Ostracods from the Cassian formation (Carnian, Late Triassic)

Abstract

Ostracod assemblages from three sites exposing the Cassian Formation (Carnian) in the Dolomites are here described and discussed: Seelandalpe, Milières and Pralongia. They are the opportunity to update their taxonomy and increase the knowledge of their biodiversity for the first time since the 1970s. Forty-three species distributed into 27 genera and 11 families are reported, numerous species being kept in open nomenclature because of rarity. Hiatobairdia peggy Forel sp. nov. is newly described and Hungarella limbata, the second species described from the Cassian Formation and originally attributed to the genus Cytherella, is re-attributed to Aneisohealdia based on the presence of an anterior spine. A neotype is designated for Aneisohealdia limbata, which type specimens were lost before the description of the species. Following the present analysis, 33 formal ostracod species are now known from the Cassian Formation. The Milières locality here provides the first record of Cypridinidae for the Cassian Formation, pointing to complex predator-prey relationships.