Ecology, taxonomy and distribution of dominant ostracode taxa in modern carbonate sediments, northeastern Yucatán shelf, Mexico

Abstract

Nearshore, oolitically-coated carbonate grains indicative of high energy characterize the marine strait between Isla Mujeres and Puerto Juárez, State of Quintana Roo, Mexico. Low-energy, high Mg-calcite-rich mud is forming to the south in Nichupte lagoon. Six ostracode species, two of which are new, are present in five widely spaced quantitative (total= live + dead) samples collected from each of these two discrete lithotopes. Ternary plots ofthe three most common species in marine strait grainstones reveal: (1) Paranesidea gigacantha dominates, (2) second-order dominants are almost equally divided between P. gigacantha and Paranesidea cancunensis n. sp., (3) third order dominants consist of P. cancunensis n. sp. and Neonesidea longisetosa... In order to continue, download full text in PDF.