Abstract
Of the two highly fossiliferous but contrasting sedimentary successions in the upper Pliocene of Jamaica, only the fossils of the Bowden shell beds have received adequate study. The Hopegate Formation of the island’s central north coast is a thick and areally extensive unit, a raised reef rich in fossil scleractinian corals and benthic molluscs. However, it is well lithified and in part dolomitised, so it is difficult to collect the fossils, which are commonly indifferently preserved. To the fauna of the Hopegate Formation is added its first holoplanktic gastropod, Diacria trispinosa (de Blainville), a unique specimen preserved as an internal mould. All other molluscs from this formation are benthic. However, the presence of D. trispinosa is unexpected, as it likely spent most of its life in the deeper water zooplankton.
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Acknowledgements
S.K.D. and R.W.P. acknowledge the financial support provided for this research by National Geographic Society grant #7278-02, and Barbara and the late Reed Toomey. Discovery Bay Marine Laboratory, University of the West Indies, supplied essential logistic support. Assistance in the field was provided by Tom Stemann (University of the West Indies, Mona, and co-investigator on the grant), the late Craig Oyen (Shippensburg University, Pennsylvania), George Hecht, Harley Means, Sean Roberts and Julie Thaler (all Florida Museum of Natural History).
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Donovan, S.K., Janssen, A.W., Portell, R.W. et al. A holoplanktic gastropod in a raised reef: Hopegate Formation, Jamaica (upper Pliocene). PalZ 93, 599–603 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12542-019-00449-y
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12542-019-00449-y