Hemipelagic cephalopods from the Maastrichtian (late Cretaceous) Parras Basin at La Parra, Coahuila, Mexico, and their implications for the correlation of the lower Difunta Group

Few biostratigraphic data exist from the Parras and La Popa basins, mainly due to the absence of index fossils. This paper describes 19 ammonoid species from 15 genera and 1 nautilid from La Parra, southeastern Coahuila, Mexico. The assemblage consists of Tethyan [(Baculites ovatus, Brahmaites (Anabrahmaites) vishnu, Fresvillia constricta, Hauericeras rembda, Pachydiscus (P.) ex gr. neubergicus, Solenoceras reesidei, Tetragonites cf. superstes], cosmopolitan (Anagaudryceras politissimum, Desmophyllites diphylloides, Diplomoceras cylindraceum, Gaudryceras kayei, Phyllopachyceras forbesianum, Pseudophyllites indra), and cold water taxa [Fresvillia teres, Hypophylloceras (Neophylloceras) surya, H. (N.) hetonaiense, Pachydiscus (P.) cf. egertoni]. Eutrephoceras sp. and Menuites juv. sp. were not determined to species level. A similar assemblage was recently described from the coeval Méndez Formation at Cerralvo, Nuevo León. Species endemic to North America, particularly the Western Interior Seaway, are absent at La Parra. The ammonoid assemblage and associated planktonic foraminifers allow for precise biostratigraphic assignation to the early Maastrichtian planktonic foraminiferal zone CF 5, and thus provide an important marker level for correlation of the lower Difunta Group. The new biostratigraphic data presented herein allow for the first time precise dating of the Cañon del Tule Formation of the Difunta Group. Their combination with existing sequence- and magnetostratigraphic data improve the correlation of the lower Difunta Group with time-equivalent lithostratigraphic units such as the Cárdenas Formation in Mexico. They also provide new insight into ammonoid migration patterns induced by sea-level changes. Baculites ovatus migrated into the La Popa Basin as a result of the sea-level highstand documented at La Parra.