New Eocene bivalves from Bateque Formation, Baja California Sur, Mexico

Resumen

A total of 11 new mollusc bivalves are reported (Lithophaga sp., Anadara? sp., Gryphaeostrea sanjuanicus sp. nov., Ostrea sp., cf. O. contracta amichel, Argopecten? sp., Chlamys sp. a, Chlamys sp. b, Pecten? sp., Tellina sp., Macrocallista sp. and Pitar sp.), in the Bateque Formation, which includes one of the most complete fossil records for the Eocene Epoch, in Baja California Sur, Mexico. Prior to this work, existing faunal lists were reviewed, resulting in 155 macroinvertebrate species reported for the Bateque Formation. The faunal assemblage indicates an age range of early Eocene (“Capay Stage”) to the late middle Eocene (“Tejon Stage”), and also it is characteristic of shallow marine water (inner shelf to outer) and tropical to subtropical climates. The abundance and diversity of macroinvertebrates previously reported and new records of molluscs contribute to the understanding of the origin of the different taxonomic groups in Baja California Sur and the Pacific Coast of North America. Most species are indicative of warm waters from the Tethys circum-global current, which created the conditions for a wide biotic exchange between marine organisms of the Atlantic, Gulf of Mexico-Caribbean, and Pacific.