First off, it wasn't as 'hellish' as you think. Was it hot? Yes, but it
couldn't have been as bad as Death Valley because of the number and kinds
of fossils which have been found in the basin. Before I get into that, let
me note the parallel between the Okovango and Chobe rivers of the Kalahari.
These two rivers never reach the sea. They evaporate in the middle of the
Kalahari desert. THis is a rare posted quotation from my own book (I
generally don't like doing this):
begin quote:
In south-central Africa, in the Kalahari Desert, rivers full of water flow
out of tropical paradises into the desert. Many rivers in the Kalahari,
such as the Okovango and Chobe, are examples. Tropical plants grow in a
narrow belt which follows the river's course. Animals follow the water and
eat the plants. The Encyclopaedia Britannica states,
"True forest, which occurs only on the banks of the Chobe, consists mainly
of mokwa or bloodwood modusi, and monato or Rhodesian ash."39
Mountjoy and Embleton, writing about the Okovango, report,
"At the Botswana border the average annual flow of the Okovango is no less
than 13 billion cubic metres: it is 150 yards wide and up to 17 feet deep.
Farther downstream it splits up into a maze of reed-choked channels, where
much of its flow evaporates. Some water used to find its way to 'Lake
Ngami (which Livingstone reported as a shallow lake in 1849, but which has
been generally dry since 1925, with grass and thorn trees growing on its
floor)."40
This must represent what the basinal Mediterranean would have been like.
It would have been hot on the basin floor, but where rivers poured into it,
green tongues of life would have extended deep into the desert. Along the
basin edges, where artesian effects occurred and water oozed out of the
ground, life would be able to spread widely. But in the deepest part of
the basin, the salt pans would kill all but the hardiest forms of life.
But even there, it is unlikely that it would be lifeless. On a salt flat
in Australia, I believe, a lizard lives off of insects which blow in on the
winds." G.R. Morton, Foundation, Fall and Flood,2nd ed. (Dallas: DMD
Publishing Co, 1995), p. 133
end quote***
The Nile and other rivers flowing into the basin would all do the same
thing. A finger of life would flow along the river courses. Life would end
where the water finally evaporated away.
What kinds of life have been found in the basinal sediments? Lots of things
But you need to know the stratigraphy in order to understand what follows.
Here is what the sediments are:
Stratigraphic order
Top
Pliocene deepwater marine
Messinian strata 5 river deposit with in situ roots
Messinian strata 4 land turtle, insects shallow-water fish
Messinian strata 3 shallow water fish and gypsum
Messinian strata 2 fish that can live in shallow highly salty water
Messinian strata 1 deepwater fish lampfish
Tortonian strata--deepwater deposits
bottom
Source:Carlo Sturani, "A Fossil Eel (Anguilla SP.) from the Messinian of
Alba (Tertiary Piedmontese Basin). Palaeoenvironmental and Palaeogeographic
Implications," in C. W. Drooger, Ed., Messinian Events in the
Mediterranean, (Amsterdam: North-Holland Publishing Co, 1973), pp 243-255
Everything above strata 1 and below the deepwater pliocene deposit was laid
down DURING the dried out phase of the Mediterranean. As you can see from
that quick overview, there are lots of types of life, but I didn't list
them all. HEre are the details which work from bottom to top:
Earliest Messinian
"The lowermost unit recognizable within the Messinian sequence (Fig. 1,
n.1) is still marine, but shows many features which are already typical of
a restricted environment, characterized at least intermittently by
euxinic conditions. This unit is about 150 m thick and until now had been
mapped as Tortonian, not as Messinian; it consists of rhythmically
alternating fine sands, bioturbated silty shales and evenly laminated
euxinic clays.
"The planktonic forams are still very abundant (especially Globerinoides
and Orbulina) but many species have disappeared. The benthonic forams, as
well, show a marked impoverishment as regards the number of species from
the bottom to the top of this unit: in the topmost levels such highly
characteristic oligotypic assemblages, consisting of only one or two
species (Rectuvigerina tenuistriata, Bulimina echinata), become fairly
widespread. Other benthonic forms, such as Bivalves, Spatangoid Echinoids,
a few Gastropods and occasional Trochocyathus, are confined to the
bioturbated silty shales. In the lowermost part of the unit these
benthonic assemblages include such intermediate- to deep-water forms as
Propeamussium, Nucula, Tugurium and Galeodea, showing that the depth was
still in the order of some hundreds of metres. The benthonic fauna, as one
would expect, is completely missing in the evenly lamiinated euxinic clays.
IN the lowermost part of the unit, moreover, the euxinic clays contain
Pteropods, poorly preserved Diatoms, as well as abundant and perfectly
preserved mesopelagic fishes (e.g., Myctophum
(Lampanyctusmicrosoma(Sauvage) and Bregmaceros albyi(Sauvage)), of the very
same type as those found in the Sicilian Tripoli, thus allowying a fairly
good correlation. The presence of completely calcified nut kernels (Juglans
nuxtaurinensis Brongn.) within this same unit is also noteworthy. ~ Carlo
Sturani, "A Fossil Eel (Anguilla SP.) from the Messinian of Alba (Tertiary
Piedmontese Basin). Palaeoenvironmental and Palaeogeographic Implications,"
in C. W. Drooger, Ed., Messinian Events in the Mediterranean, (Amsterdam:
North-Holland Publishing Co, 1973), pp 243-255, p.244
A note on the above: Myctophum is a lantern fish and lives in water greater
than 150 m deep.
Unit 2 10 m thick evenly laminated silty clays
"The fossil assemblage from the limestone beds includes only Cyprinodontid
fishes(Pachylebias orsinii D'Erasmo), apart from leaves and other plant
debris, which must, however, be regarded as allochthonous. As has already
been pointed out by D'Erasmo long ago, the palaeoecologic significance of
these small Cyprinodontid fishes is much the same as that of Aphanius
fasciatus, one of the few representatives of this family now living in the
Mediterranean region. A. fasciatus is one of themore euryhaline fishes
known, since it can tolerate a very wide range of salinities, from
brackish, oligohaline waters up to concentrations of 144 parts per thousand
(that is, well above the point at which gypsum begins to precipitate!). It
lives in coastal lagoons, tidal pools on rocky shores, salt pans and the
like, with a marked preference for very shallow water, wehre it feeds on
mosquito and Chironomid larvae, Artemia salina and other small Crustaceans,
as well as on decaying plant debris. As regards their type of preservation,
these small Pachylebias appear to have been mummified, probably because of
desiccation; this is closely matched by what I was able to observe in the
salt pans at Pachino Sicily): during the summer, when evaporation iss
complete,, the surface of the salt pans is littered with hundreds of
completely dried up and mummified bodies of Aphanius and young Mullets." ~
Carlo Sturani, "A Fossil Eel (Anguilla SP.) from the Messinian of Alba
(Tertiary Piedmontese Basin). Palaeoenvironmental and Palaeogeographic
Implications," in C. W. Drooger, Ed., Messinian Events in the
Mediterranean, (Amsterdam: North-Holland Publishing Co, 1973), pp 243-255,
p. 246
Unit 3a laminated silty clays with euxinic character. Selenite nodules
"Let us now turn to the fossil assemblage from the sulphate-rich, euxinic
clays. This fossil assemblage is a fairly rich one, even though it
consists mainly if not entirely of allochthonous elements, and is
characterized by the complete absence of benthonic organisms.
"The allochthonous elements include drifting as well as light, wind-blown
objects. The former consist of driftwood fragments and pine cones; the
latter include abundant leaves, small Sequoia and Thuya branchlets,
winged seeds (Pinus, Acer, Fraxinus, Liquidambar, etc.), a Syrphid fly and
even a small spider. Apart from these, abundant and perfectly preserved
fishes remain, belonging to only three species: a Goby (Gobius sp.; two
specimens found, one below and one above the bed of primary gypsum) and
Spratelloides lemoinei Aramb., a representative of the Dussumieriidae, or
Round Herring, family (over one hundred specimens found to date, at
different stages of growth and from both below and above the primary gypsum).
"From a palaeoecolotgical point of view, these fishes belong to groups
which are known either to live in the lagoonal environment (the Goby), or
to cross lagoons during their migrations (the young eel), or to enter
lagoons in search of food (the Round Herrings). Their mode of
fossilization, however, is far more instructive for a palaeoenvironmental
reconstruction.
"As one may see (Fig2), the backbone of the young eel is wrinkled in an
unusual zigzag pattern. This of course, is a post-mortal feature and is
due to a shrinkage of the soft tissues: the rigid backbone was forced to
bend in order to cope with the shrinkage which reaches as much as one
fourth of the original length. IN turn, the shrinkage of the soft tissues
is a result of the dehydration. This may have occurred in two quite
different ways. IN the first alternative, the young eel was trapped in a
pool which dried up completely, leaving it exposed to the effects of the
air and of sun. If this was so, however, one would expect to find
sun-cracks and other evidence of subaerial exposure in the embedding
sediments, which is absolutely not the case. In the other alternative,
which is in my opinion much more likely the young eel died, either because
its osmoregulating mechanisms could not keep pace with the increasing
salinity, or because of the hydrogen sulphide developing from the euxinic
bottom; after death, its body sank to the bottom, where it met even
stronger salinites. Water was then pumped by osmotic pressure from inside
the body into the surrounding brine, thus causing the soft tissues to
shrink and the rigid backbone to wrinkle." ~ Carlo Sturani, "A Fossil Eel
(Anguilla SP.) from the Messinian of Alba (Tertiary Piedmontese Basin).
Palaeoenvironmental and Palaeogeographic Implications," in C. W. Drooger,
Ed., Messinian Events in the Mediterranean, (Amsterdam: North-Holland
Publishing Co, 1973), pp 243-255, p.247-248
"More over, wrinkled or broken and partially overlapping backbone segments
can only be explained as being the result of dehydration and shrinkage of
the soft tissues, not as being the result of bottom currents." ~ Carlo
Sturani, "A Fossil Eel (Anguilla SP.) from the Messinian of Alba (Tertiary
Piedmontese Basin). Palaeoenvironmental and Palaeogeographic Implications,
in C. W. Drooger, Ed., Messinian Events in the Mediterranean, (Amsterdam:
North-Holland Publishing Co, 1973), pp 243-255, p.249
Unit 3b is a primary gypsum deposit
"The bed of primary gypsum (Fig. 1, n.3b), which is quarried in several
places, is about 7 m thick and may be traced laterally over a distance of
at least 5 km, from Monticello to Bric Paradiso. Both the lower and the
upper contacts are gradational; the same transition may also be seen
laterally, west of Monticello, where the gypsum bed disappears within the
sulphate-rich, euxinic clays. Throughout the whole bed a very even and
thin rhythmic lamination may be observed: the gypsum laminae, from 0.5 to 2
mm thick, alternate regularly with pelitic laminae, about 0.15 mm thick."~
Carlo Sturani, "A Fossil Eel (Anguilla SP.) from the Messinian of Alba
(Tertiary Piedmontese Basin). Palaeoenvironmental and Palaeogeographic
Implications," in C. W. Drooger, Ed., Messinian Events in the
Mediterranean, (Amsterdam: North-Holland Publishing Co, 1973), pp 243-255,
p. 247
"As regards the fossil assemblage from the primary gypsum, it is as one
would expect much scantier. IN this case, too, both allochthonous and
autochthonous elements occur; the former are represented by driftwood
fragments and leaves (by the way, if gypsum had been re-deposited by wave
or current action, it would be very difficult ot explain the perfect
preservation of these leaves, even to the smallest details of their
venation), the latter, by dragonfly (Libellulid) neanids and nymphs. These
are conspecific with those occurring in enormous numbers higher up in the
section, and their palaeoenvironmental significance will be discussed in
detail further on. Their occurrence in the primary gypsum (or more exactly,
in the pelitic films between the gypsum laminae) is clear evidence that
more ventilated conditions existed near the bottom during the evaporitic
phase, in constrast with the euxinic character of the sulphate rich clays
in which the primary gypsum is interbedded. This may depend on a more
reduced depth, during the gypsum deposition, and a more active water
circulation owing to the higher evaporation rate. According to the
quarrymen, fish remains (probably cyprinodontids) are also occasionally
found within the primary gypsum. In this connection it is more important
to note that Pachylebias has been recorded long ago by D'Erasmo in the
Balatino (i.e. primary) gypsum at Racalmuto, in Sicily." ~ Carlo Sturani,
"A Fossil Eel (Anguilla SP.) from the Messinian of Alba (Tertiary
Piedmontese Basin). Palaeoenvironmental and Palaeogeographic Implications,
in C. W. Drooger, Ed., Messinian Events in the Mediterranean, (Amsterdam:
North-Holland Publishing Co, 1973), pp 243-255, p. 249-250
Unit above the gypsum is identical to 3a and its fossils are discussed above.
Unit 4a laminated silts and fine sands
"As we have already seen, the primary gypsum grades upwards again into
sulphate-rich, euxinic clays; a few metres higher up, these in turn grade
into evenly laminated silts, marly silts and fine sands (Fig. 1, n. 4a)
characterized by a completely different faunal assemblage, in which
Cyprinodontid fishes (Pachylebias crassicauda (Ag.)) and dragon fly larvae
are by far the most dominant element. Gypsum still occurs, associated with
these clastic sediments, showing three different textural types." ~ Carlo
Sturani, "A Fossil Eel (Anguilla SP.) from the Messinian of Alba (Tertiary
Piedmontese Basin). Palaeoenvironmental and Palaeogeographic Implications,
in C. W. Drooger, Ed., Messinian Events in the Mediterranean, (Amsterdam:
North-Holland Publishing Co, 1973), pp 243-255, p.250
channelled lower contact, fining-up texture, seams of imbricated clay chips
within the bed) there can be hardly any doubt that these streams
discharging into the lagoonal environment. This is further supported by
the fact that the only fossils found within this facies, apart from wood
fragments, are land turtles (Testudo craverii, two specimens known). "~
Carlo Sturani, "A Fossil Eel (Anguilla SP.) from the Messinian of Alba
(Tertiary Piedmontese Basin). Palaeoenvironmental and Palaeogeographic
Implications," in C. W. Drooger, Ed., Messinian Events in the
Mediterranean, (Amsterdam: North-Holland Publishing Co, 1973), pp 243-255,
p. 250
"The fossil assemblage from these fine grained sediments is a rich one,
but, in this case too, it consists mainly of allochthonous elements, both
stream-driven and wind-blown. The former include wood fragments and other
large plant debris, horse-tails (Equisetum), a water moss (Fontinalis
sismondana) and a few tiny land snails. The wind-blown objects, in turn,
include extremely abundant leaves, small branchlets of Sequoia and Thuya,
winged seeds, small flowers, bird feathers and several winged insects: a
termite (Termes sp., 3 spec.), a fly (Syrphus sp., 2 specs.), a
daddy-long-legs (Tipula sp., 1 spec.), a large grasshopper (Decticus sp., a
single loose wing), a Lamellicorn beetle, a Chrysomelid beetle, a dragonfly
of the Libellulid family (about 20 specimens, most of which loose wings)
and a damselfly of the Lestidae family (a single, complete female
speciment). The latter two species may not be regarded as completely
allochthonous, since they probably reproduced in the lagoonal environment
and these adult specimens may have fallen into the water during, or just
after, egg-laying: recent representatives of both Libellulidae and
Lestidae, which reproduce in brackish waters, are known; the females of the
former family just drop their eggs in the water, dancing upon its surface,
while Lestidae insert their eggs in the tissues of water plants."
"The autochthonous elements include three species of fish: a small sole
(Microchinus bassanianus(Kramb.)) and two Cyarinodontids: Prolebias sp. And
Pachylebias crassicauda (Ag.). The latter species alone is fairly common,
with several hundreds of specimens found to date. Apart from the fishes,
there are also a caddis-worm case (order Trichoptera, a small colony of
free-living (not boring) Ctenostomata, preserved as a carbonaceous film,
and thousands of dragonfly neanids and nymphs, at all stages of growth.
The latter all belong to the same (new) genus of the family Libellulidae,
either subfamily Sympetrinae or Brachydiplactinae, and are almost certainly
conspecific with the adult dragonflies which occur more rarely in the same
beds (see above). They are usually molten exuviae, but several complete
dead specimens are also present." ~ Carlo Sturani, "A Fossil Eel (Anguilla
SP.) from the Messinian of Alba (Tertiary Piedmontese Basin).
Palaeoenvironmental and Palaeogeographic Implications," in C. W. Drooger,
Ed., Messinian Events in the Mediterranean, (Amsterdam: North-Holland
Publishing Co, 1973), pp 243-255, p.251
A note on the above: This certainly was NOT a barren environment--a
hell-hole in which Adam and Eve could not survive! They would have done
well in such a place and given the desert all around, the river edges would
certainly appear as a paradise or a garden as the word Eden implies.
"The life habits of Cyprinodontid fishes (Pachylebias and Prolebias) have
already been discussed earlier. It may be added at this point that their
recent relative, Aphanius fasciatus, not only tolerates a very wide range
of salinities, but can also withstand high concentrations of some noxious
substances such as H2S (up to 12 mg per litre) and free sulphur (up to 2640
ppm)." ~ Carlo Sturani, "A Fossil Eel (Anguilla SP.) from the Messinian of
Alba (Tertiary Piedmontese Basin). Palaeoenvironmental and Palaeogeographic
Implications," in C. W. Drooger, Ed., Messinian Events in the
Mediterranean, (Amsterdam: North-Holland Publishing Co, 1973), pp 243-255,
p. 252
Unit 5
"The next and highest Messinian unit (Fig. 1, n.5), about 20-25 m thick,
consists of evenly bedded clays and current-laminated fine sands and silts,
which contain roots, still in life position, as well as abundant freshwater
reeds (Phragmites oeningensis Heer). A fairly rich assemblage of
Foraminifera is also present, in the sands alone, but it is clearly
reworked since it consists of a mixture of Early Messinian, Tortonian and
even Early Miocene species, the association of which is also inconsistent
on ecological grounds. To check this assumption we sampled the fine sands
along the banks of the Tanaro river, now draining this region. Apart from
recent plant and insect debris, freshwater ostracods, young bivalves
(Pisidium) and Characeae gyrogonites, these sands contain an astonishingly
large amount of perfectly preserved foraminifera, reworked from Pliocene
and Miocene outcrops which lie from 5 to 15 km upstream." ~ Carlo Sturani,
"A Fossil Eel (Anguilla SP.) from the Messinian of Alba (Tertiary
Piedmontese Basin). Palaeoenvironmental and Palaeogeographic Implications,"
in [get from Noah's Flood] pp 243-255, p. 253
Pliocene sediments
"Both the lacustrine clays and the alluvial plain deposits are directly
and unconformably overlain by normal marine, ingressive Pliocene clays and
silty clays. They contain abundant Pycnodonta cochlear and a rich
microfauna, including boring algae, which are indicative of the outer
sublittoral zone. From a chronostratigraphic point of view, it is
difficult to state whether there is a gap at the Messinian-Pliocene
boundary or not (in other terms, whether the ingressive sediments are
earliest Pliocene or slightly younger). ~ Carlo Sturani, "A Fossil Eel
(Anguilla SP.) from the Messinian of Alba (Tertiary Piedmontese Basin).
Palaeoenvironmental and Palaeogeographic Implications," in C. W. Drooger,
Ed., Messinian Events in the Mediterranean, (Amsterdam: North-Holland
Publishing Co, 1973), pp 243-255, p. 253
End of details.
As to the Hippos and elephants, Ryan and Pitman's book is the very first
time I have ever heard those pygmy hippos and elephants related to the
exact time of desciccation. All other authors who I have seen believe that
they were survivors of the infilling on Cyprus. It is a well known
phenonomenon that large animals stranded on islands become small. The
reason for this is that there is not enough food and large animals require
lots of food. Thus the large animals die of starvation and the smaller ones
survive, leaving small offspring and the process repeats. Dwarf mammoths
have been found on Santa Rosa Island off California. They were dwarfs
because they were on an island, not because they went through the heat.
"During the Ice Age, sea levels were low enough to connect some of the
smaller California Channel islands, but not to link them to the mainland 20
miles(30 km) or so away, so the original, colonizing mammoths must have
arrived by swimming. Remains of at least 50 dwarf individuals have been
discovered, most of them on Santa Rosa." ~ Adrian Lister and Paul Bahn,
Mammoths, (London: Boxtree, 1995), p. 33
and
"One of the most common evolutionary responses to island life is an
increase or decrease in body size. fossils excavated on islands show that,
during the Pleistocene, many populations of large mammals isolated on
islands became dwarfed. In the Mediterranean, for example, there were
diminutive antelopes in the Balearic islands, dwarf hippopotami on Cyprus
and elsewhere, and miniature deer on many islands including Sicily and
Creet. On Indonesian islands other species of deer became dwarfed, as did
isolated populations of stegodon--a proboscidean distantly related to
mammoths." ~ Adrian Lister and Paul Bahn,"Island Dwarfs and Giants,"
Mammoths, (London: Boxtree, 1995), p. 34
DWarf elephants were also found on Sicily and Malta from 500,000 years ago.
They were too late to be dwarfed by the heat--it was island life. So, in
short, I don't accept Ryan and Pitman's explanation of the dwarfism.
Elephants in the Kalahari desert are no smaller than elephants elsewhere
in cooler climates of Africa.
Hope this helps.
glenn
Foundation, Fall and Flood
Adam, Apes and Anthropology
http://www.flash.net/~mortongr/dmd.htm
Lots of information on creation/evolution