Southern Caribbean Neogene palaeobiogeography revisited. New data from the Pliocene of Cubagua, Venezuela

Based on new data from the Pliocene gastropod assemblage of Cubagua Island, Venezuela, the palaeobiogeography of the southern Caribbean is reviewed. The data obtained from the southern Caribbean assemblages demonstrate a highly endemic fauna along the northern coasts of South America, distinct from that found in the neighbouring Isthmian region to the west, which has probably been in place since at least the early Neogene. These assemblages are characterised by a relative stability at generic level, but an extremely high turnover rate at specific level. The name Colombian–Venezuelan–Trinidad Subprovince is chosen over Puntagavilanian Subprovince and chorotypes and chronotypes are selected for the Gatunian Province and the Colombian–Venezuelan–Trinidad Subprovince.