.I. Mechnikov
National University; Prichernomor DGRP, and some others with which the author cooperated
on the contractual and/or scientific basis).
The contributions of individual experts are acknowledged in the text. Here, the author
expresses deep gratitude to A.K. Bogdanowicz, V.A. Krasheninnikov, N.N. Subbotina, and
A.V. Fursenko, who taught the author the basics of micropaleontology at the beginning of her
carrier. Prof. I.Ya. Yatsko instilled a love for foraminifera, which the author carried through her
whole life and to whom she is especially grateful.
All transliterations of cited sources published in languages using the Cyrillic alphabet
comply with the requirements of international standards for bibliographic references according
to the US Library of Congress (https://www.loc.gov/catdir/cpso/romanization/russian.pdf).
Exceptions are the names of authors, which we have left in their own preferred transliterations,
as well as geographical names as presented most commonly in the majority of English papers.
The author also is deeply grateful to the following individuals: Prof. Pamela Hallock from
University of South Florida, USA, for editing the English text, providing extremely valuable
comments, and composing the Foreword for this book; Prof. Ronald Martin, Delaware Univer-
sity, USA, and Prof. Lyudmila Vorobyeva, the Institute of Marine Biology of the National
Academy of Science of Ukraine, for review of the book and their very useful comments;
Dr. Irena Motnenko (the author’s daughter) for drawing of the inner structure of foraminiferal
tests (Chap. 3) and some other pictures; Dr. Revinder Sidhu, Microscopy and Materials
Characterization Facility Manager (Manitoba Institute for Materials, University of Manitoba,
Canada) for her help in imaging of microfauna by SEM (Paleontological plates 1–36); and the
managing team at Springer, especially Mr. Solomon George, Project Co-ordinator (Books) for
Springer Nature, for his guidance and patience in awaiting delivery of the finished manuscript.
This book is a contribution to IGCP 521 “Black Sea-Mediterranean Corridor during the last
30 ky: sea-level change and human adaptation”; INQUA 0501 “Caspian-Black
Sea-Mediterranean Corridor during the last 30 ka: sea-level change and human adaptive
strategies”; IGCP 610 “From the Caspian to Mediterranean: environmental change and
human response during the quaternary”; the Russian–Ukrainian project No. Φ28/428-2009
“The Northwestern Black Sea region and global climate change: environmental evolution
during the last 20 ka and forecast for the 21st century” sponsored by the State Fund for
Fundamental Research, Ukraine; “Study the interaction between nature and human society in
the north-western Black Sea coast during the late Pleistocene and Holocene,” “To study the
xiii

xiv Acknowledgments
processes of methane formation and spatial distribution of methane in the Black Sea and to
theoretically justify its inﬂuence on eco- and geosystems of the basin,” “Development of
forecast criteria for searching for hydrocarbons in the Black Sea on the basis of the theory of
ﬂuidogenesis”; all four sponsored by the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine; COST
Action TD0902 SPLASHCOS project “Submerged prehistoric archaeology and landscapes of
the continental shelf ”; EU-FP6 project HERMES “Hotspot ecosystems research on the margins
of European seas”; EU BLACK SEA ERA.NET-WAPCOAST project “Water pollution
prevention options for coastal zones and tourist areas: Application to Danube Delta front
area”; INCO-COPERNICUS “Pollution by oil and herbicide of the Black Sea: Novel
technologies of detection and biological impact”; EC (AVICENNE Program, AVI CT92-
0007).

Abstract
This volume contains a heretofore unavailable compilation of detailed information on the
Ponto- Caspian foraminifera. The region as a whole consists of the remnants of the Tethys
and Parathethys seaways, totaling in area a drainage basin one-third the size of the entire
European continent, and is of strategic importance to the surrounding countries. Foraminifera
are highly reliable paleoenvironmental indicators, ubiquitous in marine environments, and
taxonomically diverse, which give them the potential for a wide range of biological responses
to varied environmental factors. Their tests are readily preserved and can record evidence of
environmental change through time, thus providing historical baseline data even in the absence
of background studies. The book includes taxonomic descriptions for 152 species and subspe-
cies (i.e., lower taxa) from the Black Sea, Sea of Azov, Caspian Sea, and Aral Sea. For the
majority of them, SEM images and descriptions, as well as data on ecology, paleoecology,
distribution, location, and material, are provided. The book will be useful to specialists in the
Quaternary history of the Caspian-Black Sea-Mediterranean Corridors as well as those in
environmental monitoring and risk assessment. It can be used by students studying marine
geology and paleontology to serve as a framework for future investigations of the paleoclimatic
history of the Ponto-Caspian region.
xv

Contents
1 State-of-the-Art . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
1.1 Foraminifera of the Black Sea and Sea of Azov . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
1.2 Caspian and Aral Seas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
1.3 Our Study . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
2 Study Area, Material, and Methods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
2.1 Study Area . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
2.2 Material and Methods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
2.3 Statistical Treatment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
2.4 Stratigraphic Techniques . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
3 Taxonomic Classification of Foraminifera . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
3.1 General Remarks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
3.2 Principles of Taxonomic Classification . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
3.3 Agglutinated Taxa . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
3.4 Taxonomic Classification of the Order Miliolida . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
3.5 Taxonomic Classification of Order Lagenida . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
3.6 Taxonomic Classification of Order Rotaliida . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
3.6.1 Test Morphology and Accepted Terminology of Rotaliids . . . . . . . 33
3.6.2 Systematics and Genetic Interrelations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
3.7 Taxonomic Classification of Order Buliminida . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
3.8 Systematics and Comparison with Other Basins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
4 Modern Foraminifera . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
4.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
4.2 Modern Foraminifera of the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov . . . . . . . . . . . 42
4.2.1 Northwestern Deltas, Limans, and Lagoons. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
4.2.2 Northwestern (Including Western Crimean) Shelf . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
4.2.3 Eastern Crimean Shelf, Kerch Strait, and Sea of Azov . . . . . . . . . . 54
4.2.4 Caucasian Shelf . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
4.2.5 Bulgarian, Southwestern, and Bosphorus Outlet Shelf . . . . . . . . . . 59
4.3 Modern Foraminifera of the Caspian Sea . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
4.3.1 North Caspian Sea . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
4.3.2 Middle Caspian Sea . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
4.3.3 South Caspian Sea . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
4.3.4 Bays and Straits of the Caspian Sea . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
4.4 Modern Foraminifera of the Aral Sea . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
4.5 Conclusions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
4.6 Lateral Rows of Modern Foraminiferal Assemblages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
4.7 Quantitative Distribution and Ecology of Benthic Foraminifera . . . . . . . . . 80
xvii

xviii Contents
4.8 Bionomic Groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
4.8.1 Black Sea and Sea of Azov . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
4.8.2 Caspian Sea . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
4.8.3 Aral Sea . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
4.9 Ecological Classiﬁcation of Foraminifera . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
4.10 Use of Modern Foraminifers for Bio- and Ecostratigraphy
and Facies Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
5 Quaternary Bio- and Ecostratigraphy, with Elements of Paleogeography
of the Ponto-Caspian Corridors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
5.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112
5.2 Caspian Region . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
5.2.1 Eopleistocene (Apsheronian Regional Stage) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
5.2.2 Lower Neopleistocene (Bakinian Stage) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117
5.2.3 Middle Neopleistocene (Urundzhikian and Gyurgyanian Stages) . . . 121
5.2.4 Upper Neopleistocene (Khazarian and Khvalynian Stages) . . . . . . . 124
5.2.5 Holocene (Novocaspian Stage) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128
5.2.6 Conclusions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130
5.3 Black Sea Region . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130
5.3.1 Eopleistocene . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131
5.3.2 Lower Neopleistocene . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131
5.3.3 Middle Neopleistocene . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139
5.3.4 Upper Neopleistocene . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144
5.3.5 Holocene (ca. 10 ky BP–Present) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167
5.4 Correlation of Stratigraphic Units . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175
5.5 Pleistocene Intrusions from the Mediterranean and Caspian Seas
into the Black Sea: Reconstructions Based on Foraminifera . . . . . . . . . . . . 178
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180
6 Origin and Taxonomy of the Pleistocene Ponto-Caspian Benthic
Foraminifera . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189
6.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189
6.2 Caspian Region . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 190
6.3 Black Sea Region (Pont) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 190
6.4 Conclusions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 206
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 206
7 Benthic Foraminifera as Indicators of Environmental Change
in the Black Sea in Space and Time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209
7.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209
7.2 Foraminifera as Indicators of Environmental Stress Caused by Herbicides
and Oil Pollution (INCO-COPERNICUS Case Study) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 212
7.3 Foraminifera as Indicators of Environmental Stress Caused by River
Discharge (WAPCOAST Case Study) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 213
7.4 Foraminifera as Indicators of Environmental Stress by Methane
Emissions (HERMES Case Study) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 214
7.5 Foraminifera as Indicators of Environmental Stress on the
Neopleistocene-Holocene Boundary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 215
7.6 Morphological Deformities of Foraminiferal Tests as Indicators of
Environmental Stress . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 217
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 220
8 Systematic Part . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 223
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 325

Contents xix
Appendices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 331
Appendix 1: Alphabetical Index to Genera . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 331
Appendix 2: Addresses of Studied Outcrops on the Black Sea Coast . . . . . . . . . . 332
Paleontological Plates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 337
Alphabetical Index to Genera . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 409
Alphabetical Index to Species . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 415

About the Author
Photo taken in September, 2019 during field work on the Black Sea coast
Valentina Yanko Doctor of Geological and Mineralogical Sciences; Professor, Head of the
Department of Physical, Marine Geology and Paleontology; Director of the Scientific and
Educational Center for Geoarchaeology, Marine and Ecological Geology of the Odessa
I.I. Mechnikov National University; and President of the Avalon Institute of Applied Sciences,
Canada. She graduated from Odessa I.I. Mechnikov National University (former Odessa
I.I. Mechnikov State University). Her main scientific interests include: geology, specialty
marine geology; paleoecology and ecology; paleontology, specialty paleontology of
invertebrates; ecological micropaleontology; foraminifera of intercontinental basins (Mediter-
ranean Sea, Sea of Marmara, Black Sea, Sea of Azov, Caspian Sea, Aral Sea); foraminifera as
indicators of natural and anthropogenic stress; ecotoxicology of foraminifera and their chemical
defense mechanisms; marine Quaternary geology and paleoceanography; paleoclimatology;
global sea-level changes; Quaternary history, paleoceanography, glacial and intraglacial
epochs.
xxi

1
In addition to, and often in collaboration with, a variety
State-of-the-Art
Abstract
The history of research on Ponto-Caspian Quaternary
foraminifera at the end of the nineteenth century to the
present is introduced. The earliest report from the Crimean
region was by Pereialsvtseva (Novorossiysk.ob-va
yestestvoisp 10(2):79–114 (in Russian), 1886), who
noted nine species. At the very beginning of the twentieth
century, Zernov (Yezhegodnik zool. muzeya AN, Sankt
Petresburg 13(4):28–35 (in Russian), 1906) wrote that
foraminifera are scarce in the Black Sea. In contrast,
Dolgoplskaya and Pauli (Trudy Karadagskoy nauchnoy
stantsii imeni T.I. Vyazemskogo 4:23–48 (in Russian),
1931) found foraminifera to be abundant and contribute
a significant proportion of recent benthic assemblages.
Research carried out in the Black Sea, the Kerch Strait,
and the Sea of Azov, as well as near the Bosphorus outlet,
was conducted by researchers from the USSR, Bulgaria,
Romania, and Georgia. The first data on Caspian
foraminifera were presented by Ehrenberg in 1873, who
reported 23 species. The earliest observations from the
Aral Sea found only two species. Intensive study of taxon-
omy, quantitative distribution, and ecology of live (Rose
Bengal stained) foraminifera in the Caspian and Aral Seas
and their comparison with recent foraminifera from other
basins was carried out by Mayer (Vertikal’noye
raspredeleniye foraminifer v Kaspiyskom more. In: Maev
YeG (ed) Kompleksnye issledovaniya Kaspiyskogo
morya 6, pp 101–107 (in Russian), 1974a, Foraminifery
Kaspiyskogo i Aral’skogo morey (Foraminifera of the
Caspian and Aral seas). Avtoref. Dis. kand. biol. Nauk.
Moscow State University, 24 pp (in Russian), 1979b).
of other researchers working in the region, the author has
carried out more than 50 years of research on the taxon-
omy, ecology/paleoecology, paleogeography, and biostra-
tigraphy of Ponto-Caspian benthic foraminifera. This
chapter introduces extensive exploration of the northwest-
ern Black Sea, along the Ukrainian, Bulgarian, and
Caucasian shelves, as well as the northern exit of the
Bosphorus Strait, the Sea of Azov, the Caspian Sea, and
the Mediterranean Sea. Fossil assemblages from numer-
ous Pleistocene stratotypes were studied in the coastal
zone of the Ponto-Caspian region. The application of
benthic foraminifera to reconstruction of sea-level change
and coastline migration in regard to the Great Flood
Hypotheses in the Black Sea was also investigated. Most
recently, the focus has been on the use of benthic forami-
nifera and other meiobenthic organisms (nematodes,
ostracods) to contour reservoirs of methane stored under
the seabed.
Altogether, 173 benthic and 7 planktonic species and
subspecies (i.e., lower taxa) have been recorded, with
18 previously reported species not found. Thirty lower
taxa belong to agglutinated foraminifera; the rest are cal-
careous. A vast majority of them are described, illustrated,
and supplemented by the data on biostratigraphy and
paleoecology in subsequent chapters.
V. Yanko, Quaternary Foraminifera of the Caspian-Black Sea-Mediterranean Corridors: Volume 1,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-12374-0_1
1
Keywords
Ponto-Caspian · Quaternary · Benthic foraminifera · His-
tory of study
1.1 Foraminifera of the Black Sea and Sea
of Azov
Initially, nine species (no descriptions, no pictures) of benthic
foraminifera were listed by Pereialsvtseva (1886) in the
Sevastopol Bay and Crimea and were cited by Ostroumov
(1893) and Sovinskiy (1904). Other scientists (Zernov 1901,
1906, 1913; Andrusov 1892; Arkhangel’skiy and Strakhov
1938) just mentioned the presence of foraminifera in the
Black Sea without any identification. Chishkoff (1912)
found Rotalia veneta M.Sch., Polystomella strigilata d’Orb,
and Quinqueloculina fusca Brady.

On the Bulgarian shelf, Lepsi ( ) identified
Ammodiscus incertus d’Orb and Peneriplis sp. This list was
later expanded by Velkanov ( ) who identified 26 benthic
species (no description, no pictures) and Velkanova ( )
who described 43 recent species (39 of them were pictured)
from a water depth above 65 m. Dolgopolskaya and Pauli
( ) pictured and described ten species of live foraminifera
from the Karadag Biological Station, Crimean Peninsula,
providing also their ecological requirements. While Zernov
( ) considered that foraminifera are scarce in the Black
Sea, Dolgopolskaya and Pauli ( ) emphasized that fora-
minifera are abundant and make a significant proportion of
benthic assemblages.
1931
1906
1931
1981
1957
1931
2 1 State-of-the-Art
On the Romanian shelf, foraminifera were firstly men-
tioned by Margineanu (1958) who calculated the percentage
of Ammonia and Nonion in foraminiferal assemblages.
Baĉescu and Margineanu (1959) documented the presence
of a few Mediterranean species and even planktonic
Globigerina bulloides (d’Orb) in this area. Macarovici et al.
(1958) and Macarovici and Cehan-Jonesi (1961, 1962, 1966)
described the distribution of Rose Bengal-stained foraminif-
era in the surface sediments of the Romanian shelf. Among
14 benthic species, Ammonia was dominant. The highest
abundance of Ammonia was discovered at a water depth of
20–45 m, salinity 15.0–16.5‰, and temperature 10 °C.
On the northwestern Ukrainian shelf, Didkovskiy (1959)
described three foraminiferal assemblages dominated by
Ammonia beccarii (Linne) var. risilla, var. n, Nonion, and
Ammonia beccarii (Linne) at a water depth of 4–48 m
between the Danube Delta and Egorlitsky Bay. He
documented 29 species and varieties; some of them were
considered as new. No pictures and descriptions were
provided for these species, bringing them into the category
of nomen nudum. In 1969, Didkovskiy documented 36 spe-
cies and varieties near the northern exit of the Bosphorus.
Some of them, such as Florilus boueanum (d’Orbigny), were
likely reworked from the Miocene.
Twenty-three species and three subspecies of benthic
foraminifera were documented by Morozova (1964) from
the Crimean and Caucasian shelf at water depth 0–103 m.
These taxa were grouped in three geographical assemblages:
northeastern with dominance of Rotaliidae, Discorbiidae, and
Nonionida distributed at the Caucasian shelf; northwestern
with dominance of Rotaliidae, Miliolidae, and agglutinated
foraminifera distributed counterclockwise from the north-
western Crimea to the Danube Delta; and western assemblage
distributed in the Danube Delta and dominated by Rotalia
beccarii. The latter one was most impoverished compared to
all others. This author noticed that the diversity of foraminif-
era increases with depth due to an appearance of Lagenidae
and Polymorphinidae below 59-m isobath.
Mikhalevich (1968) described 27 species of benthic fora-
minifera from the southern Crimean shelf. Kirienko (1979)
tried to interpret warm–cold episodes in the geological sec-
tion of the Bulgarian shelf using left alterations of left and
right coiling of Ammonia tests.
metals.
The most detailed work on recent Black Sea foraminifera
was published by Tufescu (1974a, b). She synthesized previ-
ously obtained (1967–1974) data (Tufescu 1967, 1968a, b,
1969a, b, 1970, 1971, 1973). Based on 146 stations (depth
0.2–62 m), she described the ecology, zoogeography, and
evolution of 21 species, 17 of which were pictured. Based on
morphometrical analysis, she divided A. beccarii into
A. beccarii sensu stricto and A. tepida.
Makaveeva (1979) briefly described the quantitative dis-
tribution of five Elphidium and Quinqueloculina species in
the Karkinitskiy, Tendrovskiy, and Egorlitskiy Bays and
northern Black Sea. She concluded that these epiphytic fora-
minifera have their highest abundance (225,000 ind/m2
) on
some algae.
A very preliminary study of the Sea of Azov foraminifera
was performed by Didkovskiy (1958) who identified nine
benthic species and concluded that foraminifera of the Sea
of Azov are significantly impoverished compared to those in
the Black Sea.
Fossil foraminifera from the ODDP drills 379, 380, and
381 in the Black Sea were studied by Cheorghian (1978) who
documented 29 benthic species (no pictures, no description)
in the Miocene, Pliocene, and Quaternary sediments. He did
not discover foraminifera in the postglacial sediments
although reworked foraminiferal tests were present through-
out as was also noticed by Khrustalev and Shcherbakov
(1974) for different geological age sequences. Interestingly,
the number of reworked foraminifera increased with the
proportion of coarse sediments.
Brief data on Quaternary foraminifera of the Kerch Strait
were presented by Suprunova (1980) allowing her to divide
Quaternary sediments into Drevneuxinian (Old Euxinian),
Neoeuxinian (New Euxinian), Drevnechernomorian (Old
Black Sea) and Novochernomorian (New Black Sea) layers.
Kitovani (1971) and Barg et al. (1982) found benthic forami-
nifera in the Pleistocene sediments of the Georgian and
Crimean coasts, respectively.
Temlekov and Mutchinova (1999) investigated the quan-
titative distribution of the sublittoral benthic foraminifera
from the Bulgarian Black Sea coast (the Kiten inlet) and
correlated the number of Ammonia and Elphidium specimens
with the water depth and grain size of sediments.
The taxonomic composition and distribution of foraminif-
era in the surface sediment from the Kazachya Bay, Crimea,
were studied by Anikeeva (2005). Twenty species of benthic
foraminifera were identified at 25 stations. Specimens of the
genera Ammonia, Elphidium, and Quinqueloculina were the
most common. This author failed to correlate foraminiferal
distributions to certain environmental factors, e.g., heavy

1.2 Caspian and Aral Seas 3
However, Kravchuk (1999, 2004) discovered that in fact
benthic foraminifera are excellent indicators of marine pollu-
tion in the Black Sea. She identified 33 species from
19 genera and 10 families in the northwestern part of the
basin. The highest number of species were Elphidiidae (8 spe-
cies) and Ammonoidea (4 species). Agglutinated foraminif-
era are represented by rare specimens of Ab. ponticus
Mikhalevich and Di. imperspica Yanko. A decrease in the
number of species and specimens as well as an increase in the
proportion of morphological deformities, stunting, and
pyritization of foraminifera was attributed to pollution by
domestic sewage and heavy metals.
Temlekov et al. (2006) provided an updated checklist of
the recent foraminifera from the Bulgarian Black Sea coast.
He provided a list of 107 species from 56 genera, 32 families,
and 10 orders largely repeating the list of foraminifera
provided by Yanko in 1989. The most common species
belonging to the Ammonia, Elphidium, Cribroelphidium,
and Fisurina genera were pictured in SEM. This author also
provides a synecological characteristic of the foraminiferal
communities inhabiting five types of sediment from the upper
sublittoral (down to 20-m depth), seashore pools, and river
mouths of the Bulgarian South Black Sea area, Temlekov
(2008). He determined the species’ frequency of occurrence,
the dominant structure, and similarity of the foraminiferal
communities.
Kondariuk (2018) studied the lateral distribution of mor-
phological deformations in 15 foraminiferal tests from the
Romanian shelf of the Black Sea in connection with the
influence of the freshwater inflow of the Danube River. She
emphasized the possibility of using them as indicators of
river inflow influence.
Some researchers studied soft foraminifera from the Black
Sea (e.g., Sergeeva and Anikeeva 2018). But we never found
soft foraminifera in our samples neither among recent nor
fossil foraminifera and as so their description is not provided
in a given monograph.
1.2 Caspian and Aral Seas
The first data on the Caspian foraminifera were presented by
Ehrenberg (1873) who found 23 species in the surface
sediments of 132 stations located at 6–836 m water depth.
Most of the species were distributed above a 25-m isobath;
with depth, their number decreased to 1–2 species. At least
two species (Rotalia globulosa Ehrenberg and Textularia
globulosa Ehrenberg) were recognized as reworked from
the Cretaceous sediments. Much later Shokhina (1937)
described and pictured six benthic species. Bening (1937)
documented 13 species from the Mertvyy Kultuk and
Kaydak. Klenova (1956) and Popov (1955) found three
recent species and plenty of reworked Cretaceous
foraminifera. Gofman (1966) documented seven species of
dead benthic foraminifera. Not one of the abovementioned
studies contained data on the quantitative distribution of
foraminifera in the Caspian Sea. There is only a short note
of Klenova (1956) that 75% of foraminiferal assemblages
consist of Rotalia beccarii (Linne).
The Aral Sea foraminifera were studied even worse than
those of the Caspian Sea. Only two species of benthic fora-
minifera are known from the work of Kiaer (1906), Berg
(1908), and Hülsen (1911). These species were documented
from a depth of 32 m and the sandy and muddy substrata
from almost freshwater of the Taldik Bay to the normal
salinity of the Aral Sea (Berg 1908).
An intensive study of taxonomy, quantitative distribution,
and ecology of live (Rose Bengal-stained) foraminifera in the
Caspian and Aral Seas and their comparison with recent
foraminifera from other basins was performed by Mayer
(1968, 1970, 1972, 1974a, b, 1976, 1979a, b, 1983a, b). A
comparison of recent and Pliocene–Quaternary foraminifera
from this region was performed by Naydina et al. (1974) and
Mayer (1975). Mayer (1979b) described 18 species from the
Caspian Sea, two of which, Hemisphaerammina sp. and
Saccamina sp., were given in open nomenclature; two,
Mi. fusca (Brady) and Tr. aguajoi (Bermudez), are well
know from other basins; the rest of the species were initially
described by Mayer. Eleven Caspian live in the Aral Sea
(Mayer 1979b).
The abundance of benthic foraminifera in the sediments of
the Southern Caspian Sea from Bahnamir to Babolsar, Iran,
was studied by Ghane et al. (2014). A total of five species of
benthic foraminifera (A. beccarii caspica Shchedrina, El.
littorale caspicus [Shokhina], Mi. fusca [Brady], Ammotium
sp., and one unidentified species) were identified in the bot-
tom sediments, and their distribution was correlated with
environmental parameters (dissolved oxygen, temperature,
pH, organic matter, calcium carbonate concentration, and
grain size).
A study of benthic foraminifera abundance in the
sediments of Southern Caspian Sea from Fereydunkenar to
Babolsar was performed by Sadough et al. (2013). A multi-
disciplinary case study from the southeastern flank of the
Caspian Sea on sea-level changes at the end of Little Ice
Age and its impacts on the avulsion of the Gorgan River
was performed by Naderi Beni et al. (2014). A study of
benthic foraminifera in the sediments of Southern Caspian
Sea was carried out (Ghane et al. 2014). The paper describes
foraminiferal species and provides a correlation of their
abundance and environmental factors enabling more infor-
mation on Caspian Sea ecosystem.
The effect of urban pollutants on the distribution of ben-
thic foraminifera in the Southern Caspian Sea was studied by
Zarghami et al. (2019). The authors recognized 11 species of
benthic foraminifera from 6 genera of 5 families. The

d
d
cosmopolitan A. beccarii caspica was common in the studied
area. The density of benthic foraminifera is significantly
correlated with seasons, the highest density being observed
in winter, and the most dense foraminifera were observed in
Babolsar stations that showed a good situation for living
there; hence, we can use these foraminifera as a bioindicator
for pollutant area.
To the best of our knowledge, there are no publications
(except ours) on the application of benthic foraminifera to
the Ponto-Caspian Late Quaternary stratigraphy and
paleogeography.
1.3 Our Study
The taxonomy, ecology/paleoecology, paleogeography, and
biostratigraphy of Ponto-Caspian benthic foraminifera have
been carried out by the author of this book in the northwestern
(e.g., Yanko 1973, 1974a, b, c, d, e, 1975, 1982a, b, c, d;
Voskoboynikov et al. 1985; Sulimov et al. 1983; Vorobyova
and Yanko 1986), Bulgarian (Yanko 1979, 1982c; Dimitrov
et al. 1979), and Caucasian (Yanko et al. 1983; Yanko and
Gramova 1990) and across the shelf (Yanko and Troitskaya
1987) and northern exits of the Bosphorus Strait (Yanko and
Vorobyova 1991; Yanko-Hombach 2007a), the Sea of Azov
(Yanko 1982d; Yanko and Aleevskaya 1982; Gudina an
Yanko 1989; Yanko and Vorobyova 1990), Caspian Sea
(Svitoch et al. 1992, 1997; Yanko 1989, 1990), and Mediter-
ranean Sea (Yanko et al. 1994, 1998). In addition, foraminifera
from numerous Pleistocene stratotypes were studied in the
coastal zone of the Ponto-Caspian region (e.g., Yanko 1989,
1990; Yanko et al. 1990; Svitoch et al. 1992). The application
of benthic foraminifera in the reconstruction of sea-level
change and coastline migration in regard to the Great Flood
Hypotheses in the Black Sea is present in Yanko-Hombach
(2003, 2004, 2007a, b) and Yanko-Hombach et al. (2007,
2011, 2014). Lately, attention has been paid on the use of
benthic foraminifera along with other meiobenthos organisms
(nematodes, ostracods) for contouring reservoirs of methane
stored under the seabed (Yanko et al. 2017; Yanko-Hombach
et al. 2017; Shnyukov and Yanko 2014; Shnyukov an
Yanko-Hombach 2020).
Our analysis of published data developed a general list of
benthic species for the Ponto-Caspian region. This list
includes 183 low taxa (Yanko 1989): 88 species have
pictures (e.g., Tufescu 1973, 1974b), and some of them are
supported by brief (e.g., Mikhalevich 1968; Temlekov et al.
2006) or more detailed (e.g., Dolgopolskaya and Pauli 1931)
description. For other species only location and some ecolog-
ical remarks (e.g., Vlkanova 1981) are provided. These
88 species are considered in our study. From the rest of the
97 species, which do have neither pictures nor description,
only 33 species could be identified in our material. Seventy
species, e.g., Miocene Florilus boueanum (d’Orbigny) and
Nubecularia novorossica (Karrer), seemed to be reworked,
and together with other species in open nomenclature, e.g.,
Ammorginulina sp. (Baĉescu and Margineanu 1959), were
excluded from our analysis.
Altogether, 180 benthic and seven planktonic species and
subspecies are on the list (Table 3.1). Eighteen species are
absent in our material (marked by stars in the table). Thirty
low taxa belong to agglutinated foraminifera, and the rest are
calcareous. A vast majority of them are pictured, described, and
supplemented by data on biostratigraphy and paleoecology.
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2
Study Area, Material, and Methods
Abstract
This chapter provides an overview of the study area
known as the Ponto-Caspian, which includes the Black
Sea, the Sea of Azov, the Caspian Sea, the Aral Sea
(currently dried up), and connecting straits. The Black
Sea, with a maximum depth of 2212 m, is the easternmost
of the seas of the Atlantic Ocean basin and can be consid-
ered as the most isolated sea of the modern Global Ocean.
The Sea of Azov is connected to the Black Sea via the
Kerch Strait. On average, the level of the Black Sea is
7–11 cm lower than that of the Sea of Azov and 30 cm
higher than that of the Sea of Marmara. The Black Sea
exhibits the standard oceanic provinces of the continental
shelf, slope, and abyssal plain. The extensive continental
shelf accounts for 25% of the sea area; the 200-m isobath
is commonly taken as the shelf boundary of the Global
Ocean. The bottom relief is largely smooth due to the
distribution of sediment discharge from major lowland
European rivers, such as the Danube, Dnieper, Dniester,
and the Southern Bug, that together discharge 56.8 million
tons of sediments annually.
The average bottom-water salinity of the Black Sea
(17 psu) is only half that of the Eastern (39 psu, practical
salinity units) and Western (34 psu) Mediterranean. Salin-
ity varies spatially, temporally, and with depth, in associ-
ation with freshwater discharge into the basin and the
influence of subsurface inflow from the Sea of Marmara
with salinity of ~35 psu. The maximum salinity of the Sea
of Azov is 13 psu.
The Caspian Sea is the world’s largest inland body of
water, variously classed as an isolated lake without an
outflow (i.e., an endorheic basin). It lies at the junction of
Europe and Asia, with the Caucasus Mountains to the west
and the steppes of Central Asia to the east. The Caspian
Sea, like the Black Sea, is a remnant of the ancient
Paratethys Sea. It became landlocked about 5.5 million
years ago due to tectonic uplift and falling sea level.
The Caspian Sea is divided into three distinct physical
regions: the Northern, Middle, and Southern Caspian. The
Northern Caspian only includes the Caspian shelf and is
very shallow, with an average depth of only 5–6 m; it
accounts for less than 1% of the total water volume. More
than 130 rivers flow into the Caspian, with the Volga
River being the largest. The Northern Caspian water is
almost fresh, becoming more brackish toward the south.
The sea is most saline off the Iranian shore, where the
watershed contributes little inflow. Currently, the mean
salinity of the Caspian is 12.8 psu on average, varying
from 1 psu near the Volga outlet to a high of 200 psu in the
Kara-Bogaz-Gol, where intense evaporation occurs.
The Aral Sea was also an endorheic lake; lying
between Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, it began shrinking
in the 1960s and had largely dried up by the 2010s.
Formerly it was the fourth largest lake in the world with
an area of 68,000 km2
. The shrinking of the Aral Sea has
been called “one of the planet’s worst environmental
disasters.”
In the Black Sea, the Sea of Azov, and the Kerch Strait,
sediment samples have been collected since mid-1970s
using various research vessels. In limans (marshes) and
river deltas, the samples were collected from small vessels
by hand corer or diving. As a rule, the sampling
campaigns took place in May–June. Samples for
foraminiferal analysis were obtained from multiple
organizations of the Black Sea countries. In total, approx-
imately 32,000 samples from 1500 grabs, multicorers, box
corers, 4300 gravity/piston cores, and 56 boreholes (up to
40 m in length) were investigated. The samples were
obtained in limans, lagoons, river deltas, shelf, and conti-
nental slope of the Black Sea, the Kerch Strait, the Sea of
Azov, and the Caspian Sea. The total length of
investigated sediment cores reached 8000 m. Marine
research was supplemented by the study of 112 Quaternary
outcrops including stratotypes located on the Crimean and
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-12374-0_2
9

Kerch Peninsula, Caucasian, and northwestern coast of the
Caspian Sea.
At most marine stations, environmental (e.g., salinity,
depth, temperature, dissolved oxygen) and foraminiferal
parameters were measured. The total assemblage, includ-
ing live (stained) and dead (empty) tests of foraminifera,
was determined and expressed as the number of tests
(abundance) per 50 g of dry sediment. To identify possible
interrelations among foraminiferal characteristics and
environmental parameters, a range of statistical methods
were applied.
The inner structure of foraminiferal tests and their wall
ultrastructure were studied in 320 thin sections and
120 artificial models. All species of benthic foraminifera
were morphologically examined, taxonomically
identified, and SEM imaged. Particular attention was
paid to morphological deformities of foraminiferal tests
as indicators of environmental stress. The collections of
benthic foraminifera from the Black Sea, Caspian Sea, and
Sea of Azov are stored in the Paleontological Museum of
Odessa National University, Ukraine.
The stratigraphic work follows the Russian subdivision
of the Quaternary System (Zhamoida, Stratigr Geol
Correl, 12:321–330, 2004) into the Eopleistocene
(1.8–0.8 Ma), Neopleistocene (0.8–0.01 Ma), and Holo-
cene (0.01–0.0 Ma). The resulting high-resolution stratig-
raphy and geochronology of the Late Quaternary
(Neopleistocene and Holocene) sediments are based on
the combination of bio- and ecostratigraphic criteria
supplemented by absolute dating. Biostratigraphic criteria
include precise taxonomic analysis of benthic foraminifera
to trace species evolution and to discover species
indicators for certain time intervals. Due to the shortness
of the studied time interval, the application of these criteria
is limited and so is supplemented by ecostratigraphic
criteria.
10 2 Study Area, Material, and Methods
Keywords
Black Sea · Sea of Azov · Caspian Sea · Aral Sea ·
Drillholes · Outcrops
2.1 Study Area
The study area is known as the Ponto-Caspian, which
includes the Black Sea, the Sea of Azov, the Caspian Sea,
the Aral Sea (currently dried up), and connecting straits
(Fig. 2.1).
The Black Sea is the easternmost of the seas of the Atlan-
tic Ocean basin. Considering the ratio of the sea volume to
the summary area of the cross sections of all its straits (which
is 0.04 km2
for the Bosphorus and 0.02 km2
for the Kerch
Strait) as a measure of isolation of a sea basin, then the Black
Sea can be considered the most isolated sea of the modern
Global Ocean (Zubov 1956). Its maximum length (along 42
290
N lat) and width are 1148 km and 611 km, respectively.
Its surface area (excluding estuaries, such as the Dnieper-Bug
liman—liman is a local term for ancient estuaries in the Black
Sea and Sea of Azov) and its volume are about 416,790 km2
and 535,430 km3
, respectively, and the maximum depth is
2212 m (Ivanov and Belokopytov 2013). The Sea of Azov is
connected to the Black Sea via the Kerch Strait and has an
area of 39,000 km2
and a volume of 290 km3
. The maximum
length, width, and depth of the Sea of Azov are 360 km,
180 km, and 14 m, respectively. On average, the level of the
Black Sea is 7–11 cm lower than that of the Sea of Azov and
30 cm higher than that of the Sea of Marmara.
The details and taphonomic conditions of the Black Sea
are unusual. It is the world’s largest anoxic (oxygen-free)
marine basin. Its strongly stratified water column possesses
(1) a thin, well-oxygenated surface layer (20–30 m) with low
salinity and warm temperatures, (2) a low-oxygen (suboxic)
transition layer (30–150 m), and (3) a thick bottom layer of
colder, denser, and more saline water lacking oxygen but
high in sulfides.
The Black Sea lies within the Anatolian sector of the
Alpine-Himalayan orogenic system, located between the
Eurasian plate to the north and the African-Arabian plates
to the south. Global plate models (DeMets et al. 1990)
and recent space geodetic measurements (Smith et al. 1994;
Reilinger et al. 1997) indicate that, in the surrounding region,
the northward-moving African and Arabian plates are collid-
ing with the Eurasian plate. From this collision, the Anatolian
block is moving westward with a rotation pole located
approximately to the north of the Sinai Peninsula (Tari et al.
2000). The northward movement of the Arabian plate and
westward escape of the Anatolian block along the North and
East Anatolian faults have been accompanied by several
episodes of extension and shortening since the Permian
(Yilmaz 1997; Robertson et al. 2004), as can be seen in
seismic-reflection data (McKenzie 1972; McClusky et al.
2000).
The Black Sea exhibits the standard oceanic provinces of
the continental shelf, slope, and abyssal plain (Fig. 2.2).
The extensive continental shelf accounts for 25% of the
sea area; the 200-m isobath is commonly taken as the shelf
boundary of the Global Ocean. The northwestern shelf
extends 220 km outward and occupies 16% of the sea area
(68,390 km2
) and 0.7% of the water volume (3555 km3
)
between the Chersonesus and Kaliakra capes. In the flattened
and gently sloping part of the shelf adjacent to the shore,
depths are 30–40 m, and the bottom slope is 1–2
. Its steep-
ness increases toward the shelf break to 10–12
. Against the
flat plain of the shelf, several large, shallow paleo-river
valleys are visible in Fig. 2.2, separated by low underwater

hills (Ivanov and Belokopytov 2013). The bottom relief is
largely smooth due to the distribution of sediment discharge
provided by major lowland European rivers, such as the
Danube, Dnieper, Dniester, and Southern Bug, that together
discharge 56.8 million tons of sediments annually (Panin and
Jipa 2002). No known expressions of active tectonic
movements have influenced the ancient shoreline positions
and deposition of sediments in any appreciable way.
2.1 Study Area 11
Fig. 2.1 The Ponto-Caspian. Manych Outlet (currently Manych Depression in red) presumably connected the Caspian and Black Seas at 18 ka
BP to 10 ka BP
The other, less extensive shelf areas of the Black Sea
include the coastal zone of Bulgaria and western Turkey
from Cape Kaliakra to the city of Ereğli (shelf width up to
50 km), the Kerch–Taman shelf (shelf width up to 50 km),
the central Anatolian coast from Cape Kerempe to the city of
Giresun (shelf width up to 35 km), the southern Crimean
coast between capes Chersonesus and Ai-Todor (shelf width
up to 30 km), and the Gudauta Bank in the vicinity of
Ochamchira town (shelf width up 20 km) (Ivanov and
Belokopytov 2013).
Narrow shelves with widths of several kilometers are
located along the Caucasian and Anatolian coasts, as well as
along the southern Crimean coast from Yalta to Cape
Meganom. Their slopes are considerably steeper compared to
the broader shelves, ranging from 5–6
to 30
. The shelf break
lies at depths from 100 to 200 m, and the slope is 1–2
. The
depth of the shelf break is close to 100 m, compared to areas
with broader shelves where the break can exceed 200 m.
The predominantly flat bottom of the Sea of Azov
descends gradually to the depression at its center. At the
bottom, there are a few positive relief forms, the largest of
them being the Pischana Bank. The continental slope
descends down to 1600–1900 m of water depth with a con-
siderable gradient from 11
to 13
, sometimes reaching 38
in the regions along the southern Crimean and Turkish coasts.
The surface of the continental slope is complicated with
blocks of the Earth’s crust that often give it a graduated
profile, revealing underwater canyons of different origins.
They can begin in the coastal zone at depths of 10–15 m
and extend as deep as 1600 m. These canyons are the most
important route for the transfer of sedimentary material from
the coast to the abyssal depression of the Black Sea (Fig. 2.2).
In the deepest part of the canyons, at depths of 1600–1900 m,
sedimentary material forms extensive cones. Individual cones
can coalesce to form the continental subslope. Thus, the
morphogenesis of the slope is directly linked to selective
erosion and denudation of rocks with different physical and
mechanical properties. Erosive and denudation activities in
the canyons caused the emergence of huge underwater
amphitheaters forming deepwater fans and plumes of terrige-
nous sediments on the footslope.
The abyssal plain is bounded by the 2000-m isobaths
and occupies about 35% of the total sea area. It is a relatively
flat, accumulative plain with a slight slope to the south. The
bottom of the abyssal basin is characterized by hilly relief;
slope angles vary from 0
to 1
. According to echo-sounding
surveys, significantly large features of submarine relief are
absent (Fig. 2.2). Deposits covering the abyssal plain form

¼
11 material-genetic types. Six types are shallow, and five are
deep water. Between all types of deposits, there is a continu-
ous transfer, conditioned by gradual change in grain size and
composition. The mean rate of accumulation at the bottom of
the central abyssal depression is 30–40 mm/kyr.
Fig. 2.2 Digital high-resolution map of relief. Modified after Bagrov paleovalleys. Yellow cylinders gas seeps. The map was compiled
et al. 2012. 1–24 canyons: (1) Dunaisky, (2) Dniestrovsky,
(3) Peleokalanchaksky, (4) Donuslavsky, (5) Al’minsky, (6) Kachinsy,
(7) Forossky, (8) Yaltinsky, (9) Khapkhal’sky, (10) Meganomsky,
(11) Kubansky, (12) Novorossiysky, (13) Tuapsinsky, (14) Sochinsky,
(15) Sukhumsky, (16) Rioniisky, (17) Batumsky, (18) Trabzonsky,
(19) Ordossky, (20) Samsunsky, (21) Kysyl-Irmansky,
(22) Sakar’iaksky, (23) Bosphorsky, and (24) Burgazsky. Red, blue,
and yellow triangles ¼ mud volcanoes reliably detected, discovered
based on geophysical data, and expected, respectively. Blue lines river
¼
based on results of digitizing bathymetric maps of different scales (1:
50,000, 1:100,000, 1:200,000, 1:500,000, 1:1,125,000) produced by
Gosgidrografiya USSR. The Crimean shelf and slope, as well as the
southern part of the northwestern shelf and slope, were adjusted based
on the results of our own sonar and hydroacoustic soundings obtained
during marine expeditions on R/Vs Kiev, Professor Vodyanitsky,
Mikhail Lomonosov, Ichthyander, and Vernadsky. Reproduced with
permission from the Research Center of Sustainable Development,
Ukraine. (From Yanko-Hombach et al. 2017, their Fig. 16.14)
Today, the Bosphorus Strait (Figs. 2.1 and 2.2) is the only
passage for exchange of water and organisms between the
Black Sea and Sea of Marmara. This zigzagging strait is
about 35 km in length, 0.7–3.5 km in width, and 35.8 m
deep, on average, with a few elongate potholes (about 110 m
in depth each) on the bottom. The strait possesses two sills,
one in the north at a water depth of 59 m and one in the south
at a water depth of 34 m, each located about 3 km from the
corresponding entrance to the strait. The two directions of
water flow within the strait overlap each other: the northward
underflow (inflow) from the Sea of Marmara has an average
salinity of 38 psu and a velocity of 5–15 cm/s, and the
southward overflow (outflow) from the Black Sea has an
average salinity of 18 psu and a velocity of 10–30 cm/s.
Due to the sills, the interface between the two flow directions
rises from 50 m at the northern end to 20 m at the
southern end. The underflow is initiated by the difference in
water density between the Black Sea and the Sea of Marmara;
the pressure gradient pushes against the Black Sea and
powers the underflow. The outflow is initiated by two main
factors: (1) the 30-cm elevation of the Black Sea surface
above that of the Sea of Marmara, which, in turn, is
5–27 cm above the level of the northern Aegean Sea and
(2) the positive balance of the Black Sea, where precipitation
(575 km3
/year) exceeds evaporation (350 km3
/year), produc-
ing a discharge of about 600 km3
of brackish water annually
(Yanko-Hombach 2007a).

2.2 Material and Methods 13
The Kerch Strait connects the Black Sea with the Sea of
Azov (Figs. 2.1 and 2.2) and is 45 km long, 4.5 km wide, and
up to 6 m deep. The shallowness of the strait results in
reduced water exchange between the two basins, which is
five to ten times smaller than that of the Bosphorus.
The Black Sea average bottom water salinity (17 psu) is
only half that of the Eastern (39 psu) and Western (34 psu)
Mediterranean. The use of “psu” (practical salinity units)
instead of the former ‰ is explained in Yanko-Hombach
et al. (2013). Salinity varies spatially, temporally, and with
depth, in association with freshwater discharge into the basin
and the influence of subsurface inflow from the Sea of
Marmara with salinity of ~35 psu. Surface salinity ranges
from 1 to 3 psu in the Danube delta to 26.2 psu in the
Bosphorus outlet area. The maximum salinity of the Sea of
Azov is 13 psu.
The Caspian Sea is the world’s largest inland body of
water, variously classed as an isolated lake without an out-
flow (i.e., an endorheic basin). It lies at the junction of Europe
and Asia, with the Caucasus Mountains to the west and the
steppes of Central Asia to the east. The sea is bordered by
Russia to the northwest, Azerbaijan to the west, Iran to the
south, Turkmenistan to the southeast, and Kazakhstan to the
northeast. The Caspian Sea, like the Black Sea, is a remnant
of the ancient Paratethys Sea. Thus, the Caspian Sea is
underlain by oceanic basalt and not by continental granitic
rock. It became landlocked about 5.5 million years ago due to
tectonic uplift and a fall in sea level.
The Caspian Sea has a surface area of 371,000 km2
(excluding the Gara-Bogaz-Gol lagoon) and a volume of
78,200 km3
. The lake has a north–south orientation and
consists of two deep basins that occupy its central and south-
ern areas leading to both spatial and depth differences in
temperature, salinity, and ecology. The Caspian Sea spreads
out over nearly 1200 km from north to south, with an average
width of 320 km. With associated wetlands, it covers a region
of around 386,400 km2
and its surface is about 27 m below
sea level.
The Caspian Sea is divided into three distinct physical
regions: the Northern, Middle, and Southern Caspian. The
northern–middle boundary is the Mangyshlak Threshold,
which runs through Chechen Island and Cape Tiub-Karagan.
The middle–southern boundary is the Apsheron Threshold, a
sill of tectonic origin between the Eurasian continent and an
oceanic remnant that runs through Zhiloi Island and Cape
Kuuli. Differences among the three regions are dramatic. The
Northern Caspian only includes the Caspian shelf and is very
shallow, with an average depth of only 5–6 m; it accounts for
less than 1% of the total water volume. The Northern Caspian
freezes in the winter, and in the coldest winters, ice forms in
the south as well. The sea floor deepens toward the Middle
Caspian, where the average depth is 190 m. The Southern
Caspian is the deepest, with oceanic depths of over 1000 m.
The Middle and Southern Caspian account for 33% and 66%
of the total water volume, respectively.
More than 130 rivers flow into the Caspian, with the
Volga River being the largest. The Northern Caspian water
is almost fresh, becoming more brackish toward the south.
The sea is most saline off the Iranian shore, where the
watershed contributes little inflow. Currently, the mean salin-
ity of the Caspian is 12.8 psu on average, varying from 1 psu
near the Volga outlet to a high of 200 psu in the Kara-Bogaz-
Gol, where intense evaporation occurs. In the open sea, the
vertical distribution of salinity is markedly uniform; from the
surface to the bottom it increases by only 0.1–0.2 psu.
Caspian waters differ chemically from typical ocean waters
and resembles other evaporative lake waters in having higher
concentrations of calcium and magnesium cations, and sul-
fate and carbonate cations, and lower chloride content.
The Aral Sea was also an endorheic lake; lying between
Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan it began shrinking in the 1960s
and had largely dried up by the 2010s. Formerly it was the
fourth largest lake in the world with an area of 68,000 km2
.
The shrinking of the Aral Sea has been called “one of the
planet’s worst environmental disasters” (Daily Telegraph
2010). The region’s once-prosperous fishing industry has
been devastated, bringing unemployment and economic
hardship. The Aral Sea region is also heavily polluted, with
consequential serious public health problems. UNESCO
added the historical documents concerning the collapse of
the Aral Sea to its Memory of the World Register as a unique
resource to study this “environmental tragedy.”
2.2 Material and Methods
In the Black Sea, the Sea of Azov, the Kerch Strait and the
Caspian Sea sediment samples have been collected since the
mid-1970s using various research vessels, including the R/V
Professor, R/V Akademik, R/V Antares, R/V Vladimir Parshin,
and R/V Mare Nigrum. In limans (marshes) and river deltas, the
samples were collected from small vessels by hand corer and/or
diving. As a rule, the sampling campaigns took place in May–
June (e.g., Yanko 1979, 1989, 1990; Yanko and Troitskaya
1987; Yanko and Gramova 1990; Yanko-Hombach 2007a;
Yanko-Hombach et al. 2014, 2017; Yanko et al. 2019; Yanko
and Kondariuk 2020). Samples for foraminiferal analysis were
obtained from multiple organizations (e.g., Siberian Branch of
the USSR Academy of Sciences; Southern Branch of the Insti-
tute of Oceanology, USSR Academy of Sciences; Institute of
Oceanology of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences;
Yuzhmorgeologiya, GeoEcoMar; Odessa I.I. Mechnikov
National University; Prichernomor DGRP M.V. Lmonosov
Moscow State University and some others with which the
author cooperated on the contractual and/or scientific basis). In
this regard, the following scientists, V. M. Voskoboynikov,

d
A. Yu. Glebov, V. I. Dmitrienko, Ya A. Izmailov, G. I.
Karmishina, V. A. Karpov, E. G. Konnikov, E. M. Mayer,
I. V. Pogrebnyak, E. F. Shnyukov, A. A. Svitoch, G. G.
Tkachenko, T. S. Troitskaya, and K. M. Shimkus, must be
mentioned, with deep gratitude to all. The location maps of the
studied materials are provided in Yanko (1989, 1990) an
Yanko-Hombach et al. (2014, 2017), as well as in Figs. 2.3
and 2.4.
At the majority of the sampling stations, salinity, temper-
ature, pH, and DO of bottom water were taken using the
Neil Brown Instrument Systems (CTD) with a General
Oceanic rosette equipped with 6–11 Niskin bottles and elec-
tronic sensors, as described in Yanko et al. (1998) and
Yanko-Hombach et al. (2017). In addition, in some areas
(e.g., Romanian shelf), additional hydrological parameters
were measured: conductivity (U), transparency (Tr), oxygen
saturation index (SI), and oxygen-reduction potential
(Eh) later normalized to standard pH ¼ 7 (for building the
Purbae diagram). Transparency was measured by Secchi
disk. Although salinity based on conductivity measurements
are now considered to be unitless (e.g., https://unesdoc.
unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000065031), salinity data reported
in this book were taken by a variety of methods, including
conductivity and refractometry, and were originally reported
as ‰ or psu. For readers who may be unfamiliar with recent
recommendations, the author will use psu when reporting or
discussing salinity. Concentrations of phosphates (РО4
3
)
and dissolved silica (SiO2) in the water column were calcu-
lated with the help of the molybdovanadate method by acid
persulfate digestion (HASH equipment); the concentration
of CaCO3 was measured by titration. For the calculation
of total carbon (C) and total nitrogen (N), the ground
samples from the superficial (0–1 cm) sediment layer col-
lected by a multicorer were analyzed using a CNS elemental
analyzer Carlo Erba NA 1500 and gas chromatography.
Organic carbon (Corg) was calculated after threefold removal
of inorganic carbon. The analyses were performed at the
Institute of Biochemistry and Marine Chemistry of the
Hamburg University in Germany (Yanko-Hombach et al.
2017).
Fig. 2.3 Sketch of geological materials obtained in the Black Sea, the Sea of Azov, and their coasts and studied by foraminiferal analysis
The grain-size analysis of the superficial (0–2 cm) sedi-
ment layer was performed by sieving and elutriation methods
described in Logvinenko and Sergeeva (1986). Based on the
results, the median diameter (Md) and coefficient of sorting

56 boreholes (up to 40 m in length) were investigated. It
should be noted that the method of sampling is very impor-
tant. Some authors recommend not to use grabs for sampling
because “grab samplers create a strong bowwave when they
touch the ground. Furthermore, grabs may only scrape the
surface, distort the structure of the underlying sediments, and
often do not close accurately. A large part of the sample is
washed out when the grab is hoisted through the water
(So) were calculated for each sample. Cores were split and
the working half was examined in the uppermost 2 cm of
each 10-cm interval of the sediment column. Some of the
gravity/piston cores were examined in 2-cm intervals (e.g.,
Core 1136 in Yanko-Hombach 2007a, here Fig. 8) to provide
high-resolution bio- and ecostratigraphy.
2.2 Material and Methods 15
Fig. 2.4 Sketch of geological
materials obtained in the Caspian
Sea and its coast and studied by
foraminiferal analysis
In total, approximately 32,000 samples from 1500 grabs,
multicorers, box corers, 4300 gravity/piston cores, and

column, and an intact sediment surface is rarely preserved”
(Schönfeld et al. 2012, 4). This is not always correct and
cannot be recommended without exceptions. The yield of a
sample very much depends on the grab construction, service-
ability of the equipment, and the experience of the working
team. In our case, all samples retained their undisturbed
structure and were covered (in the delta front and partially
in the prodelta) by an undisturbed thin (1 cm) layer of
semiliquid and finely dispersed clayey material. For example,
comparison of foraminiferal results in grab and multicorer
samples recovered from the Romanian shelf (see Sect. 4.1.5)
demonstrated similarity in their taxonomic composition.
Moreover, grab samples contained extremely fragile thin-
walled tests of La. vulgaris and Et. deplanata, which were
absent in the multicorer samples. Their absence can be
explained by the much smaller amount of sediment material
in the multicorer samples (compared to the grab samples)
available for the study. The amount of sediment is crucially
important for basins such as the Black Sea, where
foraminiferal faunas are greatly impoverished compared to
basins with normal oceanic salinity. There are only 123 living
species in the Black Sea, while in the neighboring Mediterra-
nean Sea, 580 species of foraminifera have been identified
(Cimerman and Langer 1991; Langer 2008). For this reason,
when possible we preferred to use grab samples for
foraminiferal analysis to obtain larger samples and therefore
more foraminiferal specimens.
The samples were obtained in limans, lagoons, river
deltas, shelf, and continental slope of the Black Sea, the
Kerch Strait, the Sea of Azov, and the Caspian Sea. The
total length of investigated sediment cores reached 8000 m.
Marine research was supplemented by the study of 112 Qua-
ternary outcrops including stratotypes located on the Crimean
and Kerch Peninsula (e.g., Yanko et al. 1990) and Caucasian
(Yanko and Gramova 1990) and northwestern coast of the
Caspian Sea (e.g., Svitoch et al. 1992).
At most marine stations, the total assemblage, including
live (stained) and dead (empty) tests of foraminifera, was
determined and expressed as the number of tests (abundance)
per 50 g of dry sediment as described in Yanko and Troitskaya
(1987), Yanko et al. (1998), and Yanko-Hombach et al.
(2017). For foraminiferal analysis, the sediment samples
were collected from the superficial (0–2 cm) undisturbed sedi-
ment column. Sediments were soaked in rose Bengal buffered
with seawater for 48 h and, after that, washed onboard by
seawater through a 63-μm sieve, dried, packed in special
containers, and transferred to the laboratory. Samples obtained
by a multicorer were stored in 4% formalin solution buffered
with seawater in a proportion of 3:1 and 20 g of Na2B4O7 per
liter and transferred to the laboratory where they were treated
in a manner similar to the grab samples.
We report total assemblage because (1) the scarcity of
living specimens did not allow a relevant statistical study of
their distribution, (2) the presence of living specimens among
all identified species indicated that they likely live in the
study area and therefore their empty tests are autochthonous,
and (3) the total assemblage better characterizes the seasonal
population dynamics (Debenay et al. 2001). Large samples
were randomly split with a splitter into subsamples. Then
they were soaked and washed in distilled water and passed
through a 63-m mesh sieve. Live foraminifera were studied in
wet samples equivalent to 50 g of dry sediment mass. When-
ever possible, at least 300 specimens were picked by hand
under a binocular microscope. In samples with low numbers
of specimens, all tests encountered were picked. Broken
foraminiferal tests, fragments, and old tests (recrystallized,
worn down, filled with sediments) were considered to be
reworked and excluded from the analysis.
Fossil foraminifera were studied in samples that were
dried at room temperature to avoid destruction of
agglutinated specimens. Dried samples were split with a
microsplitter to avoid sample bias; about 300 fossil forami-
nifera were picked by hand (flotation in CCl4 was sometimes
used) and counted for statistical analyses. The total numbers
of foraminifera (abundance) were calculated in dry samples
of 50 g. For each species in each sample, the relative abun-
dance (C) and species occurrence (SO) were calculated and
expressed as a percentage.
A lithological analysis of the sediments from outcrops and
drillings was often supplemented by determination of Corg,
CaCO3, etc. as described in Yanko et al. (1998) and Yanko-
Hombach et al. (2017). Geomechanical properties (e.g., den-
sity, bulk density, water content or moisture) and sediment
structures were evaluated as described in Voskoboynikov
et al. (1985) and Konikov (1992, 2007). Conventional radio-
carbon dating and other methods of absolute geochronology
(e.g., 230
Th/U) of the sediments and mollusk shells were
performed at various Russian (e.g., Dodonov et al. 2000;
Arslanov et al. 2002) and Ukrainian (e.g., Semenenko and
Kovalyukh 1973). A list of 579 radiocarbon datings
are available in appendices 1 and 2 in Yanko-Hombach
(2007b).
The inner structure of foraminiferal tests and their wall
ultrastructure were studied in 320 thin sections and 120 artifi-
cial models. All species of benthic foraminifera were mor-
phologically examined, taxonomically identified, and SEM
imaged. A cross section and models of foraminiferal tests
were performed for many species of Elphidium and some
other taxa to define their taxonomic position as described in
Hansen and Lykke-Andersen (1976).
According to their abundance, foraminifera were divided
into dominant (50% of a given assemblage) and accessory
species. According to their ecological preferences, foraminif-
era were divided into oligohaline (1–5 psu), strictoeuryhaline
(11–26 psu), polyhaline (18–26 psu), euryhaline (1–26 psu),
shallow-dwelling (0–30 m), relatively deep-dwelling
(31–70 m), and deep-dwelling (71–220 m) species (Yanko
and Troitskaya 1987; Yanko 1989, 1990).

2.3 Statistical Treatment 17
Particular attention was paid to morphological deformities
of foraminiferal tests as indicators of environmental stress. In
fossil foraminiferal tests they have been noted by researchers
since the last century (e.g., Carpenter 1856; Rhumbler 1911;
Bogdanowicz 1952, 1960, 1971; Pflum and Frerichs 1976).
In recent years, reports of deformities have become increas-
ingly more common. Deformities have been linked to a
number of environmental factors, such as (1) changes in
temperature and reduced or elevated salinity, which also
affects the size of foraminifera; (2) the lack or overabundance
of food, which causes aberrant growth and affects the size of
foraminifera; (3) the type of substrate, which affects the
outline and shape of foraminiferal tests; (4) low dissolved
oxygen content, which may create dwarfed, thin-walled, less
ornamented and aberrant forms; (5) insufficient light, which
may affect the size of foraminifera; (6) and pollution of
marine environment (Yanko et al. 1999). The percentage of
deformed foraminifera has been reported to increase dramat-
ically in polluted areas (e.g., Lidz 1965) where foraminifera
display a wide variety of deformities, including extreme
compression, double apertures, twisted coiling, aberrant
chamber shape, and protuberances. Bresler and Yanko
(1995), using sulfaflavine fluorescence and chlortetracycline
fluorescence, distinguished morphological deformities
caused by mechanical damage from those caused by patho-
logical morphogenesis.
Noted that the UNESCO Practical Salinity Scale of 1978
(PSS78) is recommended for use in preference to parts per
thousand (‰). The PSS defines salinity in terms of a conduc-
tivity ratio and so is dimensionless. On the PSS, normal-
marine salinity is generally in the range 30–40, while brack-
ish seas/waters have salinity in the range 0.5–12. Approxi-
mately equivalent values expressed in ppt are 30–50‰ (open
sea) and 0.5–30‰ (brackish sea) (Mudie et al. 2011). We use
psu (practical salinity unit) in this document.
The collections of benthic foraminifera from the Black
Sea, Caspian Sea, and Sea of Azov are stored in the Paleon-
tological Museum of Odessa I.I. Mechnikov National Uni-
versity, Ukraine.
2.3 Statistical Treatment
To identify possible interrelations between foraminiferal
characteristics and environmental parameters, cluster, corre-
lation, factor, and multidimensional scaling analyses were
applied using the “Statistica 10” package. For Q-mode cluster
analysis, Ward’s method was used to optimize the minimum
variance within clusters. Pearson’s correlation coefficient
was used as a measure of similarity. Factor analysis of hydro-
logical parameters was applied using the method of principal
components followed by the varimax orthogonal-rotation
procedure (varimax normalized). Correlations between
parameters were considered as significant at p 0.05 and
95% confidence limits.
For fossil assemblages, the residue obtained by CCl4
flotation was weighed; a portion of 0.02 g was taken for the
analysis where the number of foraminiferal specimens of
each species ( f ) was calculated using the equation f ¼ kn
where n ¼ number of specimens for each low taxon in 0.02-g
residue, g ¼ weight of the total residue, and k ¼ g/0.02. An
11-key medical counter was used to speed up the count which
is especially convenient with low taxonomic diversity. For
live (Bengal Rose-stained) foraminifera that have usually
much lower quantity, quartering was not usually used, and
all live specimens were counted.
The total number of foraminifera (F) in the sample was
calculated using quotation F ¼ f1 + f2 +. . . .fn. The concen-
tration (c) of each species per sample was calculated using the
equation:
c ¼ f 100%
F
The average concentration (C) of each lower taxon per
area/stratigraphic unit, which defines a role of the species in
the assemblage, was calculated using the following:
C ¼
c1 þ c2 þ c3 . . . þ cn
N
or C ¼ F1
100
F
where N is the number of samples.
The spatial occurrence (O) of a given species is calculated
as a percentage from N in a given area/stratigraphic unit
equivalent to 100%. Based on C and O, all species are
divided into dominant and accessory ones. The dominant
species with the highest C forms the core of an assemblage.
Accessory species define its variability. If O 50%, the
species are considered as widely distributed, 49–10% as
often occurring, 9–1% as rare, and 1% as single. If any
species, independently from its quantity, occurs in the major-
ity of samples, such a species is considered to be characteris-
tic. Even if such species do not occur in high concentrations
in assemblages, they can be still species indicators of a
certain environment.
For the evaluation of sedimentation rate and taphonomic
considerations, the ratio between live and dead specimens
was calculated using the following equations:
P ¼
F1
Fl þ Fd

100% e ¼
f 1,2 . . . nl
f 1,2 . . . nd
where Fl and is the total number of live and dead specimens
of all species, respectively, P is the ratio between live and
total specimens, and e is the proportion of live to dead
specimens of all species for a given sample. Coefficient
P indicates the sedimentation rate; a lower P indicates slower
sedimentation (Phleger 1960). Coefficient e characterizes
taphonomic conditions, with the lower e indicating better
taphonomic conditions for a given species.

Þ
Þ
An influence of environmental factors on foraminifera is
estimated using the ratio between megalospheric and
microspheric (d) as well as between juvenile and adult (z)
specimens of a given species using equations:
d ¼
f meg
f mic
z ¼
f
f ad1
If d 1 and z 1 or ¼ 0, the life conditions likely were not
favorable and a species lived without reproduction. This is
based on an assumption that, in extreme conditions, any
organism tries to devote its energy to protecting itself and,
therefore, prefers mitosis to meiosis (Effrussi and Farber
1975).
To compare assemblages, the method of Cabioch (1979)
was implemented using quotations:
K ¼
1
ffiffiffi
2
p
ffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
x a
x
2
r
þ
y a
y
2
θ ¼ Arctg
x y a
ð
y x a
ð
where x and y are the number of species in compared
assemblages, a is the number of common species, K is the
coefficient of similarity, and θ is the coefficient of enrich-
ment. If K 0.707, the compared faunas are completely
different; the smaller K is, the more similar are the faunas:
weak similarity (K ¼ 0.707–0.507), medium similarity
(K ¼ 0.506–0.207), and strong similarity (K 0.207). If
K ¼ 0, the assemblages are identical. For θ ¼ 60
, the
fauna is strongly enriched with species; if θ ¼ 30
, the
fauna is impoverished, and intermediate numbers show
exchange of one fauna by another.
The methods described enabled us to establish the lateral
rows of live foraminifera (Yanko 1990) that reflect migration
succession of foraminiferal assemblages (MSFA) after change-
able environmental conditions. Fossil analogues of the MSFA,
expressed as an alternation of foraminiferal assemblages and
their ecological characteristics, provide reliable background for
the high-resolution bio- and ecostratigraphy and paleoenvir-
onmental reconstructions in an area under study.
2.4 Stratigraphic Techniques
The stratigraphic work follows the Russian subdivision of the
Quaternary System (Zhamoida 2004) into the Eopleistocene
(1.8–0.8 Ma), Neopleistocene (0.8–0.01 Ma), and Holocene
(0.01–0.0 Ma). The resulting high-resolution stratigraphy and
geochronology of the Late Quaternary (Neopleistocene and
Holocene) sediments are based on the combination of bio-
and ecostratigraphic criteria supplemented by absolute dat-
ing. Biostratigraphic criterion includes precise taxonomic
analysis of benthic foraminifera to trace species evolution
and to discover species indicators for certain time intervals.
Due to the shortness of the studied time interval, the applica-
tion of this criterion is limited and so is supplemented by
ecostratigraphic criteria. Ecostratigraphy is the biostrati-
graphic application of ecological and paleoecological
principles to develop an understanding of the global
external-forcing agents that drive ecological change. The
ecostratigraphy of the Black Sea addresses biotic responses
to isolation from and connection to the neighboring Sea of
Marmara and Caspian Sea and to related sea-level changes
and salinity oscillations. This ecostratigraphic technique is
based largely on the alternation of foraminiferal assemblages
and their ecological characteristics in geological sections,
supported by 14
C and palynological assays. An increase in
the number of Mediterranean immigrants, especially
strictoeuryhaline and polyhaline species, in sediment
sequences indicates an increase of Mediterranean influence
and salinity and vice versa. The complete replacement of
Mediterranean immigrants by oligohaline Caspian species
shows the separation between the Black Sea and Mediterra-
nean, followed by the desalination of the Black Sea. This
conclusion is based on a generally accepted observation, fully
supported by our ecological study (Yanko 1989, 1990), that
foraminifera are not well adapted to freshwater environments
(Sen Gupta 1999).
References
Arslanov KhA, Tertychny NI, Kuznetsov VYu, Chernov SB, Lokshin
NV, Gerasimova NA, Maksimov FE, Dodonov AE (2002) 230
Th/U
and 14
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Barents, White and Black Seas. Geochronometria 21:49–56
Bagrov NV, Shnyukov EF, Maslakov NA et al (2012) Karta relief
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Sciences of Ukraine and scientific – Research Center of Sustainable
Development, Taurida V.I. National University, Ukraine,
Simpheropol (in Russian)
Bogdanowicz AK (1952) Miliolids and peneroplids: Trudy VNIGRI,
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Voprosy Micropaleontologii 3:3–7. (in Russian)
Bogdanowicz AK (1971) O nekotorykh morfologicheskih otkloneniy v
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Bresler V, Yanko V (1995) Chemical ecology: a new approach to
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Cabioch L (1979) Caractères de la dissemblance entre peuplements en
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3
Taxonomic Classification of Foraminifera
Abstract
The higher taxonomic classifications proposed by Saidova
(O sovremennom sostoyanii sistemy nadvidovykh
taksonov kaynozoyskikh bentosnykh foraminifer (On the
current state of the system of supraspecific taxa of
Cenozoic benthic foraminifers). AN SSSR, Moscow,
720 pp (in Russian), 1981), Mikhalevich (Micropaleontol-
ogy 59:493–527, 2013), and Pawlowski et al. (Mar
Micropaleontol 100:1–10, 2013), in conjunction with
classifications suggested by the World Register of Marine
Species (WoRMS), were used to provide an authoritative
and comprehensive list of names of marine organisms,
including information on synonymy. Unfortunately, in
many cases the WoRMS classifications did not fit with
the author’s concept for the higher classification of the
Ponto-Caspian Quaternary foraminifera; among the
editors of WoRMS, there is no one with specific expertise
in the fauna of this unique geographic region. As a conse-
quence of the specific geographic position and its long
semi- or complete isolation from the World Ocean, the
Ponto-Caspian biota, including foraminifera, is quite spe-
cific. Also, purely taxonomic work was not the main goal
of this investigation of the Ponto-Caspian Quaternary
foraminifera. This book focuses on applied components
enabling the use of foraminifera for stratigraphy and
paleogeographic reconstructions, as well as for environ-
mental monitoring.
A polytypic concept of species recognizes that any
species is composed of many allopatric populations that
can differ to a certain degree from each other. If
individuals from these populations differ in diagnostic
morphological characteristics and are geographically and
temporally isolated, they can be considered as subspecies.
The identification of species is based on the set of criteria
for zoological systematics developed by Mayr et al.
(Metody i printsipy zoologicheskoy sistematiki (Methods
and principles of zoological systematic). Izd-vo insstr.lit.,
Moscow, 49 pp (in Russian), 1953) and Mayr (Printsipy
zoologicheskoy sistematiki (Principles of zoological sys-
tematic). Mir, Moscow, 454 pp (in Russian), 1971) for the
entire fauna as a whole and refined by Fursenko (Vvedenie
v izuchenie foraminifer (Introduction to the study of fora-
minifera). Trudy Instituta Geologii i Geofiziki 391.
Nauka, Novosibirsk, 242 pp (in Russian), 1978) for fora-
minifera. His concept is based on the assumption that only
combinations of morphological (or comparative morpho-
logical), geographical, ecological, geochronological, and
discriminative criteria can provide correct identification of
a species.
All taxa of the Quaternary foraminifera of the Ponto-
Caspian are classified as belonging to Kingdom
Protoctista, Class Foraminifera d’Orbigny, 1826. The
classification of the Quaternary foraminifera of the
Ponto-Caspian includes 180 and 7 lower taxa of benthic
and planktonic foraminifera, respectively. Nineteen
species are given in open nomenclature. Among benthic
foraminifera, 30 are agglutinated; the remaining 150 lower
taxa are characterized by calcium carbonate tests.
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-12374-0_3
21
Keywords
Phenetic species concept · Criteria for species identifica-
tion · Principles of taxonomic classification
3.1 General Remarks
Application of foraminifera to high-resolution stratigraphy
and paleoenvironmental reconstructions requires precise tax-
onomic identification of lower taxa and their further integra-
tion into the general system of foraminifera. As for today,
foraminiferal taxonomy relies on a phenetic species concept
(e.g., Loeblich and Tappan 1988) that classifies foraminifera
by their morphological similarities, which can be also caused
by environmental variations. As a consequence, it is often
difficult to make a decision whether morphological variations

are genotypic or ecophenotypic. Classifying foraminifera by
morphological criteria may lead to appearance of species
with wide geographic and stratigraphic distribution, e.g.,
Ammonia beccarii described by Linnaeus (1758). Another
concept is needed to resolve taxonomic problems. Molecular
concepts (e.g., Holzmann 2000) opens new perspectives for
the taxonomy of recent foraminifera because molecular sys-
tematics enables relatively clear definitions of existing taxa
and investigation of hidden genetic subdivisions (sibling
species). The main disadvantage of this concept is its appli-
cability to living organisms only, as they comprise only a
small proportion of the total number of known species. Thus,
molecular concepts are not useful for stratigraphers who are
dealing largely with fossil species that often have no
analogues among recent foraminifera. For the Quaternary,
the molecular classification is useful, though a variety of
limitations must be recognized. At the current stages of
development, no sufficient data bank is yet available, some
groups are very resistant to genomic techniques, and the wide
distributions of cryptobiotic propagules result in the appear-
ance of sequences far outside their viable ranges. Thus,
morphological criteria for identification remain essential
both in traditional studies and for comparisons with environ-
mental applications of molecular classifications.
22 3 Taxonomic Classification of Foraminifera
3.2 Principles of Taxonomic Classification
The author has carefully analyzed the higher taxonomic
classifications suggested by Saidova (1981), Mikhalevich
(2013), and Pawlowski et al. (2013) and have tried to adopt
those schemes to classifications suggested by the World
Registered Marine Species (WoRMS) (WoRMS Editorial
Board 2021), the aim of which is to provide an authoritative
and comprehensive list of names of marine organisms,
including information on synonymy. Unfortunately, in
many cases the WoRMS classifications did not fit with the
author’s concept for a higher classification of the Ponto-
Caspian Quaternary foraminifera. As a consequence of the
specific geographic position of the Ponto-Caspian and its
long semi- or complete isolation from the World Ocean, its
biota, including foraminifera, is quite specific. Unfortunately,
among the editors of WoRMS, there is no one with specific
expertise in the fauna of the unique Ponto-Caspian geo-
graphic region (see map “Our editors around the world” at
http://www.marinespecies.org/about.php). Also, purely taxo-
nomic work was not the main goal of this investigation of the
Ponto-Caspian Quaternary foraminifera. This book focuses
on applied components enabling use of foraminifera for
stratigraphy and paleogeographic reconstructions (Chap. 6),
as well as for environmental monitoring (Chap. 7).
The basic taxonomic unit of the system for any group of
organisms is the “species.” Therefore, the primary task of a
researcher dealing with issues of taxonomy is the accurate
understanding of the species characteristics and the establish-
ment of criteria to consistently identify individuals at all
stages of ontogeny. This work adopts a polytypic concept
of the species, that is, that any species is composed of many
allopatric populations that can differ to a certain degree from
each other. If individuals from these populations differ in
diagnostic morphological characteristics and are geographi-
cally and temporally isolated, they are considered as subspe-
cies. The identification of species is based on the set of
criteria for zoological systematics developed by Mayr et al.
(1956) and Mayr (1971) for the entire fauna as a whole and
refined by Fursenko (1978) for foraminifera. His concept is
based on the assumption that only a combination of morpho-
logical (or comparative morphological), geographical, eco-
logical, geochronological, and discriminative criteria can
provide correct identification of a species. The morphological
criteria describe external and internal features of
foraminiferal tests. The geographical, ecological, and
geochronological criteria associate species with certain zoo-
geographical areoles and environmental conditions required
for their existence and adaptation at certain chronological
time interval. The discriminative criteria specify parameters
useful to distinguish foraminiferal species from each other.
The above criteria correspond to the main philosophical
categories of time (geochronological), space (geographical),
evolution (morphological), and metabolism (ecological) of
organisms. Being isolated from each other inevitably leads to
the emergence of distinct features. In our material they are
represented by a group of species previously united under the
name A. beccarii, as will be discussed below.
Using this concept, this work classifies and uses stratigra-
phy for some taxa (e.g., Ammonia spp., Yanko 1990a) that
were considered by some authors as useless for biostrati-
graphic purposes because of difficulties and uncertainties in
their identification (e.g., Holzmann 2000). The main
characteristics are morphological, geochronological, geo-
graphic, and ecological, primarily morphological criteria.
All taxa of the Quaternary foraminifera of the Ponto-
Caspian are classified as belonging to Kingdom Protoctista,
Class Foraminifera d’Orbigny, 1826, Subclass Sarcodina
Eichwald, 1830 (Table 3.1).
Classification of the Quaternary foraminifera of the Ponto-
Caspian includes altogether 180 benthic and 7 planktonic
species and subspecies. Among benthic foraminifera,
30 are agglutinated, and the remaining lower taxa are
characterized by calcium carbonate tests. The classification
of Loeblich and Tappan (1988) provides the basis for the
generic classification used in this study. The taxonomic

¼
(continued)
3.2 Principles of Taxonomic Classification 23
Table 3.1 Taxonomic classification of the Late Quaternary foraminifera of the Ponto-Caspian Region
Kingdom Protoctista
Class Foraminifera D’Orbigny, 1826
Subclass Sarcodina Eichwald, 1830
Order Astrorhizida Lankester, 1885
Family Astrorhizidae Brady, 1881
Genus Astrammina Rhumbler in Wiesner, 1931
Astrammina sphaerica (Brady, 1871)***
Genus Bathysiphon Sars, 1872
Bathysiphon hirudinea (Herron-Allen and Earland, 1932)***
Family Psammosphaeridae Haeckel, 1894
Subfamily Psammosphaerinae Haeckel, 1894
Genus Psammosphaera Schultze, 1875
Psammmosphaera sp.
Family Saccaminidae Brady, 1884
Subfamily Saccamininae Brady, 1884
Genus Saccammina Sars, in Carpenter, 1869
Saccammina sp.**
Genus Proteonella Lukina, 1969
Proteonella atlantica (Cushman), 1944
Genus Ovammina Dahlgren, 1962
Ovammina leptoderma Mayer**
Genus Hemisphaerammina Loeblich and Tappan, 1957
Hemisphaerammina sp.**
Order Ammodiscida Fursenko, 1958
Family Ammodiscidae Reuss, 1862
Genus Glomospira Rzehak, 1885
Glomospira glomerata Hoglund, 1947*
Glomospira gordialis (Jones and Parker, 1860)***
Family Discamminidae Mikhalevich, 1980
Genus Discammina Lacroix, 1932
Discammina imperspica Yanko, 1974
Family Lituolidae De Blainville, 1825
Genus Lituola Lamarck, 1804
Lituola nautilus Brady *
Genus Labrospira Höglund, 1947
Labrospira sp.*
Genus Ammobaculites Cushman, 1910
Ammobaculites exiguus contractus Mayer, 1972
Ammobaculites ponticus Mikhalevich, 1968
Genus Haplophragmoides Cushman, 1910
Haplophragmoides tenuicutis (Mayer), 1972
Genus Ammoscalaria Höglund, 1947
Ammoscalaria verae Mayer, 1968
Ammoscalaria sp., in Yanko, 1989
Genus Haplophragmium (Reussina) Gryzbowski, 1895
Haplophragmium maync Loeblich and Tappan, 1952*
Family Textulariidae Ehrenberg, 1838
Genus Textularia Defrance, 1824
Textularia deltoidea Reuss*
Textularia conica d’Orbigny, 1839 ( Textularia sp. in Yanko, 1989)
Order Schlumbergerinida Mikhalevich, 1980
Family Miliamminidae Saidova, 1981
Genus Birsteiniolla Mayer, 1974
Birsteiniolla macrostoma Yankovskaya and Mikhalevich, 1972***

(continued)
Table 3.1 (continued)
Kingdom Protoctista
Genus Miliammina (Brady, 1870)
Miliammina fusca (Brady, 1870)
Miliammina groenlandica Cushman****
Family Siphonapertinae Saidova, 1975
Genus Siphonaperta Vella, 1957
Siphonaperta agglutinans (d’Orbigny, 1839)
Order Ataxophragmiida Fursenko, 1958
Family Trochamminidae Schwager, 1877
Genus Entzia von Daday, 1884
Entzia polystoma caspica (Mayer), 1968**
Entzia polystoma dacica (Tufescu), 1973****
Genus Rotaliammina Cushman, 1924
Rotaliammina intermedia Rhumbler 1938*
Rotaliammina ochracea (Williamson), 1858
Family Verneulinidae Cushman, 1911
Genus Spiroplectinata Cushman, 1927
Spiroplectinata perexilis (Mayer), 1968**
Family Eggerellidae Cushman, 1937
Genus Eggerelloides Cushman, 1933
Eggerelloides scaber (Williamson, 1858)
Order Miliolida Lankester, 1885
Family Cornuspiridae Shultze, 1854
Genus Cornuspira Shultze, 1854
Cornuspira minuscula (Mayer, 1968)
Cornuspira planorbis Shultze, 1854
Superfamily Milioloidea Ehrenberg, 1839
Family Miliolidae Ehrenberg, 1839
Subfamily Miliolinae Ehrenberg, 1839
Genus Ammomassilina Cushman, 1933
Massilina alveoliniformis (Millett, 1898)*
Subfamily Quinqueloculininae Cushman, 1917
Genus Quinqueloculina d’Orbigny, 1826
Quinqueloculina angulata (Williamson, 1858)
Quinqueloculina bicornis (Walker and Jacob), 1798
Quinqueloculina consobrina (d’Orbigny), 1846
Quinqueloculina curvula Yanko, 1989
Quinqueloculina delicatula Bogdanowicz, 1952
Quinqueloculina inﬂata (d’Orbigny), 1826
Quinqueloculina laevigata (d’Orbigny), 1826
Quinqueloculina lamarckiana d’Orbigny, 1839
Quinqueloculina lata Terquem, 1878
Quinqueloculina milletti (Wiesner), 1912
Quinqueloculina oblonga (Montagu), 1803
Quinqueloculina reussi (Bogdanowicz), 1947
Quinqueloculina seminulum (Linne), 1767
Quinqueloculina venusta Karrer, 1868
Quinqueloculina vulgaris d’Orbigny, 1826
Quinqueloculina ex gr. gracilis Karrer, in Yanko, 1989
Genus Dentostomina Carman, 1933
Dentostomina bermudiana Carmann, 1933*
Genus Massilina Schlumberger, 1893

¼
(continued)
Kingdom Protoctista
Massilina inaequalis (d’Orbigny), 1839
Massilina secans (d’Orbigny), 1826
Genus Lachlanella Vella, 1957
Lachlanella sp.
Genus Pateoris Loeblich and Tappan, 1953
Pateoris dilatatus (d’Orbigny), 1838
Pateoris sp., in Yanko, 1989
Genus Pyrgo Defrance, 1824
Pyrgo elongata (d’Orbigny), 1826
Pyrgo ﬁsheri (Schlumberger), 1891
Subfamily Miliolinellinae Vella, 1957
Genus Miliolinella Wiesner, 1931
Miliolinella circularis (Bornemann), 1865
Miliolinella elongata Kruit, 1955 Miliolinella sp., in Yanko, 1989
Miliolinella risilla Mayer, 1972*
Miliolinella selene (Karrer), 1868
Miliolinella subrotunda (Montagu), 1803
Subfamily Tubinelinae Rhumbler, 1906
Genus Articulina (d’Orbigny), 1826
Articulina tubulosa (Seguenza, 1862)
Articulina ex gr. tenella Eichwald, 1830
Articulina sp., in Yanko, 1989
Subfamily Triloculininae Bogdanowicz, 1981
Genus Triloculina d’Orbigny, 1826
Triloculina (?) angustioris (Bogdanowicz), 1952
Triloculina marioni Schlumberger, 1883
Triloculina sp. 2, in Yanko, 1989
Genus Sigmella Azbel Mikhalevich, 1983
Sigmella distorta (Phleger and Parker), 1951
Sigmella tenuis (Czjzek), 1848
Sigmella sp., in Yanko, 1989
Genus Cycloforina Łuczkowska, 1972
Cycloforina? sp.
Order Lagenida Fursenko, 1958
Superfamily Nodosariidae Ehrenberg, 1838
Family Nodosariidae Ehrenberg, 1838
Subfamily Nodosariinae Ehrenberg, 1838
Genus Orthomorphina Stainforth, 1952
Orthomorphina calomorpha (Reuss), 1866
Orthomorphina drammenensis Feyling-Hanssen, 1964
Orthomorphina ﬁliformis (d’Orbigny), 1826
Subfamily Lageninae Brady, 1881
Genus Lagena Walker and Jacob in Kanmacher, 1798
Lagena quadrilatera quadrilatera Earland, 1934
Lagena semistriata (Williamson), 1858
Lagena striata (d’Orbigny), 1839
Lagena vulgaris Williamson, 1858
Lagena sp., in Yanko, 1989
Superfamily Glandulinoidea Yanko, 1989
Family Glandulinidae Reuss, 1860
Subfamily Glandulininae Reuss, 1860

(continued)
Kingdom Protoctista
Genus Glandulina d’Orbigny, in de la Sagra, 1839
Glandulina sp., in Yanko and Troitskaya, 1987
Family Polymorphinidae d’Orbigny, 1839
Genus Guttulina d’Orbigny, 1839
Guttulina lactea (Walker and Jacob), 1798
Subfamily Laryngosigminae Saidova, 1981
Genus Esosyrinx Loeblich and Tappan, 1953
Esosyrinx jatzkoi Yanko, 1974
Esosyrinx praelongus (Terquem), 1878
Esosyrinx undulosus (Terquem), 1878
Esosyrinx sp., in Yanko, 1989
Genus Laryngosigma Loeblich and Tappan, 1953
Laryngosigma williamsoni (Terquem), 1878
Subfamily Entolingulinae Saidova, 1981
Genus Entolingulina Loeblich and Tappan, 1961
Entolingulina deplanata Yanko, 1974
Subfamily Oolininae Loeblich and Tappan, 1961
Genus Oolina d’Orbigny, 1839
Oolina squamosa (Montagu), 1803
Oolina sp., in Yanko, 1989
Genus Fissurina Reuss, 1850
Fissurina fabaria Troitskaya, 1987
Fissurina fragilis Troitskaya, 1987
Fissurina lineata (Williamson), 1858
Fissurina lucida (Williamson), 1858
Fissurina nummiformis (Büchner), 1940
Fissurina porrecta Troitskaya, 1987
Fissurina solida Seguenza, 1862
Fissurina tamanica Yanko, 1989
Fissurina sp., in Yanko, 1989
Genus Parafissurina Parr, 1947
Parafissurina aventricosa McCulloch, 1968
Parafissurina dzemetinica Yanko, 1974
Parafissurina ex gr. lateralis Cushman, in Yanko and Troitskaya, 1987
Order Rotaliida Delage and Herouard, 1896
Superfamily Discorboidea Ehrenberg, 1838
Family Discorbiidae Ehrenberg, 1838
Subfamily Discorbiinae Ehrenberg, 1838
Genus Discorbis Lamarck, 1804
Discorbis bertheloti (d’Orbigny), 1839
Discorbis vilardeboana (d’Orbigny), 1839
Discorbis sp.
Genus Gavelinopsis Hofker, 1951
Gavelinopsis sp., in Yanko, 1989
Subfamily Rosaliinae Reuss, 1963
Genus Rosalina d’Orbigny, 1826
Rosalina catesbyana d’Orbigny, 1839
Rosalina sp., in Yanko, 1989
Family Glabratellidae Loeblich and Tappan, 1964
Genus Heronallenia Chapman and Parr, 1931
Heronallenia chasteri (Heron-Allen and Earland), 1913

(continued)
Kingdom Protoctista
Superfamily Anomalinoidea Cushman, 1927
Family Cibicidae Cushman, 1927
Genus Cibicides Montfort, 1808
Cibicides dispars (d’Orbigny), 1838
Cibicides lobatulus (Walker and Jacob), 1798
Cibicides mckannai Galloway and Wiesler, 1927
Family Planorbulinidae Schwager, 1877
Genus Planorbulina d’Orbigny, 1826
Planorbulinella mediterranensis d’Orbigny, 1826
Family Acervulinidae Schultze, 1854
Genus Acervulina Schultze, 1854
Acervulina inhaerens Schulze, 1854
Superfamily Nonionoidae Schultze, 1854
Family Nonionidae Schultze, 1854
Genus Nonion Montfort, 1808
Nonion matagordanus Kornfeld, in Cushman, 1939
Nonion pauciloculum Cushman, 1944
Genus Florilus Montfort, 1808
Florilus trochospiralis Mayer, 1968
Florilus cf. atlanticum (Cushman, 1947)
Family Trichochyalidae Saidova, 1981
Genus Trichochyalus Loeblich and Tappan, 1953
Trichochyalus aguajoi (Bermudez), 1935
Superfamily Rotalioidea Ehrenberg, 1839
Family Rotaliidae Ehrenberg, 1839
Genus Rotalia Lamarck, 1804
Rotalia calcar (d’Orbigny in Deshayes, 1830)*
Family Ammoniidae Saidova, 1981
Genus Ammonia Brünnich, 1772
Ammonia agoiensis Yanko, 1990
Ammonia ammoniformis (d’Orbigny), 1826
Ammonia beccarii (Linne), 1758
Ammonia caspica Stschedrina, 1975
Ammonia caucasica Yanko, 1990
Ammonia compacta Hofker, 1969
Ammonia novoeuxinica Yanko, 1979
Ammonia parasovica Stchedrina and Mayer, 1975
Ammonia parkinsoniana (d’Orbigny), 1839
Ammonia tepida (Cushman), 1928
Family Canaliferidae Krasheninnikov, 1960
Genus Canalifera Krasheninnikov, 1960
Canalifera earlandi (Cushman), 1936
Canalifera nigarensis (Cushman), 1939
Canalifera oweniana (d’Orbigny), 1839
Canalifera parkerae Yanko, 1974
Canalifera punctata (Terquem), 1878
Canalifera ex gr. verriculata (Brady), in Yanko and Troitskaya, 1987
Family Elphidiidae Galloway, 1933
Subfamily Haynesininae Yanko, subfam.n.
Genus Porosononion Putrja, 1958
Porosononion martkobi martkobi Bogdanowicz, 1947

(continued)
Kingdom Protoctista
Porosononion martkobi ponticus Yanko, 1989
Porosononion martkobi tschaudicus Yanko, 1989
Porosononion subgranosus mediterranicus Yanko, 1989
Porosononion subgranosus pshadicus Yanko, 1989
Porosononion submartkobi Yanko, 1989
Genus Aubignyna Margerel, 1970
Aubignyna mariei Margarel, 1970
Aubignyna perlucida (Herron-Allen and Earland), 1913
Aubignyna suckumiensis Yanko, 1989
Genus Haynesina Banner and Culver, 1978
Haynesina anglica (Murray), 1965
Haynesina eltigenica Yanko, 1989
Haynesina ex gr. germanica (Ehrenberg, 1840)
Subfamily Elphidiinae Galloway, 1933
Genus Elphidium Montfort, 1808
Elphidium aculeatum (d’Orbigny), 1846
Elphidium caspicum azovicum Yanko, 1989
Elphidium caspicum caspicum Yanko, 1989
Elphidium caspicum karadenizum Yanko, 1989
Elphidium caspicum uzunlarum Yanko, 1989
Elphidium incertum tuberculatum (Williamson, 1858)
Elphidium josephinum (d’Orbigny), 1846
Elphidium margaritaceum Cushman, 1939
Elphidium ponticum Dolgopolskaja and Pauli, 1931
Elphidium shochinae Mayer, 1968
Elphidium umbilicatulum (Williamson), 1858
Elphidium sp., in Yanko, 1989
Genus Cribroelphidium Cushman and Bronnimann, 1948
Cribroelphidium percursum Yanko, 1974
Cribroelphidium poeyanum (d’Orbigny), 1839
Cribroelphidium translucens (Natland), 1938
Cribroelphidium troitskayae Yanko, 1989
Genus Mayerella Yanko 1987
Mayerella aralica Yanko, 1987
Mayerella brotzkajae (Mayer), 1968
Mayerella kolkhidica Yanko, 1989
Superfamily Globogerinoidea Carpenter, 1862
Family Globigerinidae Carpenter, 1862
Genus Globigerina d’Orbigny, 1826
Globigerina bulloides d’Orbigny, 1826
Globigerina praebulloides Blow, 1959
Globigerina quinqueloba Natland, 1938
Genus Globoquadrina Finlay, 1947
Globoquadrina dutertrei (d’Orbigny, 1839)
Globoquadrina hexagona (Natland, 1938)
Genus Globorotalia Cushman, 1927
Globorotalia pumpilio Parker, 1962
Globorotalia crassaformis (Galloway and Wissler, 1927)
Order Buliminida Fursenko, 1958
Family Buliminidae Jones, in Grifﬁth et al., 1875
Subfamily Buliminidae Jones, 1875

position of the Foraminifera has varied since their recognition
as Protozoa (Protista) by Schultze in 1854, who referred to
the order Foraminiferida. Loeblich and Tappan (1992)
reranked Foraminifera as a class as it is now commonly
regarded by paleontologists. Tests of agglutinated foraminif-
era are represented by four main types that differ in their
morphology and internal structure and are placed into four
orders: Astrorhizida, Ammodiscida, Schlumbergerinida, and
Ataxophragmiida. All their representatives are characterized
by different foreign particles and cement as well as the ratio
between them. Secretory calcium carbonate foraminifera also
belong to four orders: (1) Miliolida (high Mg calcite,
porcellanous, three layers, non-lamellar, imperforate,
tangle-shaped tests). (2) Lagenida (low Mg calcite,
monolamellar, hyaline radial, single or multiple chambers,
uniserial or planispiral), (3) Rotaliida (low Mg calcite,
bilamellar and bilamellar–rotaloid, hyaline, perforated, mul-
tichambered), and (4) Buliminida (low Mg calcite,
bilamellar, perforated, multichambered, biserial, triserial).
3.3 Agglutinated Taxa 29
Kingdom Protoctista
Genus Bulimina d’Orbigny, 1826
Bulimina aculeata d’Orbigny, 1826
Bulimina elongata d’Orbigny, 1826
Globobulimina afﬁnis (d’Orbigny, 1839)
Family Uvigerinidae Haeckel, 1894
Genus Trifarina Cushman, 1923
Trifarina angulosa (Williamson), 1858
Family Bolivinidae Cushman, 1927
Genus Bolivina d’Orbigny, 1839
Bolivina doniezi Cushman and Wickenden, 1929
Bolivina pseudoplicata Heron-Allen and Earland, 1930
Bolivina variabilis (Williamson), 1858
Bolivina ex gr. dilatata Reuss, 1850
Bolivina sp.
Genus Brizalina Costa, 1856
Brizalina spathulata (Williamson), 1858
Brizalina striatula (Cushman), 1922
Brizalina ex gr. danvillensis (Howe and Wallace), 1932, in Yanko and Troiskaya, 1987
Note. Asterisks mark the species, images, and, in some cases, descriptions that are provided in earlier publications on the Black and Caspian Seas: *
Velkanova 1981; ** Mayer 1968, 1972, 1976; *** Mikhalevich 1968; **** Tufescu 1973, 1974. These species were not found in the material
described in this book and are not illustrated herein. Most of the others are supplemented by images and descriptions herein
3.3 Agglutinated Taxa
To classify agglutinated foraminifera from the Ponto-Caspian
geographic region, special attention was paid to the compo-
sition and quantitative ratio of agglutinated particles and
cement in their tests. In calcareous foraminifera special
attention was given to the microstructure (granular, radial),
layer (monolamellar, bilamellar, bilamellar–rotaliid), poros-
ity (size, shape, pore density), structure of the septal sutures,
and canal system (e.g., in rotaliids).
The agglutinated foraminiferal genera Miliammina and
Siphonaperta with quinqueloculine chamber arrangement
were moved from the family Rzehakinidae (Orlov 1959) or
suborder Textulariina (Loeblich and Tappan 1964, 1981,
1984), where they were located based on siliceous content
of their tests, to the family Shlumbergerinidae described by
Mikhalevich (1980, 1983).
The content of agglutinated particles and cement are not
permanent characters of these species; they vary signiﬁcantly
on different substrates. For example, the tests for Eg. scaber
and Mi. fusca collected from the quartz substrate are
dominated by SiO2 and are not soluble in H2S. In contrast,
those collected from the carbonate substrate have an elevated
proportion of carbonate particles soluble in H2S. In our
opinion, a false impression is created wherein the composi-
tion of cement is not a result of the functional characteristics
of the cytoplasm, but depends on nutrition. Rather, appar-
ently as Saidova (1981) noted, forms that build their shells
from agglutinated material extracted from the soil are “soil
eaters” and receive all the necessary biochemical elements by
assimilating the soil.
The chamber arrangement seems to be the most stable
feature of agglutinated species, as was stated by Mikhalevich

. A similar
arrangement of chambers has a type of species of given
genera Ms. rugosa Sidebottom (Loeblich and Таррап
3.3b–d)
(1980, 1983). In general, agglutinated foraminifera are rare
among both living and fossil assemblages and have a spo-
radic distribution in geological sequences.
3.4 Taxonomic Classification of the Order
Miliolida
The order Miliolida in the Ponto-Caspian geographic region
includes 42 lower taxa with a tangle-shaped structure of tests
that have a porcelain-like, three-layer, non-lamellar-type wall
with a thin organic matrix. At magnification of 5500 times in
the SEM (Yanko 1989, volume II, Table IV, Fig. 11b),
crystals composing the wall have an elongated habit and are
arranged randomly, as a result of which there are gaps of
different shapes and sizes between the crystals that appar-
ently act as pores. Clear pore canals are absent. Crystal sizes
include length from 0.3 to 1.4 μm and width of 0.01 μm. The
test thickness decreases or increases in response to a decrease
or increase of salinity, respectively. This dependence can be
seen both on modern and fossil foraminifera and can be used
for paleogeographic reconstructions. The internal structure of
miliolid tests is a fundamental feature in generic diagnosis.
However, it is often not expressed in test morphology, which
produces errors in determining the genus, as was pointed out
by Krasheninnikov (1959), Bogdanowicz (1969), and others.
With plentiful and varied material, the author analyzed
this feature in all morphological differences of the Ponto-
Caspian Quaternary miliolids using thin cross sections. The
following results were obtained: (1) Tests with four chambers
on the multichamber and three on the small-chamber sides
have quinqueloculine (fivefold) arrangement of chambers at
all stages of ontogenesis, with angular distances between
them of 72
(Fig. 3.1).
Tests with three chambers on the multichamber and two
on the small-chamber sides can have (a) a triloculine struc-
ture, in which the chambers are located at an angle of 120
(Fig. 3.2a, b), and (b) cryptoquinqueloculine (Bogdanowicz
1969) or pseudotriloculine (Krasheninnikov 1959) structure
(Fig. 3.1b, e). In the latter case, the three outer chambers (I, II,
III) of the last whorl in adult forms sharply increase in size
and overlap the previous ones. The angular distance is 144
between chambers I and II and II and III and 72
between
chambers III and I. Chambers IV and V are hidden by
external ones; however, they are all adjacent and the angle
between them is 72
(Fig. 3.2c, d).
Such structure of miliolid tests was first described by
Bogdanowicz (1969) and has been fully confirmed on our
material. Representatives of Massilina and Pateoris (genera-
tion B) have a quinqueloculine arrangement of chambers in
the initial whorl, cryptoquinqueloculine in the next one, and
planospiral in the rest of the test (Fig. 3.3a–d).
Tests of A1 generation have predominantly
quinqueloculine arrangement of chambers in all stages of
ontogenesis, while tests of A2 generation have all three
types of chamber arrangement (Fig.
Fig. 3.1 Inner structure of Quinqueloculina tests. Here and in Figs. 3.3
and 3.4: B, megageneration B; A1 and A2, microgenerations. (Drawn by
Irena Motnenko)
Fig. 3.2 Inner structure of Triloloculina (a, b), Sigmella (c, d), and
Cornuspira (e, f) tests. (Drawn by Irena Motnenko)

1964, Fig. 350–2с) and Pt. hauerinoides (Rhumbler)
(Loeblich and Таррап 1964, Fig. 150–6b). This enables us
to supplement and clarify diagnoses of given genera.
3.5 Taxonomic Classification of Order Lagenida 31
Fig. 3.3 Inner structure of Massilina and Pateoris tests: (a) and (e)
apertural view; (b. c, d) chamber arrangement. (Drawn by Irena
Motnenko)
There is no common understanding of miliolids with a
lamellar tooth. Loeblich and Tappan (1964, 1981) distinguish
the genera Miliolinella and Soutuloris with triloculine and
quinqueloculine, respectively, in the early stages.
Bogdanowicz (1969) indicates that, judging by the
“descriptions and images of the type species Ml. subrotunda
(Montagu), it may include tests with three and four to five
external chambers, and there is no certainty that the triloculine
type is inherent in the former” (Bogdanowicz 1969, 94).
Representatives of this group of miliolids have both
cryptoquinqueloculine and quinqueloculine types of chamber
arrangements. We found no such forms with triloculine cham-
ber arrangement. Therefore, we refrain from isolating the
genus Scutuloris. A more precise diagnosis of the genus
Miliolinella is given in the systematic section (see Chap. 8).
Thus, we refer to the genus Quinqueloculina for species
with quinqueloculine (Q. angulata, Q. ех gr. gracilis,
Q. lamarckiana, Q. lata, Q. milletti, Q. seminulum,
Q. veпusta, Q. vulgaris) and cryptoquinqueloculine
(Q. bicornis, Q. consobrina, Q. inflata, Q. laevigata,
Q. oblonga, Q. curvula) types of chamber arrangement. For
tests with triloculine chamber arrangement, we refer to the
genera Triloculina and Sigmella. In the latter, only the late
sections are sigmoiline, while the early chambers are
characterized by the triloculine plane of coiling (Fig. 3.2d).
With the exception of the genera Massilina, Miliolinella,
Pateoris, and Sigmella, diagnoses of all other Miliolida are
accepted without change in accordance with the
classifications used. In addition to the abovementioned
types of test arrangements, our material contains forms with
a large proloculum and a spiral-coiled undivided second
chamber (Fig. 3.2e, f), with a porcelainlike nonporous wall
(genus Cornuspira). We support the opinion of Bogdanowicz
(1969) about the need to preserve the name Cornuspira,
although it is a junior synonym for Cyclogyra. This is
because the former is firmly entered in the paleontological
literature and gave rise to the terms derived from it (e.g.,
“cornuspira,” “cornuspiroid”), which are widely used for the
characteristic of a certain type of test arrangement in
foraminifera.
Thus, in the order Miliolida, we distinguish two families:
Cornuspiridae (the most primitive type of test arrangement)
and Miliolidae (various modifications of the correctly
ball-shaped type of test arrangement). The latter includes
four subfamilies: (1) Quinqueloculinae with quinqueloquline
and cryptoquinqueloquline chamber arrangements on all
stages of ontogenesis (genus Quinqueloculina) (Fig. 3.1), or
only at the beginning, later becoming planospiral (Massilina,
Pateoris) (Fig. 3.3) or biloculine (Pyrgo) (Fig. 3.4),
(2) Miliolinelinae (quinqueloquline type with laminated
tooth, Miliolinella), (3) Tubinellinae (quinqueloquline in
early stage, later becoming uniserial, Articulina), and
(4) Triloculinae (triloculine in all stages of ontogenesis,
Triloculina, or only in the early stage and later becoming
sigmoline, Sigmella).
3.5 Taxonomic Classification of Order
Lagenida
The order Lagenida in the Ponto-Caspian geographic region
includes 31 lower taxa. Lagenida tests have a monolamellar,
optically, radially radiant and thin perforated wall. The main
characteristic features are the test arrangement and aperture
that were studied in detail. As a result, seven types of test
arrangement were established: secondary single-chambered;
uniaxial multichambered; double row in the initial and single
row in the final sections; close to quinqueloculine; single row
flattened; two rows, laterally compressed; and three rows in
the initial part, later turning into two rows. Regardless of the
test type and aperture shape (plain or lucid), the

overwhelming majority of lagenids have an internal tube of
different lengths and configurations as an element of the test
internal structure at all stages of ontogenesis. This depends
on the functional characteristics of the cytoplasm and acts as
a controlling element in the most vulnerable part of the test,
the aperture, making such forms better organized compared
to those without internal tubes.
Fig. 3.4 Inner structure of Pyrgo tests: (a) peripheral view, (b)
apertural view, (c) quinqueloquline and cryptoquinqueloquline chamber
arrangements at the beginning only, (d, e) biloculine chamber arrange-
ment on the later stage. (Drawn by Irena Motnenko)
Within the order Lagenida, the author distinguishes two
superfamilies—Nodosarioidea Ehrenberg, 1838 (without
internal tube) and Glandulinoidea Yanko, superfam. Nov.
(with internal tube)—represented by 30 species from ten
genera: (1) Orthomorphina (uniserial test shape, simple
rounded aperture), (2) Lagena (single-chambered test, simple
rounded aperture), (3) Guttulina (test asymmetrical with
irregular arrangement close to the triloculine one at the
early stage and uniserial latter, radial aperture with inner
tube on all stages of ontogenesis), (4) Glandulina (test
biserial at the beginning and uniserial at distal end, slit-like
aperture with inner tube on all stages of ontogenesis),
(5) Esosyrinx (biserial test with angle between chambers of
90
, radial aperture with inner tube on all stages of ontogene-
sis); (6) Laryngosigma (biserial test with 180
angle between
chambers, radial aperture with inner tube on all stages of
ontogenesis), (7) Entolingulina (secondary uniserially flat-
tened test, oval aperture with inner tube on all stages of
ontogenesis), (8) Oolina (ball- or egg-shaped test, simple
rounded or radial aperture with inner tube on all stages of
ontogenesis), (9) Fissurina (oval- or ball-shaped, slit-like
aperture with inner tube on all stages of ontogenesis), and
(10) Parafisurina (oval-shaped, slit-like aperture with inner
tube on all stages of ontogenesis) (Table 3.1).
3.6 Taxonomic Classification of Order
Rotaliida
The order Rotaliida is dominant in our material. It includes
65 benthic and 7 planktonic lower taxa. The taxonomic
classification of Rotaliida is based on a combination of a
significant number of criteria that includes arrangement of
test chambers, wall layering and microstructure, presence
(absence) of a system of canals, location of single or multiple
apertures, and others. Different researchers evaluate differ-
ently the significance of individual features, especially
among nonionids and elphidiids. Voloshinova and Dain
(1952) consider both of them as belonging to one family
Nonionoidea, while later Voloshinova (1958) separated
them into different families. Loeblich and Tappan repeatedly
changed their opinion on this matter. In the Treatise
(Loeblich and Tappan 1964), they referred Elphidium to the
superfamily Rotalioidea and Nonion to Cassidulinoidea on
the basis of a radially radiant wall in the former and granular
in the latter. In a later work, Loeblich and Tappan (1981)
refer these genera to superfamilies Discorboidea and
Nonionoidea, respectively. At the same time, they believed
that the nonionids are more highly organized compared to
elphidiids. In Loeblich and Tappan (1984), Nonion and
Elphidium are included in superfamily Nonionidea and
Rotaloidea, respectively, and here the latter are considered
to have a higher level of development compared to the
former. Mikhalevich (1983) had a similar point of view
referring Nonion and Elphidium to independent orders—
Nonionida and Elphidiida. Saidova (1981) assigned them to
different suborders Nonionina and Elphidiina of the order
Nonionida. Similar problems can be noted for other
representatives of the order Rotaliida. The ambiguity of the
position of individual taxa in the system of order Rotaliida
that occupies a high taxonomic position in the evolutionary
scheme of foraminifera is associated with a significant
variability of signs of the external and internal structures as
well as the layering and microstructure of the test wall. These
challenges are well illustrated using examples of the Ponto-
Caspian representatives.

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Title: I'r Aifft Ac Yn Ol
Author: D. Rhagfyr Jones
Release date: December 31, 2017 [eBook #56275]
Most recently updated: October 23, 2024
Language: Welsh
Credits: Produced by Mardi Desjardins the online Distributed
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*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK I'R AIFFT AC YN
OL ***

I’R AIFFT
AC YN OL:
GAN Y
Parch. D. RHAGFYR JONES,
TREORCI.
GWRECSAM:
Hughes a’i Fab, Cyhoeddwyr
1904.

CYFLWYNIAD.
I’R
Henadur E. H. Davies, Ysw., Y.H.,
PENRE, RHONDDA,
YR HWN YN GYNTAF A GEISIODD
GENYF WNEUD MOES-GYFARCHIAD YN Y
FFURF YMA I’R CYHOEDD ODDIAR LWYFAM Y WASG,
A’R HWN SYDD YN DYFOD YN FWY HYSBYS O
FLWYDDYN I FLWYDDYN YN EI ENWAD
A’I WLAD FEL UN O’R BONEDDWYR
MWYAF LLENGAROL, DYNGAROL,
A CHRISTGAROL,
Y CYFLWYNAF Y GYFROL FECHAN ANELWIG HON,
TRWY EI GANIATAD.

RHAGDRAETH.
MAE llawer wedi ei ysgrifenu ar ymweliadau â’r Aifft a
Chanaan, o dro i dro, mewn ieithoedd eraill yn gystal ag yn y
Gymraeg. Ond credaf fod lle i’r llyfr hwn, am ei fod yn wahanol
i’r rhan fwyaf, os nad yr oll, o’i gyfathrach.
Bydd yn fwy personol.
Yma ceir y golygfeydd a’r digwyddiadau nid yn sefyll allan ar eu
pen eu hun, fel pethau diberthynas; yn hytrach deuant atom â lliw
myfyrdod y gweledydd arnynt i gyd. Bydd arddull ac argraffiadau
meddyliol yr awdwr yn rhan o honynt, ac yn eu gwneud felly yn
wahanol i’r hyn ydynt gan neb arall.
Nid yw llyfr o fath hwn i’w restru ymysg arwein-lyfrau (guide-
books) a phethau o’r fath: llenyddiaeth ydyw, ac fel llenyddiaeth y
mae i’w ddarllen a’i fwynhau. Os na fydd y darllenydd yn cydweled â
phobpeth, bydd hyny’n glod i’r awdwr ac iddo yntau, fe ddichon;
oblegid gwn mai hoffach gan yr awdwr fydd deffro meddwl, a’i gadw
ar ddihun, nag enill rhywysgafn-air ogymeradwyaeth teg yr olwg
arno, ond byr ei hoedl.
Os daw’r llyfr â ni i adnabod yn well y Dwyreinfyd didwrf, cryd yr
hil a chryd ein crefydd, bydd hyny yn dâl am ei ddarllen ac am ei
ysgrifenu.
ELFED.
Llundain: Gorphenaf, 1904.

Lle mae’r Nile yn llifo’n llachar
Buost yn ymdeithydd llesg,
Lle bu Joseph yn y carchar,
Lle bu Moses yn hesg;
Ac wedi gweled byd mor bell,
Difyr oedd d’od i Gymru’n well.
Un o’m hoff freuddwydion inau
Oedd cael gwel’d y lotos pêr,
A phob un o’r pyramidiau
Tan ei goron wen o sêr:
Ond mwyach ni rwgnachaf fi,
Mae’r Aifft i gyd yn dy gyfrol di.
Yno mae yr Arab hapus,
Yno mae y Sphinx diwên;
Bywyd yn segurdod melus,
Harddwch yn bererin hen:
A dyma wlad y rhamant fawr
Mewn cyfrol fach Gymreig yn awr.
Plygodd hi ei haden dirion
Dros fy Iesu y’more’i oes,
A hi ofalodd yru Simon
Tua’r bryn i ddwyn ei Groes:
Gwell yw anghofio’i gorthrwm cas,
A chofio’r Aifft y’nyddiau’i Gras.
Mehefin, 1904.

GAIR YN EI BRYD.
EG yw d’we’yd i lawer o gynwys y llyfryn hwn ymddangos
mewn rhifyne o’r Celt a’r Tywysydd; eto, ceir yma dwsged o
bethe’n gwel’d gole’ dydd am y tro cynta’, heblaw fod y lleill
dipyn yn fwy trwsiadus eu lliw a’u llun. Prin y b’aswn yn eu cyhoeddi
mewn ffurf mor ymhongar oni bai am gymelliade cyfeillion, y penaf o
ba rai yw’r boneddwr y cyflwynaf y llyfryn iddo. Ceisiaf yn ostyngedig
i’r cynorthwyon fod gryfed a’r cymelliade, fel na bo i farug Siomiant
ddifa blagur f’anturiaethe llenyddol.
Mae’r un mor deg hefyd imi grybwyll enwe a chydnabod persone
a wnaethant fy nhaith yn gysurus a llwyddianus drwy eu
caredigrwydd ffodus a diffwdan. Heblaw f’eglwys fy hun yn y
cyfanswm o honi, na’r hon nid oes ei gwell y’Nghymru, dyna W.
Phillips, Ysw., Cynghorwr W. T. Jones, Ysw., D. Morgan, Ysw., Mri. T.
E. Jones, A. Pimm, a Henry Jones, o Dreorci; y Parch. J. R. Davies a’i
deulu dedwydd, Caerdydd; J. Davies-Bryan, Ysw., Alecsandria; E.
Davies-Bryan, Ysw., Cairo; y’nghyda thri o “o fechgyn” yr ola’, sef
Jones, Huws, a Roberts. Dymunaf ore’ deufyd iddynt oll, a bendith
gwraig a phlentyn dros ben.
Oddiwrth yr AWDWR.

PENOD. TUDAL.
I. Parotoade 1
II. Y Llong a’i Phreswylwyr 6
III. Rhagor am y Criw a’r Swyddogion 11
IV. Bywyd bob Dydd 16
V. Rhagor am y Bywyd bob Dydd 20
VI. Ar y Daith 26
VII. Fy Nyddiadur 32
VIII. Dalen arall o’m Dyddiadur 38
IX. Un arall eto 43
X. Glanio 48
XI. Mewn Dalfa 54
XII. Trem oddiar y Trothwy 59
XIII. Ffawd a Ffwdan 64
XIV. Ar Grwydr 73
XV. Yn y Tren i Gairo 81
XVI. Cairo wedi’r Dydd 88
XVII. Cairo wedi’r Nos 95

XVIII. Anturiaethus 101
XIX. Byd ac Eglwys 107
XX. Ar yr Afon 118
XXI. Lle bu’r Mab Bychan 126
XXII. Ar Fin yr Anialwch 134
XXIII. Ychydig o Friwfwyd Gweddill 142
XXIV. Yn Ol 152

DARLUNIAU.
TUDAL.
Yr Awdwr. (Wyneb-
ddarlun)
Alecsandria. I wynebu tud. 9
Cairo. I wynebu tud. 41
Pont dros y Nile. I wynebu tud. 89
Dan y Palmwydd. I wynebu tud. 105
Myfyrio’r Coran. I wynebu tud. 121
Darn o’r Bazaar. I wynebu tud. 137
Cheops a’r Sphinx. I wynebu tudal. 153

PENOD I.
*
PAROTOADE.
AN o’wn yn hogyn bychan, yn yr oedran ag y mae plant yn cael
eu cyfri’ gan eu rhïeni y tu hwnt o gall, a phob gair a
dd’wedant yn cael ei gadarnhau â chwerthin, ei drysori yn y cof, a’i
drotian allan er budd y cym’dogion bob tro y ceir cyfle—mi glywes
fodraboedd imi yn d’we’yd fy mod yn araf sillebu un o’r Salme ar
brydnawn Sul, ac, wedi cael gafel go lew ar yr ymadrodd cynta’, imi
droi yn sydyn at ’rhen ŵr ’nhadcu, yr hwn oedd yntau’n ymlwybro
drwy’r wythfed benod o’r Rhufeinied ar ei ffordd i’r Ysgol, a gofyn
iddo:
“ ’Nhaid, ddoi di i’r Aifft?”
’Ro’em ein dau yn bur hy’ ar ein gilydd, er ei fod e’ flynydde yn
hŷn na mi. Ti a tithe oedd y dull o siarad rhyngom fynycha’, oblegid
yn fy myw y gallwn wel’d y cysondeb o arfer y person cyntaf unigol
pan yn siarad â Duw, a’r person cynta’ llïosog pan yn siarad â dynion.
Bid fyno am hyny, bu’r hen bererin am amser y’methu sylweddoli
cwestiwn ei ŵyr, ac ebai’n hurt:
“By-be’ ddeudest ti? I’r Aifft? Be’ ’nawn ni fan hono?”
“Wel,” meddwn, “mae acw ddigon o le, weldi;” ac yr wyf yn dra
sicr nad oedd neb yn cael mwy o le yn y fan lle’r oedd na myfi.
“Sut y gwyddost ti hyny?” gofynai drachefn, gan edrych dros ei
’spectol.
“Ond ydi’r Beibil yn deud fod Israel wedi myn’d odd’no,” meddwn;
a mi ddarllenes mewn tôn fuddugoliaethus:
“Pan aeth Israel o’r Aifft, tŷ Jacob oddiwrth bobl anghyfiaith!”

A f’ymresymiad i oedd—os oedd Israel “wedi myn’d odd’no,” nad
oedd dim i’n lluddias ni i fyn’d a meddianu’r wlad.
Beth bynag oedd fy syniad y pryd hwnw am fyn’d i’r Aifft, mi wn
imi fod am dros ddeng mlynedd ar hugen wed’yn na freuddwydies
am y posibilrwydd o hyny. Ond pan agorodd y ganrif bresenol ei
llyged, daeth breuddwyd y plentyn i ben yn rhanol. Mi es i yno, ond
heb yr hen ŵr. Y rheswm na ddaethe efe gyda mi i’r Aifft oedd, ei
fod wedi myn’d i Ganaan flynydde cyn hyny. Ac o’r ddau, efe gafodd
y fargen ore’.
Pe bawn yn tueddu at fod yn ofergoelus, gan osod coel ar bethe
a elwir yn arwyddion ac argoelion, ni chychwynaswn byth. Heb roi
mymryn gormod o liw ar yr helynt, yr oedd fel pe bai ryw impyn
maleisus yn chware’ ei brancie â mi o’r diwrnod y penderfynes
gychwyn.
Os ydych yn ame’, gwrandewch.
Gan mai er mwyn y fordeth yn bena’ yr o’wn y’myn’d, rhaid oedd
cael llong a fuase’n treulio mwy o amser ar y dw’r na llonge teithio
cyffredin. Ond pan aed ati i chwilio am long o’r desgrifiad, bron nad
aech ar eich llw eu bod wedi myn’d i waelod y dw’r bob un. O’r
diwedd, ar ol i deliffôn Abergorci grygu, ac i gwmnïe Caerdydd
ddechre dangos gwỳn eu llyged, dyma genadwri’n d’od fod llong
wedi ei chael oedd y’myn’d bob cam i Alecsandria heb ymdroi dim ar
y ffordd, a taw gore’ pa gynta’ i mi oedd setlo’n bersonol â’r
swyddogion y’Nghaerdydd.
Trefn y dydd bellach oedd ffrwst a thrwst a thryste, a mi ro’wn yn
y swyddfa’n talu’r llong−lôg yn yr amser a gymer i ambell bregethwr
besychu. Ar ol cwblhau hyny o wasaneth, i ffwrdd a mi i swyddfa
arall—swyddfa’r Bwrdd Masnach; ac ni welsoch y fath firi erioed.
Y’nghanol y casgliad rhyfeddaf o feibion dynion—yn wỳn, a du, a
choch, a melyn, yn faw, a sâ’m, a saw’r, o’r Cymro i’r Chinëad, ac o’r
Gwyddel i’r Hindŵ; y rhai oedd yno naill ai i gael eu cyflogi, neu,
wedi eu cyflogi, yn cymeryd yr ardystiad (nid y dirwestol), ac yn
derbyn ernes eu cyfloge—mi es ine at y bwrdd i arwyddo fy
nghydsyniad i was’naethu fel talydd ar y llong y bum yn setlo â hi,

hyd nes y dychwele o’r fordeth hono; a mi foddlones i dderbyn swllt
y mis am fy ngwasaneth. Mi gefes chwecheiniog o ernes cyn symud
o’r fan: ond rhyngoch chwi a mine, mae’r cenafon yn fy nyled o’r
gweddill hyd heddyw. Prif waith y talydd mewn llong gargo, fel yr
awgryma’r enw, yw talu arian y criw fel bo’r angen arnynt; a cheisie’r
perch’nogion a’r cadben osod yn fy mhen taw mantes i mi mewn
mwy nag un ystyr oedd bod ynddi fel swyddog, ac nid fel teithiwr.
Y’mysg manteision erill, golyge y caffe fy nghelfi lonydd gan
swyddogion y dollfa wedi i mi gyredd y làn draw.
Mi es ar y bwrdd yn brydlon, a thri o ffyddlonied yr achos hefo mi
—un o ba rai gychwynodd gyda mi ar fordeth arall dros ugen
mlynedd yn ol, mordeth sydd heb “fwrw angor” iddi eto. Rywbryd yn
ystod y dydd, cliriwyd y dec, a ffarweliwyd yn gynes; a rywbryd yn
ystod y nos codwyd yr angor, a dechreuwyd ageru i gyfeiriad y
Sianel. Ond cyn ini adel y Basin yn y Bari Doc—a phrin y
tramgwyddai’r un trochwr wrth y basin hwn—pan oedd y llong o
fewn haner ergyd careg i’r agorfa sy’n arwen i’r môr, dyma floedd! a
bloeddiade! a chwiban! a sŵn! a chrac! A chyn imi wybod fod dim
allan o le’n bod, dyma’r cadben yn d’od ataf yn gyffrous, ac yn
d’we’yd:
“I’m afraid, Sir, you will have another fortnight on shore!”
Ac felly bu. Y’mhen y pythefnos i’r diwrnod hwnw y cefnais ar
ddoc y Bari. Yn ystod y pythefnos yna, nid o’wn yn perthyn i dir, na
dw’r, nac awyr—hyny yw, nid o’wn na phregethwr, na dïacon, nac
aelod cyffredin; a phe cyfarfyddase fy nghyfell gore’ â mi ar ’stryd
Caerdydd y dyddie hyny, dodase fi i lawr fel morwr ar dramp, neu
grimpyn yn chwilio am ’sglyfeth. A dyna oedd y drychineb: angor
llong arall oedd wedi myn’d i mewn i ystlys y llong ’ro’wn i arni, a’i
rhwygo ychydig islaw i wyneb y dw’r. Bu raid ei haner dadlwytho
mewn canlyniad, a’i gyru i’r ysbyty am bedwar diwrnod-ar-ddeg cyn
iddi dd’od yn ffit i ail gychwyn.
A dyna o’wn yn hala ato, ys d’wedai un o garitors Brutus: pe bai
rywfaint o ofergoeledd yn llechu dan fy ngwasgod, mi wnaethwn fy
meddwl i fyny’n ddi-droi-yn-ol taw bys Rhaglunieth oedd yma yn
dangos y ffordd yn ol i Dreorci, ac nad oedd ond dyfrllyd fedd yn

f’aros, os mai mỳnu myn’d i’r môr a wnawn. Ond mentrodd un
f’adgofio o’r hen air sy’n d’we’yd nad oes boddi i fod ar y dyn ga’dd
ei eni i’w grogi! Wel, meddwn, os taw felly y mae, fe gaiff “Dafydd
Jones” y siawns gynta’.
Ac am saith o’r gloch, yr unfed-ar-hugen o’r mis bach, yn y
flwyddyn un fil naw cant ac un, aethom allan gyda’r llanw i’r Sianel
ac i’r nos.

PENOD II.
*
Y LLONG A’I PHRESWYLWYR.
WYRACH yr hoffech wybod am y tŷ yr o’wn yn byw ynddo’r
pythefnos nesa’, a’r dynion oedd yno’n byw hefo mi.
Nid yw mesuriad y llong genyf wrth law, tae fater am hyny; ond
yr oedd yn llai na llong deithwyr, ac yn fwy na llong bysgota.
Ymddangose’n fwy yn y doc nag ar ganol y dwr, ond yr oedd o
faintioli mwy na’r cyffredin o’r dosbarth y perthyne iddo. Yr oedd
golwg anghynes arni pan yn cael ei llwytho, a llwch glo dros ei
gwyneb i gyd. Ofnwn taw golwg anghynes fydde arnaf fine hefyd os
taw dyna oedd ei chyflwr i fod hyd ddiwedd y daith. Pan es i gysgu’r
noson gynta’, yr oedd can ddued a’r glöyn; pan ddeffröes y bore’
cynta’, yr oedd can wyned a’r carlwm. Ni weles erioed drawsffurfiad
mor fawr mewn amser mor fyr, oddigerth ar gyflwr ambell i ddyn.
Heblaw’r dec isa’, yr hwn a ymestyne o’r naill ben i’r llall o honi,
yr oedd iddi dri dec ucha’,—un o’r tu blaen, un o’r tu ol, ac un yn y
canol. O dan y dec blaen yr oedd ystafelloedd y criw a’r tanwyr, lle y
bwytaent ac yr yfent, a’r lle hefyd y cysgent,—trindod o
ddyledswydde ag oedd yn gofyn cymwysdere neillduol i’w cyflawni
yn y fan hono. O dan y dec canol yr oedd cabane’r peirianwyr, dri o
honynt; a dyma’r lle gore ar y llong i fyn’d drwy rai dyledswydde
cynil yn gysurus (megis eillio, er engraff), am mai dyma lle teimlid ei
hysgogiade leia’ o bobman. O dan y dec ol yr oedd ystafelloedd y
cadben, y ddau brif swyddog, a’r ’stiward. Dyma hefyd lle’r oedd
f’ystafell ine, a’r prif gaban lle’r eisteddem i fwyta. Ar y dec canol yr
oedd ystafell breifat arall, lle bydde’r cadben a’r swyddogion yn
marcio taith y llestr wrth y siart. Mewn cysylltiad â hon yr oedd
ystafell yr olwyn. Yr olwyn sy’n llywodraethu ysgogiade’r llestr, ac yr

oedd ei gofal ar bedwar o ddynion, y rhai a gymerent ddwyawr bob
un i’w throi. Uwchben y darn yma drachefn yr oedd y bont, yr hon a
gyraedde o ochr i ochr ar draws y llestr yn ei man lletaf. Ar y bont y
bydde’r gwyliedydd yn cerdded yn ol a blaen dros ei orie gwylio; ac
un o’m prif ddifyrion oedd bod gydag e’ am awr ar noson dywell,
pan fydde’r môr yn arw a’r llong yn siglo. O’r dec canol i’r dec ol yr
oedd pont arall yn rhedeg gyda hyd y llestr, yr hon a arbede ini fyn’d
i’r dec isa’ pan fydde arnom eisie croesi o’r naill i’r llall.
Ar y dec isa’ yr oedd y goginfa, y fynedfa i’r peiriandy
odditanodd, a’r agorfeydd i’r seleri lle cedwid y cargo. Yr wyf
y’meddwl imi dd’we’yd eisoes taw llwyth o lo oedd genym y’myn’d
allan, ac at y wybodeth yna yr wyf yn ychwanegu taw llwyth o
wynwyn a hade cotwm oedd genym yn dychwelyd. Yr oedd y glo i
lawr yn y seleri o’r golwg, ond yr oedd y wynwyn yn ffetaneidie
uchel ar dop yr agorfeydd y sonies am danynt, ac yn cyraedd i fyny
hyd at yr ail bont a rede gyda hyd y llestr. Nid yw’r swyddogion a’r
criw y’malio fawr am lwyth o’r natur yma, am ei fod yn ’chwanegu at
risg y llong ar dywydd garw.
Heb imi fyn’d ar ol y manylion, dyna i chwi ryw syniad am
adeiladeth y caban coed y bum yn byw ynddo am y pythefnos nesa’.
Bellach at ei breswylwyr.
Dim ond un Cymro oedd ar y bwrdd heblaw fy hunan, a than y
bwrdd y bydde hwnw gan amla’, oblegid peirianydd ydoedd. Safe’n
drydydd yn y dosbarth. Hon oedd ei fordeth gynta’, ac yr oedd yn
wrthrych cyfleus iawn i’r bechgyn erill hogi eu tafode arno. Cymere
arno wybod y cwbl ond sut i siarad Cymraeg, a mi ges allan cyn
diwedd y daith taw siarad Cymraeg oedd y peth gore’ all’sai wneud.
Pan aethom allan, yr oedd mwy o wynt, a nwy, a chalch ynddo na
dim arall; erbyn ini gyredd Môr y Canoldir, yr oedd ei ddillad lawer
rhy fach iddo.
Brodor o Ogledd Lloegr oedd y prif beirianwr, a’r mwyaf anodd ei
ddeall yn siarad o neb a glywes erioed. Heblaw fod ei dafodieth yn
flêr, a’i lais yn debyg i ffliwt wedi cael anwyd, yr oedd ganddo dric
annymunol o siarad yn ei wddf, yr hyn a’i gwnai’n boenus i wrando
arno. D’wedais “Ië” wrtho ganweth pan ddylaswn dd’we’yd “Nage,” a

“Do” pan ddylaswn dd’we’yd “Naddo;” eto mi gredaf fy mod yn llai
cyfrifol am hyny nag am lawer o bethe.
ALECSANDRIA.
Bachgen o’r un gym’dogeth oedd yr ail beirianwr, a chân ar ei
wefus drwy’r dydd. Gwydde am holl ganeuon y dawnsdai, am holl
ffraethebion y chwareudai, ac am holl ’streuon y clybie. Clywes ef yn
canu mewn cyngherdde droion yn Alecsandria, ac yr oedd yn
debycach o gael encôr na neb. Yr oedd ei lais yn uwch na llais pawb,
a’i chwerthiniad i’w glywed mewn cystadleueth a’r elfene. Bu’n help i
godi f’ysbryd i sgoroedd o weithie, pan y bygythie fyn’d yn is na
f’esgidie.
O dan y rhai hyn ceid y tanwyr,—y dosbarth isa’u moese ar y
llestr. Cy’d ag y bu’r llong yn Alecsandria, ni wnaeth y llabystied hyn
ond meddwi, ymladd â’r heddgeidwed, a threulio nosweithie dan glo.
Mi weles un o honynt yn taro’r prif swyddog yn ei fedd’dod, ac yn
cael ei osod mewn gefyne am hynny. Bu’n gorwedd ar y dec am
orie’n rhwym wrth un o’r ateg-byst, yn engraff truenus o “dwyll
pechod.” Codasant eu harian i gyd cyn cychwyn ar y fordaith adre’, a
gwariasant bob dime goch ar wirod, a myglys, a dirwyon; ac erbyn

i’r llong gyredd Lloegr, nid oedd ganddynt ffyrling ar eu helw, na
hatling i ymgroesi.
Adwaenid y saer y’naturiol iawn wrth yr enw Chips. Brodor o
Norwe oedd efe, ac yn ddyn trigen oed. Un o garitors y llong oedd y
saer. Yr wyf yn cofio ei fod yn gwneud rhywbeth i’w hystlys ar
ddiwrnod pur frochus, pan y llithrodd tòu o gryn faintioli drosodd,
gan ei daro yn ei wyneb nes syrthio o hono’n fflechtan ar y dec.
Tybiwyd am foment ei fod wedi ei ladd neu ei foddi; a phan ddaeth
ato’i hun, y peth cynta’ dd’wedodd oedd ei fod wedi llyncu llon’d ei
safn o hoelion!
“Gwell iti lyncu’r mwrthwl eto, Chips,” ebe’r ail beirianwr.
Mae’n debyg fod yr hoelion ganddo yn ei safn, yn ol arfer seiri,
pan ddaeth y dòn, a chan na welwyd yr un o honynt wed’yn, nid
gwaith anodd oedd credu iddynt oll fyn’d i lawr ei gorn gwddf. Byth
ar ol hynny, ’doedd dim a yrai Chips allan o’i bwyll yn waeth na
gofyn iddo wrth basio am fenthyg yehydig hoelion. Tebycach fyddech
o gael y morthwyl at eich pen, oni phrysurech eich camre.
D’wedais fod gofal yr olwyn ar bedwar o ddynion, y rhai a
gymerent ddwyawr bob un i’w throi. Llanc o Gernyw oedd un, ac
ymddangose mor anystwyth ei symudiade a phe buase wedi bod yn
labro hyd y funud hono. Cydwladwr i Chips oedd y llall, yr hwn oedd
y’ngafel y declein. Am y ddau arall, mae genyf chwedl i’w hadrodd,
os deil eich amynedd heb fethu.

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