The doctoral dissertation addresses paleontological, biostratigraphic, and paleoecological investigations based on ostracod assemblages from the Badenian, Sarmatian, and Pannonian time intervals. The study encompasses six sedimentary sections from eastern Slovenia: Imenska Gorca, Bizeljsko, Sladki Vrh, Cerkvenjak, Miklavž pri Ormožu, and Jeruzalem. A total of 256 samples were collected, from which 129 ostracod species belonging to 54 genera were taxonomically identified. Based on the analyses, biozones were identified, including two from the Bizeljsko area and four from Imenska Gorca. In Bizeljsko, the Lower Badenian Acanthocythereis hystrix – Bythocypris lucida biozone and the Upper Pannonian Bakunella dorsarcuata biozone were determined. At Imenska Gorca, the Upper Badenian Carinocythereis carinata – Phlyctenophora farkasi, Lower Sarmatian Cytheridea hungarica – Aurila mehesi, Upper Pannonian Hemicytheria prisca and Bakunella dorsarcuata biozones were recognized. Paleoecological interpretations indicate a deltaic depositional environment with fluctuating salinity between marine and freshwater conditions. Geochemical analyses of stable oxygen and carbon isotopes, as well as trace elements (Mg, Ca, Sr) from ostracod shells, complement the paleoecological findings. Interpretation of temperature data derived from oxygen isotopes is limited due to the small sample size and recrystallization of shells, whereas trace element results partially confirm the paleoecological interpretations. These findings significantly contribute to the understanding of paleogeographic and paleoenvironmental changes in eastern Slovenia during the Late Miocene.
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