The Tethyan oyster Pycnodonte (Costeina) costei (Coquand, 1869) in the Coniacian (Upper Cretaceous) of the Iberian Basin (Spain): Taxonomic, palaeoecological and palaeobiogeographical implications

These new finds in the Iberian Basin also improve the known palaeogeographic range of P. (C.) costei. Its distribution can be related to current circulation along the Tethys Ocean, firstly from its original area in Central Asia to North African shelves and then to the Iberian Basin and France, across the proto-Atlantic Lusitanian area. This dispersal model inferred by these currents also explains much of the Tethyan affinities found in the Late Cretaceous marine faunas of Iberia.