A New Species of Fossil Sea Urchin from the Miocene of India
A new fossil heart urchin, Faorina mizoramensis sp. nov., is described from the Miocene Bhuban Formation of Mizoram, northeastern India. This discovery fills a critical gap between fossil and extant occurrences of the genus Faorina, providing new insights into its paleobiogeographic history. Fossil evidence indicates that the genus was once widespread across the Tethyan realm during the Miocene. Following closure of the Tethyan Seaway, Mediterranean populations became extinct, while the Indo–West Pacific acted as a refugium where the genus persists today. This study highlights how major tectonic reorganizations can reshape marine biogeographic patterns, transforming once widespread taxa into regionally confined lineages.
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