Actuopaleontological characterization and molluscan biodiversity of a protected tidal flat and shallow subtidal at the northern Red Sea

Autor(en)

Martin Zuschin, Claudia Ebner

Abstrakt

Abstract Tidal flats are abundantly developed throughout
the Phanerozoic but actualistic studies on subtropical‒
tropical tidal flats are rare. This study of a tidal flat and
shallow subtidal of a lagoon protected behind a fringing
reef at the northern Red Sea is therefore aimed to contribute
to the understanding of the distribution and abundance
of paleontologically relevant fauna and its lebensspuren.
Muddy sands to sands and beachrock are the predominating
benthic habitats. Important ecosystem engineers are
the oyster Saccostrea cucullata, which forms decimeter- to
meter-scale bioherms in the lower intertidal, the ocypodid
crab Dotilla sulcata, which reaches highest abundances on
the tidal flat, some tens of meters from the low-tide line,
and the callianassid decapod Paratrypaea bouvieri, which
is very abundant in the subtidal. The sediment surface in
the intertidal was densely covered with lebensspuren of
gastropods. Quantitative and qualitative samples revealed
130 species of molluscs from 51 families. Most species
found belong to the Veneridae, Lucinidae, Turridae, Cardiidae,
Trochidae, and Pyramidellidae in the subtidal and to
the Cerithiidae in the intertidal, but overall only 32 species
were found alive (13 on the tidal flat, 28 in the subtidal).
Distinct assemblages of living and dead molluscs characterized
the intertidal and subtidal, which suggests that dead
shells can be used to assess regional biodiversity. Numerically,
the living assemblage on the tidal flat was strongly
dominated by the deposit-feeding potamidid gastropod

Organisation(en)

Institut für Paläontologie

Journal

Facies: international journal of paleontology, sedimentology and geology

Band

61

Seiten

1-13

Anzahl der Seiten

13

ISSN

0172-9179

DOI

https://doi.org/10.1007/s10347-015-0428-6

Publikationsdatum

04-2015

Peer-reviewed

Ja

ÖFOS 2012

105118 Paläontologie

Schlagwörter

ASJC Scopus Sachgebiete

Geology, Palaeontology, Stratigraphy

Link zum Portal

https://ucrisportal.univie.ac.at/de/publications/actuopaleontological-characterization-and-molluscan-biodiversity-of-a-protected-tidal-flat-and-shallow-subtidal-at-the-northern-red-sea(b35427d8-0b2f-4e50-9ecb-b28de0f13853).html