Aalenian Tmetoceras (Ammonoidea) from Iberia: taxonomy, habitats and evolution.

Abstract

Several hundred Aalenian Tmetoceras from the Iberian Peninsula (N Lusitanian Basin, Asturias, Basque-Cantabrian Basin, NE Cameros, NW Iberian Basin, Aragonese Platform, Tortosa Platform, Castilian Platform, Majorca and Betic Basin) have been reviewed. Two species of Aalenian Tmetoceras have been identified on the basis of morphological, biochronological and palaeobiogeographical data: T. scissum and T. regleyi. T. scissum was dominant among the Tmetoceras populations developed in the Betic and Lusitanian basins during Opalinum, Murchisonae and Bradfordensis biochrons. Populations composed by evolute individuals of T. scissum inhabited shelfal or oceanic environments. A chronocline, from rectiradiate and primitive forms to flexicostate and derived forms, can be recognized in these populations of T. scissum. In contrast, shallow epicontinental platforms were inhabited by involute individuals of T. regleyi. This second species was phyletically derived from T. scissum, representing an adaptive radiation from populations of shelfal or oceanic basins to populations of epicontinental platforms.