A new veneroid genus (Mollusca: Bivalvia) of the danian of Patagonia (Chubut province, Argentina)

Abstract

The endemic Patagonian genus Titomaya gen*nov*is erected to include the Danian Meretrix chalcedonica (Lefipan and Salamanca formations) and Titomaya longobucca sp*nov*(Salamanca Formation) from the Chubut Province (Argentina)*Although Meretrix and Titomaya share the same characteristic sculpture of their nymphs, Titomaya is differentiated by having medium to small, subtriangular, higher than long shells, a narrower and shorter hinge plate, smaller cardinal and anterior teeth, and by the development of a deeper pallial sinus*This new genus rules out the presence of Meretrix in Patagonia, as was long believed, and increases the list of endemic taxa that characterize the Danian assemblages of Patagonia.