UNUSUAL PRESERVATION OF LATE QUATERNARY MILLIPEDES FROM JAMAICA

The first terrestrial arthropods recorded from the Jamaican fossil rec ord are millipedes (Diplopoda), representing at least three species, f rom a late Pleistocene or Holocene cave deposit Taxa identified includ e Rhinocricus sp. or spp., aff. Chondrotropis sp. and Caraibodesmus ve rrucosus (Pocock). The associated fauna includes diverse vertebrates a nd gastropods, with rare isopods, nonmarine crab claws and ostracodes. Preservation of millipedes has been enabled by calcite coating, linin g and impregnating the chitinous exoskeleton, which had a high origina l calcium content and acted as a nucleus for precipitation. Delicate s tructures such as limbs, antennae, gonopods and eyes may all be preser ved. This preservation has been facilitated by the bottle-shaped cave with an opening at its apex, the surrounding limestone, the clastic in fill, and the seasonality of precipitation with very high rainfalls du ring tropical storms and hurricanes. Millipedes most probably drowned in the cave during storms and formed a nucleus for the precipitation o f calcite from solution. This suite of conditions is most likely to oc cur in the tropics.