26 
INTRODUCTION 
The Tethyan Ocean began to close in the Eocene as a result of 
plate collisions along the southern margin of the Eurasian 
Supercontinent that ultimately gave rise to the formation of the 
mountain chain extending from the Alps in the west to the 
Himalayas in the east. The initial response to these plate 
collisions was the formation of a suite of east-west trending 
sedimentary basins extending from Austro-Hungary in the west 
to Central Asia in the east, collectively constituting the 
intracontinental Paratethyan Sea (Fig. 1). Subsequent tectonic 
uplift (enhanced by eustatic shallowing) through the 
Mio-Pliocene led to widespread marginal- to non- marine 
sedimentation. Ultimate severance of connections to the world’s 
oceans led to the evolution of largely endemic faunas and floras 
(in particular in Eastern Paratethys, which was more isolated 
than Central Paratethys). This renders stratigraphic correlation 
between established Mediterranean and Paratethyan stages 
extremely difficult. The problem is locally compounded by 
confusion between chronostratigraphic and lithostratigraphic 
nomenclature. 
In this paper we review all available data, much of it in sources 
not freely available in the west, on the regional stratigraphy of 
Eastern Paratethys (Fig. 1). We place particular emphasis on the 
South Caspian, an area in which the western oil industry is 
showing a growing interest, and one with which we, through our 
industrial work and our academic contacts in the Former Soviet 
Union, are particularly familiar. 
We give an indication of the palaeontology of each regional 
stage. For the sake of brevity and because of their stratigraphic 
utility, we concentrate on various groups of microfossils, though 
we acknowledge that macrofossils, especially molluscs, also have 
stratigraphic value (see, for instance, Ali-Zade (1954), Azizbekov 
(1972), Ali-Zade et al. (1986), (Azerbaijan); Lupov et al. (1972) 
(Turkmenia); Andreescu (1981) (Dacic Basin); and Ozsayar 
(1985) and Taner (1985) (Turkey)). A forthcoming paper 
(Simmons ef a/. in press) will document in detail the 
micropalaeontological (including nannopalaeontological and 
palynological) and macropalaeontological zonation of the 
Paratethyan 
in 
Bas 
Black Sea 
Fig. 1 
R.W. JONES AND M.D. SIMMONS 
Neogene to Pleistogene sediments of Azerbayan. 
We attempt to place the regional stratigraphy in a global 
framework by calibrating biostratigraphic and 
magnetostratigraphic datums against Central Paratethyan and 
Mediterranean standards, and by _ suggesting possible 
calibrations between regional sequence boundaries and flooding 
surfaces, and the global sequence stratigraphic framework and 
eustatic sea-level curve of Haq et al. (1988). 
ABSOLUTE CHRONOSTRATIGRAPHY 
Notwithstanding the efforts of such authors as Steininger & 
Papp (1979), Chumakov er al. (1984, 1988, 1992a—b) and Vass 
(1985), there is no established comprehensive absolute 
chronostratigraphic time-scale for Eastern Paratethys. Thus, in 
Eastern Paratethys, absolute chronostratigraphic dating is often 
only possible by calibration of regional stratigraphic datums 
against global standards. We have attempted to calibrate 
regional datums against the Haq et al. (1988) timescale, which is 
the most up-to-date timescale that conveniently integrates bio-, 
magneto- and sequence- stratigraphic data. The confidence with 
which this sort of calibration can be made varies considerably 
with stratigraphic interval (see below). 
MICROPALAEONTOLOGICAL 
BIOSTRATIGRAPHY AND 
PALAEOENVIRONMENTAL 
INTERPRETATION 
Biostratigraphy 
Those groups of planktonic organisms traditionally used in the 
biostratigraphic zonation of the Cenozoic (planktonic 
foraminifera and calcareous nannoplankton) are restricted in 
their development in Paratethys because of the isolated 
& 
O 
Aral Sea 
Possible 
Connection 
to Amu Darya 
and Tarim 
Basins 
Geological sketch map of the Paratethyan Basin in the Oligocene. Modified after Steininger & Papp (1979). C = Central Paratethys; E = 
Eastern Paratethys. Eastern Paratethys can be considered as including the Pontian (Black Sea) Basin and the Caspian Basin. Throughout most of 
the Miocene, the eastern limit of the Paratethyan Basin was probably the Caspian Basin, but in the Late Pliocene at least it was probably further 
east once more. 
