A primitive tube-bearing antillocaprinid rudist bivalve, Parasarcolites sohli sp. nov, from Jamaica and Puerto Rico, West Indies

The new antillocaprinid rudist bivalve Parasarcolites sohli sp. nov. is described from the Maastrichtian rocks of Puerto Rico (El Rayo Formation) and Jamaica (Sunderland Inlier). The species shows that all tubes, one of the diagnostic features of the genus, arise by the development of flanges on costae to roof over the intercostal space between adjacent costae. This is the first time that this feature has been unequivocally shown in an antillocaprinid rudist and suggests that tubes in other antillocaprinid rudists arose in a similar way. The species occurs in early Maastrichtian deposits of Puerto Rico and Jamaica, and represents a potential marker species in future biostratigraphic studies.

► We describe a primitive new species Parasarcolites sohli from Puerto Rico and Jamaica.
► This species shows the method of tubes formation in Parasarcolites.
► The species represents a potential biostratigraphic marker in the early Maastrichtian.