Ostracods taxonomic study and other faunistic record from Costa Bausa (Buccheri, Southeastern Sicily)

Abstract

In Costa Bausa, along the left side of the Torrente Mazzarino (NE Buccheri, SE Sicily), marine sands referred to the Pliocene by many authors for their stratigraphic position and the molluscs fauna they contain, crop out unconformably above the Miocene carbonate succession. In the present study, the taxonomy of ostracods of these sands is performed and new species are described, the foraminifera are analyzed for the first time and a taxonomic list of molluscs is also provided. The ostracod fauna is composed of specimens mostly belonging to shallow marine genera, such as Aurila, Neonesidea, Bosquetina, Callistocythere, Carynocythereis, Cistacythereis, Cytherelloidea, Cytheretta, Costa, Graptocythere, Grinioneis, Loxoconcha, Mutilus, Caudites, Pontocythere, Semicytherura, Tenedocythere, Urocythereis, Verrucocythereis and Xestoleberis. Among them, eight species are newly described: Perissocytheridea (Kroemmelbeinella) hiblaea n. sp., Aurila costabausaensis n. sp., Aurila daphnidis n. sp., Aurila mazzarinoensis n. sp., Aurila sanctiandreae n. sp., Tenedocythere forticostata n. sp., Cytheretta buccheriensis n. sp., Verrucocythereis verrucomurata n. sp.

Among planktonic foraminifera, only few specimens of Orbulina universa, O. suturalis, Trilobatus trilobus and T. sacculifer occur. The assemblage of benthic foraminifera is characterized by Amphistegina lobifera, A. lessonii, Elphidium crispum, E. macellum, Ammonia beccarii, A. parkinsoniana, Lobatula lobatula, Cancris auricula, Patellina corrugata, Quinqueloculina seminulum, Massilina oblonga, Oolina exagona and O. lineata.

The molluscs association found has helped to relate the studied levels to the Late Pliocene.