The Cercado Formation is a geologic group in

Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic ( ; es, República Dominicana, ) is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean region. It occupies the eastern five-eighths of the island, which it shares with ...

. The formation comprises siltstones,

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

s, claystones,

sandstone Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks. Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates ...

s and conglomerates deposited in a shallow marine to

reef A reef is a ridge or shoal of rock, coral or similar relatively stable material, lying beneath the surface of a natural body of water. Many reefs result from natural, abiotic processes— deposition of sand, wave erosion planing down rock o ...

environment. The Cercado Formation, unconformably overlying the Baitoa Formation, preserves bivalve, gastropod, decapod and

coral Corals are marine invertebrates within the class Anthozoa of the phylum Cnidaria. They typically form compact colonies of many identical individual polyps. Coral species include the important reef builders that inhabit tropical oceans and ...

fossils dating back to the Late Miocene to

Early Pliocene Early may refer to: History * The beginning or oldest part of a defined historical period, as opposed to middle or late periods, e.g.: ** Early Christianity ** Early modern Europe Places in the United States * Early, Iowa * Early, Texas * Early ...

period Period may refer to: Common uses * Era, a length or span of time * Full stop (or period), a punctuation mark Arts, entertainment, and media * Period (music), a concept in musical composition * Periodic sentence (or rhetorical period), a concept ...

.Cercado Formation
at Fossilworks.org

References

{{reflist

* A. F. Budd and K. G. Johnson. 1999. Origination preceding extinction during late Cenozoic turnover of Caribbean reefs. Paleobiology 25(2):188-200 * M. J. Rathbun. 1920. Additions to West Indian Tertiary Decapod Crustaceans. Proceedings of the United States National Museum 58:381-384 * J. B. Saunders, P. Jung, and B. Biju-Duval. 1986. Neogene Paleontology in the Northern Dominican Republic: 1. Field Surveys, Lithology, Environment, and Age. Bulletins of American Paleontology 89(323):1-79 Geologic formations of the Dominican Republic Neogene Dominican Republic Tortonian Messinian Zanclean Siltstone formations Limestone formations Shale formations Sandstone formations Conglomerate formations Shallow marine deposits Reef deposits

See also

References

Further reading