ABSTRACT
The enclosed lagoon of the Tamiami subsea had two main connections to open oceanic conditions; one in the northwest, the Caloosahatchee strait, which connected to the Gulf of Mexico and one in the northeast, the Loxahatchee strait, which connected to the Atlantic ocean. Most of the water in the water in the deep Loxahatchee trough flowed through these narrow, deep connections, constantly circulating during the tidal cycles. Indeed, many of the coral genera found at Mule pen are now extinct in the Atlantic ocean but are flourishing in the South Pacific. At least half the pseudoatoll coral species were originally described from the Pliocene reefs of the Dominican Republic demonstrating a strong Pliocene West Indian–Caribbean faunal influence. The unconsolidated calcilutites, dolosilts, and fine-grained calcarenites are colored pale tan, light gray, or pale blue-gray. Corals and mollusk shells preserved within these intercalated unconsolidated units are colored either pale tan or blue-gray, weathering to white on exposure.
