Diving deep on a Pleistocene reef in eastern Jamaica

Exhumed early Pleistocene reefs along the eastern coast of Jamaica expose deep‐water environments downslope from the more familiar, shallow‐water reef frameworks. Such environments have quite different faunas from the shallow parts of the reefs, including common ‘Palaeozoic‐type’ biotas like the brachiopods and crinoids. These animals are found in deeper‐water settings around the Caribbean today; however, these biotas are not readily available nor easily studied. The slightly older Pleistocene faunas are much more accessible and informative. Here the past may be the key to the present.