Loculicytheretta morkhoveni sp. nov. (Ostracoda) from West Africa and its relevance to the history of the Mediterranean Seaway

Abstract. Loculicytheretta morkhoveni sp. nov., of which the females have six loculi per valve, was found in Recent beachsand samples from Senegal and The Gambia (West Africa). A displaced specimen of the same species was present in a sample from deeper water off Guinea, where it occurred with L. aff. L. pavonia (having four loculi per valve). The presence of the Mediterranean species L. pavonia (with three loculi) in deep samples West of Gibralter is interpreted as a result of transportation by outflowing currents.

The discontinuous distribution pattern of the genus Loculicytheretta is tentatively related to a reversal of the flow regime in the Mediterranean basin during the Pliocene.