An infographic highlighting the dramatic history of megalake Paratethys and its exotic environments.

The European continent looked very different from today at the beginning of the late Miocene, around 11 million years ago. The most impressive feature was probably the Paratethys – a water body stretching from the Eastern European Alps to regions that today belong to Kazakhstan. This megalake formed by raising central Europe’s mountain ranges, separating the Paratethys from the ocean and making it the largest lake ever. At its peak, Paratethys stretched over an area of around 2.8 million square kilometers, filled with more than 1.8 million cubic kilometers of brackish water. This is more than ten times the volume of all current salt- and freshwater lakes combined. Paratethys was characterized by a unique endemic fauna, including Cetotherium riabinini – the smallest whale ever found in fossil records. Paratethys went through multiple hydrological crises and desiccation periods. During the most severe crisis, the megalake lost more than two-thirds of its surface and one-third of its volume, with water levels dropping by as much as 250 meters. This had devastating impacts on the endemic fauna and many species became extinct.

This infographic is based on an article Published in Nature Scientific Reports in 2021