LAUSR

Significance Fossil-rich Anatolia is a key region for understanding mammalian evolution during the last 10 million years of changing ecosystems and biogeography. Age estimates for these paleontological assemblages were traditionally inferred from geographically remote and poorly constrained faunas in Europe and Eurasia. However, these have proven to be insufficiently precise to adequately calibrate and explore this paleobiology. Achieving fuller understanding requires accurately dated, abundant, and taxonomically diverse fossils. Recently discovered, richly fossiliferous central Anatolian study areas lying close to volcanic centers of the Central Anatolian Volcanic Province have now provided these ingredients. Targeted application of the radioisotopic Argon–Argon method (40Ar/39Ar) geochronologically calibrates this faunal evolution and thereby allows more accurate and precise biochronological placements of regional fossil occurrences lacking associated volcanics.