The Cretaceous corals of Mexico: occurrences and history of research

Abstract

An extensive, detailed compilation of the known occurrences and described species of Cretaceous scleractinian corals in the country of Mexico, based almost entirely on published scientific literature, is presented for the first time. Cretaceous corals have been reported from more than 170 localities in more than 200 published studies dating from at least as early as 1839. Unfortunately, relatively few of these 200 publications actually described coral species: the entire research history on Mexican Cretaceous coral systematic paleontology is contained in only 16 studies. A total of 116 coral species have been described from these occurrences, inclusive of unnamed coral species and with previously suggested synonymies taken into consideration. Overall the coral occurrences span nearly the entire Cretaceous Period, from the Berriasian through the Maastrichtian, but at least 60 percent of them are from the Early Cretaceous. Furthermore, the vast majority (about 90 percent) of the total number of Mexican Cretaceous coral species are known from the Early Cretaceous. Based on these data, it seems likely that many of the Cretaceous corals of Mexico are still unknown. The detailed review of the literature on Mexican Cretaceous corals presented in this study establishes a modern foundation for future investigations of the paleobiogeography and systematic paleontology of the members of this significant group of reef-building organisms.