The first Cyclida from the Triassic of Italy

Abstract

A well-preserved carapace of the crustacean Halicyne is here described. The finding comes from the Sostegno Basin (Piedmont, Italy). This is the first occurrence of a well-preserved arthropod from the Middle Triassic San Salvatore Formation of the Biellese area and the first report of a Triassic Cyclida from Italy. Cyclida often occurs in shallow marine environments with rapidly changing salinity conditions. The finding from the Sostegno area suggests a hypersaline paleoenvironment similar to that of Monte San Salvatore (Ticino, Switzerland) upper levels, where the same taxon was previously documented. These fossiliferous localities are shortly compared with that of Rasa di Varese (Lombardy, Italy).