Paleoenvironmental interpretation of late Quaternary molluscan assemblages from southern South America: A taphonomic comparison between the Strait of Magellan and the Beagle Channel

Abstract

This study analyzes the Holocene molluscan assemblage in raised marine terraces along the coasts of the Strait of Magellan and the Beagle Channel. A total of 33 gastropods and 12 bivalves were identified. They constitute the first mollusk listing for deposits in the Strait of Magellan. Taphonomic analysis suggests a high energy environment with epifaunal elements in the Strait of Magellan and a low energy environment with the predominance of infaunal elements in the Beagle Channel. All the collected species are living taxa suggesting that postglacial climatic variations were not enough to alter the composition of the communities since at least 6,000 yr BP in the southern Chile-Argentina region.