Magnitude 6.0 Earthquake in Balıkesir Province, Turkey.

The United States Geological Survey recorded a Magnitude 6.0 Earthquake at a depth of 8.0 km, about 4 km to the southeast of the municipality of Sındırgı in Balıkesir Province, Turkey,  slightly before 10.,50 pm local time (slightly before 7.50 pm GMT) on Monday 27 October 2025. No casualties have been reported following this event, but several buildings damaged during another Earthquake in August are reported to have collapsed. The Earthquake was felt across western Turkey, and in parts of southern Bulgaria.

The approximate location of the 27 October 2025 Balıkesir Province Earthquake. USGS.

Balıkesir Province lies close to the boundary between the Anatolian Plate, to the north, the Aegean Sea Plate (underlying the Peloponnese, Attica, The Cyclades Islands, Crete, the Dodecanese Islands and Turkey to the southeast of the Taurus Mountains) to the west and the African Plate to the south. Northern Greece and the north coast of Turkey lie on the Eurasian Plate. Both countries are highly prone to earthquakes because of this.

To the east the Arabian Plate  is being pushed north and west by the movement of the African Plate, further to the south. This leads to a zone of tectonic activity within the province, as the Arabian and Anatolian plates are pushed together, along the East Anatolian Fault, and past one-another, along the Dead Sea Transform.

Simplified map of the plate movements of the eastern Mediterranean. Univeriteit Utrecht.

This movement also leads to a zone of faulting along the northern part of Turkey, the North Anatolian Fault Zone, as the Anatolian Plate is pushed past the Eurasian Plate, which underlies the Black Sea and Crimean Peninsula  (transform faulting). This is not a simple process, as the two plates constantly stick together, then break apart as the pressure builds up, leading to Earthquakes, which can be some distance from the actual fault zone. 

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At least one fatality following Magnitude 6.1 Earthquake in eastern Turkey.

The United States Geological Survey recorded a Magnitude 6.1 Earthquake at a depth of 10.0 km, about 10 km to the southwest of the municipality of Bigadiç in Balıkesir Province, Turkey,  slightly before 7.55 pm local time (slightly before 4.55 pm GMT) on Sunday 10 August 2025. Sixteen buildings are reported to have collapsed following the event, although the majority are reported to have been derelict before the event, with at least one fatality, an 81-year-old woman who died after being rescued from the remains of a collapsed building, with 29 more people having been injured.

Local residents removing debris from collapsed buildings following an Earthquake in northeast Turkey on 10 August 2025. Bahadir Demirçeriven/AP.

Balıkesir Province lies close to the boundary between the Anatolian Plate, to the north, the Aegean Sea Plate (underlying the Peloponnese, Attica, The Cyclades Islands, Crete, the Dodecanese Islands and Turkey to the southeast of the Taurus Mountains) to the west and the African Plate to the south. Northern Greece and the north coast of Turkey lie on the Eurasian Plate. Both countries are highly prone to earthquakes because of this.

The approximate location of the 10 August 2020 Balıkesir Province Earthquake. USGS.

To the east the Arabian Plate  is being pushed north and west by the movement of the African Plate, further to the south. This leads to a zone of tectonic activity within the province, as the Arabian and Anatolian plates are pushed together, along the East Anatolian Fault, and past one-another, along the Dead Sea Transform.

Simplified map of the plate movements of the eastern Mediterranean. Univeriteit Utrecht.

This movement also leads to a zone of faulting along the northern part of Turkey, the North Anatolian Fault Zone, as the Anatolian Plate is pushed past the Eurasian Plate, which underlies the Black Sea and Crimean Peninsula  (transform faulting). This is not a simple process, as the two plates constantly stick together, then break apart as the pressure builds up, leading to Earthquakes, which can be some distance from the actual fault zone. 

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Oxynoemacheilus kottelati: A new species of Stone Loach from the Aegean drainage of Anatolia.

Stone Loaches of the genus Oxynoemacheilus are found across the Eastern Mediterranean, the southern Caucasus, Anatolia, Mesopotamia, and Central Iran. To date, 67 species have been assigned to the genus, of which are found in Turkish inland waters, and 36 entirely endemic to the country. Sixteen species are found within the Tigris and Euphrates basins, 14 within rivers and streams draining into the Mediterranean, six in rivers and streams draining into the Black Sea, four in rivers and streams draining into the Caspian, two species within the Konya Basin, two within the Marmara Basin, and one within the Van Basin. 

In a paper published in the journal Zoosystematics and Evolution on 9 May 2024, Davut Turan of the Faculty of Fisheries at Recep Tayyip Erdoğan University, Sadi̇ Aksu of the Vocational School of Health Services at Eskişehir Osmangazi University, Sali̇m Serkan Güçlü of the Faculty of Eğirdir Fisheries at Isparta University of Applied Sciences, and Gökhan Kalaycı, also of the Faculty of Fisheries at Recep Tayyip Erdoğan University, describe a new species of Oxynoemacheilus from streams in the Aegean drainage of Anatolia.

The new species is named Oxynoemacheilus kottelati, in honour of the Swiss ichthyologist Maurice Kottelat, for his contributions to our understanding of the world's Fish fauna. The species is described from a series of Fish collected from the Havran and Karınca streams in Balıkesir Province, Turkey, in October 2023.

Oxynoemacheilus kottelati FFR 15655, (a), (b) Holotype, male, 47 mm; FFR 15656; (c) Paratype, female, 49 mm; Türkiye, Balıkesir Province, Havran Stream. Turan et al. (2024).

Specimens of Oxynoemacheilus kottelati range from 35 to 54 mm in length, with a deep body, laterally compressed at the base of the tail. They have a marbled brownish pattern on their flanks and dorsal surface, but are white on the underside. 

Oxynoemacheilus kottelati, FFR 15657, paratypes: (a) male, 47 mm; (b)female, 46 mm; (c) male, 45 mm; Havran Stream; FFR 15656; (d) female, 48 mm; Karınca Stream; Türkiye, Balıkesir Province. Turan et al. (2024).

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