Tafonomía de bivalvos holocenos en la costa del estuario de Bahía Blanca, Argentina

Abstract

In the Bahía Blanca Estuary (Argentina), Holocene deposits are fossiliferous sand ridges originated by the last transgressive–regressive marine event. By means of ternary taphograms applied on valves of Brachidontes rodriguezi a taphonomic analysis was carried out in two ridges, both in the external and internal estuary area. Six taphonomic attributes were considered. The disarticulation and the fragmentation are higher in the external ridge, whereas the bioerosion and incrustation, both barely manifested, are similar in the two environmental settings. In the outer deposit, as much the abrasions as the dissolution of the shells are more intense. Genetically, it is considered that these shell concentrations were originated by multiepisodic storm events. Based on the taphonomic analysis, it arises that in the generation of the internal ridge waves of moderate energy with different sorting degrees prevailed, whereas in the formation of the external deposits waves of greater energy with smaller sorting capacity prevailed.