Formation of the Greater Caucasus Landform in the Late Oligocene, Miocene–Pliocene, and Early Pleistocene: A Review of New Paleontological Data and Biotic Markers

Our analysis of the paleontological data allowed us to assess the chronology and characteristics of the formation of the Caucasian land mass and the emergence of its mountainous relief. It has been established that the origin of the Caucasian land mass occurred in the Oligocene. The studied fossil records of Caucasian land mass biota showed that it is reliably recorded in sediments beginning from the Late Oligocene. Data from the Late Middle and Early Late Miocene (13–8 Ma) bears evidence of dissected relief and the existence of altitudinal zonation. In the Late Pliocene and Early Pleistocene (3.6–1.5 Ma), the Caucasian land mass acquired the characteristics of its modern relief.