Mid-Pleistocene Cruciform Dinoflagellate Cysts from the Caspian and Black Seas

Petra J. Mudie authored this dataset, which includes taxonomic descriptions and SEM images of dinoflagellate cysts from the Mid-Pleistocene Bakunian Stage (MIS 21–11) of the Caspian Sea and MIS 19–9 of the Black Sea and Gulf of Corinth. The data is stored in a 1.6 MB DOCX file and was last updated on June 1, 2026. It focuses on cruciform cysts used to characterize salinity and biotic migrations in Eurasian basins.

Use Cases

• Reconstructing paleosalinity and basin connectivity based on the described cyst assemblages.
• Analyzing morphological variation and species flock mechanisms among cruciform dinoflagellate taxa.
• Correlating geological timelines between the Caspian Sea, Black Sea, and Gulf of Corinth using cyst biostratigraphy.
• Studying the endemic evolution of dinoflagellates in isolated brackish basins during the Plio–Pleistocene.

Strengths

• Includes taxonomic emendations and descriptions of two new species: Pterocysta richardsii sp. nov. and Spiniferites bakunianus sp. nov.
• Provides re-examination of type specimens and new SEM images for morphological clarification.
• Data is licensed under CC-BY-4.0, allowing for broad reuse with attribution.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• The dataset is small (1.6 MB), suggesting it is primarily a textual document rather than a large structured data table.

Provenance

Source

Petra J. Mudie via figshare

Collection Method

Likely compiled from paleontological re-examination of specimens and SEM imaging.

Time Range

Mid-Pleistocene, specifically the Bakunian Stage (MIS 21–11) for the Caspian Sea and MIS 19–9 for the Black Sea and Gulf of Corinth.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-06-01 08:40:09; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Caspian Sea, Black Sea, and Gulf of Corinth regions.