Early Miocene marine ostracodes from southwestern India: implications for their biogeography and the closure of the Tethyan Seaway

Abstract

Twenty-six genera and 34 species of early Miocene Indian shallow-marine ostracodes were examined for taxonomy and paleobiogeography. A new genus Paractinocythereis and new species Costa ponticulocarinata were described. Early Miocene Indian ostracode fauna shows strong affinity to Eocene–Miocene Eastern and Western Tethyan ostracode faunas and Miocene–Recent Indo-Pacific ostracode fauna, supporting the Hopping Hotspot Hypothesis that the Tethyan biodiversity hotspot has shifted eastward through Arabia to Indo-Australian Archipelago (IAA) together with concomitant biogeographic shifts of the Tethyan elements. The result also indicated an inverse westward distributional shift in a genus. It is important to note that Paleogene and Miocene shallow marine ostracodes from the IAA region remain poorly investigated, and more fossil ostracode data are needed to better test the Hopping Hotspot Hypothesis.