The bivalve Neithea from the Cretaceous of Brazil

摘要

On the basis of new collections from the Sergipe and Camamu (Bahia) basins, revision of previously described material from the Pernambuco-Paraiba Basin and a reassessment of previous descriptions, five species of the pectinid bivalve Neithea are described from the Cretaceous of northeastern Brazil: N. (N.) alpina (d'Orbigny, 1847) from the Albian of the Camamu Basin; N. (N.) coquandi (Peron, 1877) from the Aptian-Cenomanian of the Sergipe Basin, the Albian of the Camamu Basin, broadly mid-Cretaceous beds of the Tucano Sul Basin (Bahia), and the Cenomanian of the Sao Luis Basin (Maranhao); N. (N.) hispanica (d'Orbigny, 1850) from the Albian-lower Turonian of the Sergipe Basin; N. (N.) bexarensis (Stephenson, 1941) from the Campanian of the Pernambuco-Paraiba Basin; N. (Neithella) notabilis (Muensterin Goldfuss, 1833) from the Cenomanian of the Sergipe Basin. All species show a wide geographical distribution, in sharp contrast to previous studies that have indicated a highly endemic mollusc fauna in the Cretaceous of Brazil.