Resumen de Quaternary Pteropods from Israel. 1. Holocene and Pleistocene Pteropods from the Mediterranean Continental Shelf and Slope of Israel. 2. Pteropods from Recent Sediments in the Gulf of Elat
Euthecosomatous pteropods were examined in 15 surface sediment samples and in two short gravity cores from the Mediterranean continental shelf and slope of Israel (100-800 m depth). The assemblages are low-diversity ones and comprise 14 species: Cavolinia gibbosa (MS Rang) (d'Orbigny, 1836); Clio cuspidata (Bosc, 1802); Clio polita (MS Craven) (Pelseneer, 1888); Clio pyramidata Linne, 1767 f. lanceolata (Lesueur, 1813); Creseis acicula (Rang, 1828); Creseis virgula (Rang, 1828) f. conica Eschscholtz, 1829; Cuvierina cf. C. columnella (Rang, 1827) f. urceolaris (Morch, 1850); Diacria trispinosa (MS Lesueur) (Blainville, 1821); Hyalocylix striata (Rang, 1828); Limacina inflata (d'Orbigny, 1836); Limacina trochiformis (d'Orbigny, 1936); Peraclis apicifulva (Meisenheimer, 1906); Peraclis reticulata (d'Orbigny, 1836); Styliola subula (Quoy and Gaimard, 1827).
The qualitative and quantitative distribution of the species in surface sediments and in the cores is summarized and discussed. The assemblages are composed mainly of epipelagic and mesopelagic, temperate to tropical species. Comparison with pteropod assemblages from the Gulf of Elat and the Sargasso Sea indicates that the absence of deep-water species may be due to strong light penetration and low-nutrient conditions. In the cores, a change from cool-water assemblages to warm-water ones is discernible, with various species making their first appearance and with conspicuous changes in numbers of specimens per unit weight sediment. These changes are interpreted as indicating the transition from Pleistocene to Holocene. The placing of this boundary agrees with results obtained previously from a study of planktonic foraminiferids, calcareous nannoplankton, and oxygen isotopes in the same cores.
