Maastrichtian and Danian species of Turkostreini (Ostreidae, Crassostreinae) from the Neuquén Basin, Argentina

GRIFFIN, M.; CASADÍO, S.; PARRAS, A.

AMEGHINIANA

Asociación Paleontológica Argentina

Lugar: Buenos Aires; Año: 2005 vol. 42 p. 257 - 276

0002-7014

The record of Turkostrea damborenae nom. nov. and Cubitostrea primordialis n. sp. in the Maastrichtian Jagüel and Roca Formations and of Turkostrea argentina n. sp., in the Danian beds of the Roca Formation reveals that the two genera involved have a history that reaches back into the Late Cretaceous in northern Patagonia. Turkostrea damborenae nom. nov and Cubitostrea primordialis n. sp. are the two oldest representatives of the genera in  which they belong. The two species of  Turkostrea show clear affinities with other species of this genus that thrived in the Paleogene of the Northern Hemisphere. Cubitostrea primordialis n. sp. is closely allied to the previously known Paleocene species common in the region. While Turkostrea appears to have survived the K/T boundary, it is not found in Patagonia in rocks younger than Danian. Cubitostrea also survived the K/T boundary but, although for diverse reasons absent from Eocene-Oligocene rocks in southern South America, is again common in early and late Miocene sediments exposed at various localities there. Based on these records, the possible South American origin of the Turkostreini is discussed