Micropaleontological investigation and environmental interpretation of mio-piliocene transition in Sinanli- Samandağ and Arsuz- İskenderun village

The study area is located around between nortwestern of Antakya, Arsuz (İskenderun) and of southwestern Antakya, Samandağ- Sinanlı villages. Middle-Upper Miocene and Pliocene units unconformably rest on the Kızıldağ ophiolit basement. This unit is Kızıldere formation, Haymaseki member (Upper Miocene) and Aktepe formation (Pliocene) in Arsuz village which Nurzeytin, Vakıflı (Upper Miocene) and Samandağ formations (Pliocene) in Samandağ-Sinanlı village.Seven stratigraphical sections were measured in this study and several random sampling have been collected from four different stations where unsuitable locations for measuring stratigraphical sections. 10 genera and 29 species of planktonic foraminifera have been determined from 62 sample and their systematic classification have been determined. Also, 33 genera and 67 species of ostracoda have been defined. According to the lithological features, contents of ostracoda and planktonic foraminifera, the sequence is deposited marine environment generally in epineritic environment.Key Words: Mio-Pliocene, Planctonic foraminifera, Ostracoda, Arsuz, Samandağ-Sinanlı.