Form changes in Amiantis purpurata (Bivalvia, Veneridae) shells over the past 100,000 years in North Patagonia (Argentina)

Abstract

Amiantis purpurata shells from the San Matías Gulf (SMG) were analysed in order to compare both morphology and size throughout the late Quaternary in relation to environmental changes. Shells from modern beaches, Holocene marine assemblages (late Holocene, 3630 ± 100 years bp) and interglacial Pleistocene marine assemblages (MIS 5, 100 ka years bp) were studied by measuring the height and length, and using the elliptic Fourier analysis (EFA) to take an outline contour. The Pleistocene shells were smaller, more elliptical and with a deeper lunule than the Holocene and modern ones. No significant differences were recorded in the allometry index throughout the late Quaternary. The variation in size and shape of the A. purpurata shells could be related to the phenotypic plasticity of this species as a response to the environmental changes registered in the SMG during the Quaternary. These changes include variations in sea surface temperatures, salinities and substrates, and also water circulation changes, which would have modified nutrient availability. Morphological changes imply burrowing activity, mechanical stability, nutrient uptake and defence response to predation.