Paleoenvironment reconstruction through faunal analysis of the As Sahabi (late Miocene, Libya) fossiliferous locality

The late Miocene experienced a dramatic climatic event that led to the evaporation of the Mediterranean sea. This event, the "Messinian salinity crisis" impacted fauna and flora around the Mediterranea. In Libya, the locality As Sahabi yields a rich fauna from the late Miocene. Former studies have focused on the taxonomy of the fauna and the sedimentology/stratigraphy of the sites. In this project, we plan to use the mammalian fauna as a proxy to reconstruct the paleoenvironment at As Sahabi. Microwear, mesowear, geochemical analysis as well as analysis of the faunal composition and abundance accross the whole formation will be performed.