2015/05/01 by Bernard Landau, Carlos M. da Silva, Carlos Marques da Silva +1 · 1 citation
Agricultural and Biological Sciences · Earth and Planetary Sciences · #Marine Biology and Ecology Research #Mollusks and Parasites Studies #Paleontology and Stratigraphy of Fossils
paper · doi:10.1017/jpa.2015.15
openalex publication_date 2015/05/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/30
Abstract Until now, the buccinid genus Chauvetia was considered of European or West African origin, and is still endemic to these areas today. This paper describes the oldest representative of the genus, Chauvetia inopinata nov. sp., from the upper Burdigalian-lower Langhian transition Cantaure Formation of Venezuela. This surprising record suggests a New World tropical origin to the genus and subsequent immigration to the Old World before the earliest known Old World record, which is upper Tortonian. We postulate that this pre-late Tortonian (pre-8.12–7.42 Ma) dispersal of the tropical Gatunian west-Atlantic Chauvetia into the tropical East Atlantic European-West African Province most probably happened during the 10.71–9.36 Ma interval (early–mid Tortonian) during which the Circum-Tropical Current weakened, and the northward Intra-Caribbean Current had started, enhancing the Gulf Stream and the North Atlantic Current. This new data constitutes compelling evidence of a pre-Pliocene eastward dispersal of New World shallow marine organisms across the Atlantic.