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Pliocene and late Pleistocene (MIS 5e) decapod crustaceans from Santa Maria Island (Azores Archipelago: Central Atlantic): systematics,palaeoecology and palaeobiogeography |
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| Authors: | Matú? Hy?ný Carlos S Melo Ricardo S Ramalho Ricardo Cordeiro Patrícia Madeira Lara Baptista A Cristina Rebelo Cynthia Gómez Alfred Uchman Markes E Johnson Björn Berning Sérgio P Ávila |
| Institution: | 1. Department of Geology and Palaeontology, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Comenius University, Bratislava, Slovakia;2. CIBIO, Centro de Investigação em Biodiversidade e Recursos Genéticos, InBIO Laboratório Associado, Pólo dos Açores, Azores, Portugal;3. Departamento de Geologia, Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisboa, Portugal
Instituto Dom Luiz, Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisboa, Portugal School of Earth Sciences, University of Bristol, Wills Memorial Building, Bristol, UK Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, Columbia University, Comer Geochemistry Building, Palisades, NY, USA;4. CIBIO, Centro de Investigação em Biodiversidade e Recursos Genéticos, InBIO Laboratório Associado, Pólo dos Açores, Azores, Portugal MPB-Marine Palaeontology and Biogeography lab, University of the Azores, Ponta Delgada, Açores, Portugal Departamento de Biologia, Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia da Universidade dos Açores, Ponta Delgada, Açores, Portugal;5. CIBIO, Centro de Investigação em Biodiversidade e Recursos Genéticos, InBIO Laboratório Associado, Pólo dos Açores, Azores, Portugal MPB-Marine Palaeontology and Biogeography lab, University of the Azores, Ponta Delgada, Açores, Portugal;6. Jagiellonian University, Faculty of Geography and Geology, Institute of Geological Sciences, Kraków, Poland;7. Department of Geosciences, Williams College, Williamstown, Massachusetts, USA |
| Abstract: | The presence of decapod crustaceans in the Pliocene and Pleistocene (MIS 5e) fossil record of Santa Maria Island (Azores Archipelago) is herein reviewed. Our study raises the number of fossil decapods from this island from one species to 10 taxa (three for the Pliocene and seven for the Last Interglacial). Four of these 10 taxa are reported for the first time in the fossil record, worldwide. A new species of a mud shrimp is also described (Upogebia azorensis n. sp.). Our study suggests that the Plio–Pleistocene decapod assemblages of the Azores did not differ significantly from modern ones, being dominated by species that are today widespread across the Webbnesia ecoregion, the Mediterranean Sea, and the eastern Atlantic shores, including the Azores. As far as can be judged from the limited fossil record, apparently no tropical crab species with a Cabo Verdean/Senegalese provenance reached the Azores during windows of opportunity associated with Glacial Termination 2 or with the initial setting of the Last Interglacial period. This contribution increases the total number of marine taxa reported for the Pliocene and Pleistocene outcrops of Santa Maria Island to 218 and 155, respectively, highlighting the scientific relevance of its palaeontological heritage. |
| Keywords: | decapod crustaceans palaeobiogeography palaeoecology systematics volcanic oceanic islands |