Pliocene brachiopods from the Estepona Area (Malaga, South Spain)

Abstract

Four brachiopod species (one rhynchonellid and 3 terebratulids) from Lower Pliocene sandy deposits of the Estepona area in the Malaga province (Andalusia, southern Spain) are described: Aphelesia hipartita (Brocchi), Terebratula terebratula (Linnaeus), Gryphus sp., and Megerlia eusticta (Philippi). M. eusticta is restricted to the Pliocene, but A. bipartita and T. terebratula are also regarded as characteristic Pliocene species, although they are reported from the Miocene as well. The investigated assemblage differs from all other Spanish Pliocene assemblages mostly in the absence of such genera as Megathyris, Argyrotheca and Terebratulina. The assemblages of similar composition to that from the Estepona area are associated with shallow water, high­energy environments and sandy facies through the whole Mediterranean region.