Cerro La Cruz, Castillo Formation, Unit C (Miocene of Venezuela)

Where: Lara, Venezuela (10.4° N, 70.1° W: paleocoordinates 9.6° N, 66.7° W)

• coordinate stated in text

• local area-level geographic resolution

When: Castillo Formation, Burdigalian (20.4 - 16.0 Ma)

• Unit C (Rincon et al. 2014)

•

•Rincon et al., 2014: Four isotopic dates using Strontium (87 Sr/86 Sr), from the Cerro La Cruz locality were obtained, which bracket of the sediments to between 17.21 to 19.27 Ma, confirming an Early Miocene age for this locality.

• group of beds-level stratigraphic resolution

Environment/lithology: fluvial; lithology not reported

• Earlier fossil discoveries from Cerro La Cruz indicated a near-shore marine environment; the latest discoveries indicate in addition fluvial and terrestrial (perhaps coastal) deposits. Elements of the fauna are consistent with the hypothesis that a tributary and/or delta of the Orinoco existed in this area of north-weastern Venezuela during early Miocene times.

Size class: macrofossils

Collection methods: Specimens deposited in the Paleontology Section of the Museo de Biología de la Universidad del Zulia, Maracaibo (MBLUZ-P)

Primary reference: M. R. Sánchez-Villagra, R. J. Asher, A. D. Rincón, A. A. Carlini, P. Meylan and R. W. Purdy. 2004. New faunal reports for the Cerro La Cruz locality (lower Miocene), north-western Venezuela. Special Papers in Palaeontology 71:105-112 [C. Jaramillo/C. Suarez-Gomez]more details

Purpose of describing collection: taxonomic analysis

PaleoDB collection 145379: authorized by Carlos Jaramillo, entered by Catalina Suarez-Gomez on 02.06.2013, edited by Juan Carrillo

Creative Commons license: CC BY (attribution)

Taxonomic list

Show authors, comments, and common names
Mammalia
 Theriamorpha - Orophodontidae
Orophodontidae indet.
Orophodontidae indet. Ameghino 1894 edentate
IVIC-P-1828
 Cingulata - Pampatheriidae
Scirrotherium sp.
Scirrotherium sp. Edmund and Theodor 1997 edentate
IVIC-P-1827
 Theriamorpha -
"Tardigrada indet." = Folivora
"Tardigrada indet." = Folivora Delsuc et al. 2001 edentate
MBLUZ-P-5043 and MBLUZ-P-5044
 Placentalia -
Litopterna indet.
Litopterna indet. placental
IVIC-P-1829
Reptilia
 Testudines - Podocnemididae
Bairdemys indet.
Bairdemys indet. Gaffney and Wood 2002 sideneck turtle
MBLUZ-P-5045
 Testudines -
Trionychoidea indet.
Trionychoidea indet. Fitzinger 1826 turtle
MBLUZ-P-5046
Actinopteri
 Acanthopteri - Sphyraenidae
Sphyraena sp.
Sphyraena sp. Artedi 1793 barracuda
MBLUZ-P-5063 to MBLUZ-P-5065
 Scombriformes - Scombridae
Acanthocybium sp.
Acanthocybium sp. Gill 1862
MBLUZ-P-5049
Chondrichthyes
 Myliobatiformes - Myliobatidae
Rhinoptera sp.
Rhinoptera sp. Cuvier 1829 cownose ray
MBLUZ-P-5059 to MBLUZ-P-5062
 Squaliformes - Squalidae
Squalidae indet.
Squalidae indet. Bonaparte 1834 dogfish shark
MBLUZ-P-5048
 Carcharhiniformes - Carcharhinidae
Carcharhinus falciformis
Carcharhinus falciformis Bibron 1841 requiem shark
MBLUZ-P-5047