1. INTRODUCTION

Few conodont data have previously been published

from Palaeozoic rocks of Turkey but recent investiga-

tions have shown that Palaeozoic conodonts are very

common in Turkey and provide very important new

data for the stratigraphy, palaeogeography and tectonic

evolution of Turkey (e.g., KOZUR, 1997a, b, 1998;

G Ö N C Ü OĞLU & KOZUR, 1998a, b). No conodonts

have previously been reported from the Bolkardağ Unit

of the Tauride-Anatolide Composite Terrane, but GÖN-

C Ü OĞLU & KOZUR (1998a, b) dated a deep-sea tur-

bidite-olistostrome unit within the Bolkardağ Unit (for-

merly assumed to be a Variscan Lower Carboniferous

sequence - ÖZCAN et al., 1990) as Late Silurian to ear-

liest Devonian from conodont and muellerisphaerid evi-

dence. 

The development of the Carboniferous in the Bolka-

r d ağ Unit is not yet clear. ÖZCAN et al. (1990) report-

ed a Carboniferous deep-water sequence (Variscan

Conodonts of Middle Moscovian Age from the Kongul Formation

(Bolkardağ Unit), Northwest of Hadim, Central Taurus, Turkey 

Erkan EKMEKÇI 1 and Heinz W. KOZUR 2

development), but re-study of all known localities of

this “Variscan” flysch by GÖNCÜOĞLU & KOZUR

(1998a, b) did not confirm a Variscan age for these

rocks (see above). ÖZGÜL (1997) assumed a Middle

Devonian to Viséan-Serpukhovian age for the Hocalar

and lower Kongul formations, and a Bashkirian to Mos-

covian age for the upper Kongul Formation, with no

unconformity in the shallow-water deposits of this Mid-

dle Devonian to Moscovian time interval. This would

exclude the existence of any Variscan oceanic unit and

of Variscan movements. 

Shallow-water pre-Permian deposits of the Bolkar-

d ağ Unit from the Hadim-Bozkir area in the central

Taurides have been studied here, and Pennsylvanian

(Moscovian) conodonts were discovered. As beds of

this age could be either a shallow-water molasse (after

the closure of a Variscan ocean) or shallow-water plat-

form carbonates in an area without Variscan orogeny,

further investigations of the underlying deposits (Hoca-

lar Formation, Fig. 2) are necessary.

2. GEOLOGICAL SETTING AND

PREVIOUS WORK

The first detailed research on the geology of the

Central Taurus was carried out by BLUMENTHAL

(1944, 1956), who recognized the presence of Permo-

Carboniferous or Permian limestone and of Devonian(?)

schists in the Hadim Region, and defined in 1956 a tec-

tonic unit for Palaeozoic rocks that was later named the

Bolkardağ Unit. 

Comprehensive studies of this region were underta-

ken by ÖZGÜL (1969, 1976, 1984, 1997), ÖZGÜL &

GEDIK (1973), GEDIK (1977) and MONOD (1977).

ÖZGÜL (1984) subdivided the Taurus belt into six

main tectonic units, the Geyikdağ Autochthon and the

Antalya, Alanya, Aladağ, Bolkardağ and Bozkir units in

nappe position. 

The Bolkardağ Unit is, according to ÖZGÜL (1984),

a rootless nappe over the Lutetian flysch of the Geyik-

dağ Unit. It was subdivided by ÖZGÜL (1997) into sev-

en formations that range from the Middle Devonian to

Upper Cretaceous. According to ÖZGÜL (1984), the

Middle Devonian to pre-Turonian Cretaceous rocks are

shallow-water deposits, and deep-water conditions start-

ed in the Turonian. 

G EOL.  C ROA T. 52/1 1 - 8 3 Figs. 1 Pl. ZAGREB 1999

Key words: Conodonts, Kongul Formation, Bolkardağ

Unit, Atokan, Moscovian, Taurus, Turkey.

1 Maden Tetkik ve Arama, Genel Müdürlüğü, Jeoloji Etüdleri Dai-

resi, Eskişehir Yolu, 06520 Ankara, Turkey

2 Rézsü u. 83, H-1029 Budapest, Hungary.

Abstract
A rich shallow water conodont fauna with I d i o g n a t h o d u s i n c u r -

v u s D U N N , I . cf. s u b e r e c t u s ( D U N N), Idioprioniodus sp., and N e o -

gnathodus columbiensis STIBANE was found in the lower part of the

Kongul Formation of the Bolkardağ Unit, about 12 km NW of Hadim

town, central Taurus, Turkey. The conodonts indicate a middle to late

Atokan age (on the American scale) for this part of the formation. On

the Russian scale, the fauna corresponds to the middle Moscovian.

According to previous correlations between the Russian and North

American scales, a (middle) late Atokan (middle Moscovian age) is

assumed for this fauna.

Variscan deep-water sequences are not present in the study area.



2 Geologia Croatica 52/1

The Carboniferous of the Bolkardağ Unit is repre-

sented by the Kongul Formation which was subdivided

by OZGÜL (1997) into the Zindancik Member of pre-

sumed Viséan-Serpukhovian age and the Mantarbeleni

Member of presumed Bashkirian to Moscovian age.

According to ÖZGÜL (1997), the Zidancik Member

concordantly overlies the presumed Middle to Upper

Devonian Hocalar Formation despite the fact that he

could not date any Tournaisian rocks. The Zidancik

Member consists mainly of dark shales, sandstones and

limestones, while the Mantarbeleni Member consists of

shallow-water, partly oolitic or dolomitic limestones. In

the study area, the Kongul Formation lies unconfor-

mably on the Hocalar Formation, and begins with mid-

dle Moscovian limestones and shales, overlain by

recrystallized limestone.

A new tectonic view to the Bolkardağ Unit was pre-

sented by ÖZCAN et al. (1990). They assigned a silici-

clastic deep-water flysch to the Lower Carboniferous

assuming a Variscan orogeny. Subsequently, GÖNCÜ-

OĞLU & KOZUR (1998a, b) re-investigated three out-

crops of these siliciclastic deep-sea flysch sequences

and underlying ribbon cherts. In two sections, limestone

and lydite olistoliths from the turbidite-olistostrome

unit yielded Upper Silurian to Pragian conodonts. In a

third outcrop, black ribbon cherts from a distal turbidi-

tic shale-chert sequence with several benthonitic layers

(altered felsic to intermediate tuffs) yielded Wenlock to

Upper Silurian Muellerisphaerida. From these results,

the existence of a Caledonian-time oceanic sequence

was proven. This Karaburun-Bolkardağ Ocean (KOZ-

UR, 1997a, b, 1998) separated for example, Ordovician

Baltic warm-water faunas with connections to Siberian

and North American warm-water faunas, from a typical

Perigondwana Ordovician cold-water association (DE-

AN & MARTIN, 1992; MARTIN, 1996; GÖNCÜOĞ-

A

B

Fig. 1  Geological map. A) Generali-

zed geological map of the Had-

im-Bozkir area. Legend: a) Post-

Mesozoic cover rocks; b) Dip-

sizgöl Ophiolite; c) Bozkir Unit;

d) Bolkardağ Unit; e) Aladağ Un-

it (Hadim Unit); f) Geyikdağ Au-

tochthon (Anamas-Akseki Auto-

chthon); g) Hadim overthrust; h)

B o l k a r d ağ overthrust; i) Bozkir

overthrust; j) ophiolite overthr-

ust; k) normal contact; l) study

area. B) Geological map of the

study area and sample location.

Legend: a) Palaeogene of the

Anamas-Akseki Autochthon; b)

Cretaceous siliciclastic sediments

and volcanic rocks (Polat Fm.) of

the Aladağ Unit; c-f) Bolkardağ

Unit: c) pre-Moskovian Hocalar

Fm., d) Moscovian Kongul Fm.,

e) Permian Kinikyayla Fm., f)

Triassic Ekinlikyayla Fm; g) Bol-

k a r d ağ Unit overthrust; h) Polat

Fm. overthrust; i) normal con-

tact; j) dip-strike; k) drainage sy-

stem; l) sample location; m) sta-

bilized road. Modified after OZ-

GÜL (1969).



3Ekmekçi & Kozur: Conodonts of Middle Moscovian Age from the Kongul Formation (Bolkardağ Unit)...

Fig. 2  Generalized columnar section of the Bolkardağ Unit (Hocalar to Söğüt formations) in the study area (after ÖZGÜL, 1997). 



4 Geologia Croatica 52/1

LU & KOZUR, 1998a, b). As in the Karaburun Zone

both Upper Silurian-Pragian and upper Famennian to

middle Viséan oceanic sequences are present, this may

be also assumed for the Bolkardağ Unit, although the

Triassic in this unit indicates a somewhat more south-

ern palaeogeographic location than that for the Triassic

of the Karaburun Zone. However, until now no Vari-

scan deep-sea sequence was found in the Bolkardağ

Unit.

3. LOCALITY DATA

The conodont-bearing sample from the lower part of

the Kongul Formation (Bolkardağ Unit) was obtained

from a road cut 2 km southeast of Kiremez village, abo-

ut 12 km NW of Hadim (Fig. 1). The exposed Carboni-

ferous Kongul Formation consists of recrystallized

limestone, black, thin-bedded cherty limestone, reddish

shale and black, thin- to medium-, partly thick-bedded

fossiliferous limestone. The conodonts were obtained

from sample AL 95/740 L that was taken from a fossil-

iferous limestone in the lower part of the Kongul For-

mation at this locality (Fig. 2).

4. AGE OF THE CONODONT FAUNA FROM

THE LOWER KONGUL FORMATION

The following conodonts were determined from

sample AL 95/740 L: I d i o g n a t h o d u s i n c u r v u s D U N N ,

1966, I. ? cf. suberectus (DUNN, 1966), Idioprioniodus

sp., and Neognathodus columbiensis (STIBANE, 1967). 

Within the idiognathodid plexus I . s i n u o s u s E L L I-

SON & GRAVES - I . i n c u r v u s DUNN - I . o b l i q u u s

KOSENKO & KOSITSKAYA forms with an inwardly

curved and deflected downward posterior platform,

continuous and equally spaced transverse ridges on the

platform, a better developed and ornamented inner plat-

form lobe and a well developed and flared inner serrate

adcarinal ridge, as in our I . i n c u r v u s material, are,

according to Dr. R.G. STAMM, Reston, and Dr. B.R.

WARDLAW, Reston (pers. comm.), most typical of

middle and late Atokan age. Such forms also occur in

the late early and middle Moscovian of Russia. A simi-

lar age is indicated by N . c o l u m b i e n s i s that occurs in

the middle to late Atokan and in the Moscovian, except

the latest Moscovian. 

A similar I d i o g n a t h o d u s fauna and N . c o l u m b i e n s i s

is also present in the middle Moscovian of the Bükk

Mts. in northern Hungary (KOZUR, 1984).

Only the presence of Idiognathodus ? cf. suberectus

is problematical for age determination. This species

was previously classified as S t r e p t o g n a t h o d u s. Howev-

er, it lacks a true platform trough and the anterior plat-

form lobes are not reduced to absent as characteristic of

true streptognathodids. Thus, this species is more close-

ly related to I d i o g n a t h o d u s than to S t r e p t o g n a t h o d u s.

However, the missing uninterrupted transverse ribs in

most of the platform makes this species an atypical

Idiognathodus. It may represent a new genus. This spe-

cies was previously described from the middle Morrov-

ian (DUNN, 1966) which corresponds to the lower

Bashkirian, an age that strongly conflicts with the age

given by the common I . i n c u r v u s of the above men-

tioned morphotype and N . c o l u m b i e n s i s. However,

according to Dr. R.G. STAMM and Dr. B.R. WARD-

LAW (pers. comm.), I . ? s u b e r e c t u s is also known to

occur sporadically through the late Morrowan and Ato-

kan. This fits well with our material, in which I . ? cf.

s u b e r e c t u s is very rare, whereas I . i n c u r v u s and N . c o l -

u m b i e n s i s are common. I d i o p r i o n i o d u s sp. gives no

age, but is indicative of shallow-water conditions.

5. CONCLUSIONS

The Kongul Formation in the study area uncon-

formably overlies the Hocalar Formation. The age of

the lower Kongul Formation in the study area is middle

to late Atokan on the North American scale and late

early Moscovian to middle Moscovian in the interna-

tional (Russian) scale. This corresponds to the upper

Duckmantian to earliest Westfalian D of the Western

European scale (Fig. 3). Tethyan conodonts of this age

were previously described from the Bükk Mountains of

Hungary (KOZUR, 1984) where they represent the old-

est shallow-water deposits above Lower Carboniferous

to Bashkirian flyschoid deposits. 

Neither Variscan deep-water sediments (ÖCZAN et

al., 1990) nor Lower Carboniferous shallow-water dep-

osits (ÖZGÜL, 1997) were found in the Bolkardağ Unit

of the study area. TheVariscan orogeny cannot be pro-

ven in the study area. 

The presence of a Silurian to Lower Devonian ocea-

nic sequence (known from other parts of the Bolkardağ

Zone - GÖNCÜOĞLU & KOZUR, 1998a, b) can nei-

ther be proven nor excluded for the Bolkardağ Unit of

the study area, because the lower thrust boundary of the

B o l k a r d ağ Unit is not older than Middle Devonian

(ÖZGÜL, 1997).

Acknowledgments

The authors express their thanks to a TÜBITAK

NATO CP Grant and the General Directorate of Miner-

al Research and Exploration who have kindly supported

the field work. Dr. E.M. ÖZTÜRK and the members of

the Central Taurus project are acknowledged for their

discussions and contributions in the field. We especial-

ly thank Dr. R.G. STAMM and Dr. B.R. WARDLAW,

Reston, for important help in determination of the fauna

and above all for giving us the exact range of the

species within the North American scale. We thank also

Prof. Dr. T. NEMIROVSKAYA, Kiev, for a discussion

of the age of the conodonts. We thank very much Prof.

C.M. GÖNCÜOĞLU, Ankara, Prof. Dr. H. MOSTLER,



5Ekmekçi & Kozur: Conodonts of Middle Moscovian Age from the Kongul Formation (Bolkardağ Unit)...

Innsbruck, and Prof. Dr. A. RAMOV©, Ljubljana, for

revising and improving the manuscript. We are also

very grateful to Dr. Julie ROBSON, Southminster, for

her language editing and very useful comments.

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Fig. 3  Correlation of the Carboniferous standard subdivision with the Western European and North American subdivisions (after KOZUR, 1984,

and WAGNER & WINKLER PRINS, 1997). Vertical distances not time-related. P = Permian.



6 Geologia Croatica 52/1

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PLATE I

All illustrated specimens are from sample AL 95/740 L, lower Kongul Formation, middle Moscovian, Bolkardağ

Unit, road cut 2 km southeast of Kiremez village, about 12 km NW of Hadim (for location see Fig. 1 in the text).

1-8 Idiognathodus incurvus DUNN, upper view; Fig. 1: x70, rep.-no. 23-2-97/III-7; Fig. 2: subadult speci-

men, x80, rep.-no. 23-2-97/III-1; Fig. 3: x80, rep.-no. 23-2-97/III-2; Fig. 4: late juvenile specimen, x80,

rep.-no. 23-2-97/III-5; Fig. 5: x100, rep.-no. 23-2-97/III-3; Fig. 6: juvenile specimen, x80; rep.-no. 23-2-

97/III-4; Fig. 7: late juvenile specimen, x80, rep.-no. 23-2-97/III-8; Fig. 8: x80, rep.-no. 23-2-97/III-12.

9 and 12 I d i o g n a t h o d u s ? cf. s u b e r e c t u s (DUNN), upper view; Fig. 9: juvenile specimen, x100, rep.-no. 23-2-

97/III-16; Fig. 12: x80, rep.-no. 23-2-97/III-9.

10 and 11 Neognathodus columbiensis (STIBANE), upper view; Fig. 10: juvenile specimen, x100, rep.-no. 23-2-

97/III-10; Fig. 11: broken specimen, x100, rep.-no. 23-2-97/III-15.

13 Idioprioniodus sp., broken lateral process, x80, rep.-no. 23-2-97/III-6.



7Ekmekçi & Kozur PLATE I



8 Geologia Croatica 52/1

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Manuscript received July 29, 1998.

Revised manuscript accepted May 28, 1999.