The bivalve Neithea from the Cretaceous of Brazil

On the basis of new collections from the Sergipe and Camamu (Bahia) basins, revision of previously described material from the Pernambuco–Paraı́ba Basin and a reassessment of previous descriptions, five species of the pectinid bivalve Neithea are described from the Cretaceous of northeastern Brazil: N. (N.) alpina (dʹOrbigny, 1847) from the Albian of the Camamu Basin; N. (N.) coquandi (Peron, 1877) from the Aptian–Cenomanian of the Sergipe Basin, the Albian of the Camamu Basin, broadly mid-Cretaceous beds of the Tucano Sul Basin (Bahia), and the Cenomanian of the São Luı́s Basin (Maranhão); N. (N.) hispanica (dʹOrbigny, 1850) from the Albian–lower Turonian of the Sergipe Basin; N. (N.) bexarensis (Stephenson, 1941) from the Campanian of the Pernambuco–Paraı́ba Basin; N. (Neithella) notabilis (Münster in Goldfuss, 1833) from the Cenomanian of the Sergipe Basin. All species show a wide geographical distribution, in sharp contrast to previous studies that have indicated a highly endemic mollusc fauna in the Cretaceous of Brazil.