Abstract
The Kairuku Formation (Lower Pliocene), Yule Island, Papua New Guinea, contains a rich and diverse echinoid fauna. Clypeasteroid (sand dollar) echinoids are an important component of this fauna and seven taxa are recognised. A seagrass community included the clypeasterids Clypeaster reticulatus (Linné), Clypeaster latissimus (Lamarck) and Clypeaster humilis (Leske) and the laganid Laganum depressum Lesson in L. Agassiz, 1841. A current-swept, shallow water, sand-dwelling community included Laganum decagonale (de Blainville, 1827), Laganum depressum delicatum Mazzetti, 1894 and Laganum depressum sinaiticum Fraas, 1867. Bathymetric ranges of extant forms of these clypeasteroids suggest water depths from littoral to about 40 m. This diverse fauna has much in common with modern communities of the tropical Indo-Pacific, as well as fossil Plio-Pleistocene faunas of the Indonesian archipelago and the western Indian Ocean region.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 125-136 |
Number of pages | 12 |
Journal | Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales |
Volume | 124 |
Publication status | Published - Jan 2003 |