NEW NON-MARINE OSTRACOD GENERA AND SPECIES OF APTIAN AGE FROM ARARIPE BASIN, NORTHEAST BRAZIL.

The Ostracoda Subclass comprises the most expressive group of calcareous microfossils in the deposits of the Araripe Basin, especially in its post-rift sequence, which is represented by the Santana Group, of Late Aptian age (= Alagoas Local Stage). Due to the abundance, ostracod species are of great importance for understanding the evolution of the Araripe Basin, with direct application in biostratigraphic and paleoecological analyses. Improving these important applications involves refining the taxonomy of these ostracods, which also contributes to understanding the diversity of this fauna.

Description and ontogeny of Pattersoncypris minima sp. nov. (Crustacea: Ostracoda), Araripe Basin, Northeast Brazil.

Representatives of the Class Ostracoda are widely used as tools in applied paleoecological and biostratigraphical studies in all continents. In the Araripe Basin, located in the northeastern of Brazil, the Romualdo Formation is one of the most studied, not only for the preservation but also for the abundance of its fossils. The ostracod genus Pattersoncypris Bate, 1972 is well-represented in this formation and it is the most abundant, which reinforces the importance of its taxonomic study.