Amiantis purpurata shells from the San Matias Gulf (SMG) were analysed in order to compare both morphology and size throughout the late Quaternary in relation to environmental changes. Shells from modern beaches, Holocene marine assemblages (late Holocen

BAYER, SOL; MORSAN, ENRIQUE; GORDILLO, SANDRA; MORÁN, ARIANA GISELA

JOURNAL OF THE MARINE BIOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION OF THE UNITED KINGDOM

CAMBRIDGE UNIV PRESS

Lugar: Cambridge; Año: 2015 p. 1 - 8

0025-3154

Amiantis purpurata shells from the San Matı´as Gulf (SMG) were analysed in order to compare both morphology and sizethroughout the late Quaternary in relation to environmental changes. Shells from modern beaches, Holocene marine assemblages(late Holocene, 3630 +100 years BP) and interglacial Pleistocene marine assemblages (MIS 5, 100 ka years BP) werestudied by measuring the height and length, and using the elliptic Fourier analysis (EFA) to take an outline contour. ThePleistocene shells were smaller, more elliptical and with a deeper lunule than the Holocene and modern ones. No significantdifferences were recorded in the allometry index throughout the late Quaternary. The variation in size and shape of theA. purpurata shells could be related to the phenotypic plasticity of this species as a response to the environmental changesregistered in the SMG during the Quaternary. These changes include variations in sea surface temperatures, salinities andsubstrates, and also water circulation changes, which would have modified nutrient availability. Morphological changesimply burrowing activity, mechanical stability, nutrient uptake and defence response to predation.