Catastrophic extinction of Caribbean rudist bivalves at the Cretaceous-Tertiary boundary
- 1Institut für Geologie, Mineralogie und Geophysik, Ruhr-Universität, 44801 Bochum, Germany
- 2Department of Geography and Geology, University of the West Indies, Mona, Kingston 7, Jamaica
- 3Institut für Geologie, Mineralogie und Geophysik, Ruhr-Universität, 44801 Bochum, Germany
- 4Department of Geography and Geology, University of the West Indies, Mona, Kingston 7, Jamaica
- 5Geologisches Institut, Universität zu Köln, Zülpicher Strasse 49a, 50674 Köln, Germany
Abstract
Strontium isotope ratios (87Sr/86Sr) in pristine low-Mg calcite of shells of rudist bivalves from the Titanosarcolites limestones exposed in the Central, Maldon, and Marchmont inliers of Jamaica indicate that species-rich rudist-coral associations persisted into the latest Maastrichtian (66–65 Ma). This finding contradicts the currently accepted hypothesis of stepwise extinction of rudist bivalves in the middle Maastrichtian and argues for a catastrophic, impact-related demise of Caribbean Cretaceous reefal ecosystems at the Cretaceous-Tertiary boundary.
Footnotes
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↵GSA Data Repository item 2002118, Analytical results of low-Mg calcite of shells of rudist bivalves from Jamaica, is available on request from Documents Secretary, GSA, P.O. Box 9140, Boulder, CO 80301-9140, USA, editinggeosociety.org, or at www.geosociety.org/pubs/ft2002.htm.
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↵*thomas.steuberruhr-uni-bochum.de.
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- Accepted July 16, 2002.
- Received March 22, 2002.
- Revision received July 1, 2002.
- Geological Society of America
