Evolutionary history of reef-dwelling and associated lagoonal mollusc assemblages of the uplifted Niau Atoll (Tuamotu, French Polynesia) since the Pliocene

This dataset contains the digitized treatments in Plazi based on the original journal article Salvat, Bernard, Merle, Didier, Letourneux, Jean, Tröndlé, Jean, Montaggioni, Lucien François, Pons-Branchu, Edwige, Dumoulin, Jean-Pascal, Bacchet, Philippe (2026): Evolutionary history of reef-dwelling and associated lagoonal mollusc assemblages of the uplifted Niau Atoll (Tuamotu, French Polynesia) since the Pliocene. Geodiversitas 48 (6): 87-125, DOI: 10.5252/geodiversitas2026v48a6 ABSTRACT The evolutionary history of the lagoonal molluscan thanatocenoses on the raised Niau Atoll (French Polynesia) is studied in relation to the geological evolution of the atoll and the episodic exchanges between the oceanic waters and those of the lagoon since the Late Pliocene.

Three thanatocoenoses are described and compared with the extant fauna of the raised lagoon. The first one, located beneath a limestone pedogenetic crust, was recently dated to the Late Pliocene-Early Pleistocene and reveals a rich assemblage of 92 molluscan species. Seven new species are described, five of which are recognised after examining the shells under UV light: four gastropods Cerithium niauense Merle, n. sp.