@article {Ritter2013a,
	title = {{Taphonomic signatures in molluscan fossil assemblages from the Holocene lagoon system in the northern part of the coastal plain, Rio Grande do Sul State, Brazil}},
	journal = {Quaternary International},
	volume = {305},
	year = {2013},
	note = {n/a},
	abstract = {<p>Molluscan shell accumulations (shell beds) are very common in shallow marine and estuarine environments in South America and also on the continental shelf between Argentina and southern Brazil. The development of these shell beds is restricted to the Quaternary, and can provide a great opportunity for taphonomic studies, which are rare in this geographic location. This study investigates the influence of environmental processes on the destruction of biological remains in a subtropical lagoonal setting by describing the taphonomic signatures occurring in the mollusk shells from the Tramanda{\'\i} Lagoon, northeastern Rio Grande do Sul State, Brazil. This lagoon system originated during the regressive phase that followed a transgressive maximum at 6.0-6.5 ka BP. The taphonomic variables (fragmentation, margin modification, surface alteration, hinge fine scale alteration and corrosion degree) and their damage states were recorded for 1000 shells of Erodona mactroides. The shells were recovered from two outcrops 8 km apart. 14 C-AMS dating were performed on the shells of E. mactroides from those outcrops, which yielded similar ages (from 1060 to 1490 cal yrs BP). The ages would indicate that the Tramanda{\'\i} Lagoon occupied a larger area and must have been subjected to very rapid progradation towards its present position. Several taphonomic variables, such as fragmentation, surface alteration, and corrasion extent and oxidation, presented significant differences (p {\textless} 0.01) between the two outcrops. This may be due to some natural variation of the estuarine and lagoonal environments or differences within the taphonomically active zone (TAZ). Dissolution seems to be a leading taphonomic agent in lagoonal environments. The shells from the two outcrops are within the TAZ and, due to intense dissolution, they will most likely leave no geological record. {\textcopyright} 2013 Elsevier Ltd and INQUA.</p>
},
	issn = {10406182},
	doi = {10.1016/j.quaint.2013.03.013},
	author = {Ritter, M.N. and Erthal, F. and Coimbra, J.C.}
}
