Aptian microfossils from the southwest portion of the Araripe Basin, Pernambuco State, Northeastern Brazil

Known worldwide for the excellent preservation of its fossils, the Araripe Basin, located between the states of Ceará, Piauí, and Pernambuco, has been the target of hundreds of studies on micropaleontology over the last few decades. However, papers focusing on this basin within the Pernambuco State are scarce. In the present work, microfossils (especially ostracods) recovered from samples of the well AR-TR-3-PE drilled in the city of Trindade were studied. The recovered ostracod assemblage is typically Aptian, as follows: Neuquenocypris cf. N. berthoui Colin & Dépêche, Pattersoncypris micropapillosa Bate, Pattersoncypris sp., Damonella grandiensis Tomé et al., and Theriosynoecum silvai (Silva). These ostracods were associated with other fossil groups, such as benthic foraminifera (Bathysiphon? sp., Rhizammina sp., and Psammosphaera? sp.), seeds, gastropods, bivalves, and fish teeth. Overall, this mixohaline association suggests a transitional paleoenvironment to the Aptian interval in the southwest portion of the Araripe Basin. Keywords: Early Cretaceous, ostracods, foraminifera, paleoecology.