The Cuchara Formation is a
geologic formation
A geological formation, or simply formation, is a body of rock having a consistent set of physical characteristics ( lithology) that distinguishes it from adjacent bodies of rock, and which occupies a particular position in the layers of rock exp ...
in
Colorado
Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...
. It preserves
fossils
A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserved in ...
dating back to the
Ypresian
In the geologic timescale the Ypresian is the oldest age (geology), age or lowest stage (stratigraphy), stratigraphic stage of the Eocene. It spans the time between , is preceded by the Thanetian Age (part of the Paleocene) and is followed by th ...
stage of the
Eocene
The Eocene ( ) Epoch is a geological epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from about 56 to 33.9 million years ago (mya). It is the second epoch of the Paleogene Period (geology), Period in the modern Cenozoic Era (geology), Era. The name ''Eocene' ...
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 ...
, or
Wasatchian
The Wasatchian North American Stage on the geologic timescale is the North American faunal stage according to the North American Land Mammal Ages chronology (NALMA), typically set from 55,400,000 to 50,300,000 years BP lasting .
It is usually c ...
in the
NALMA classification.
[Cuchara Formation]
at Fossilworks
Fossilworks is a portal which provides query, download, and analysis tools to facilitate access to the Paleobiology Database
The Paleobiology Database is an online resource for information on the distribution and classification of fossil animals ...
.org
Fossil content
The following fossils have been reported from the formation:
[
]
Mammals
;Ferae
* '' Didymictis sp.''[Robinson, 1963]
;Perissodactyla
* '' Hyracotherium sp.''[
;Placentalia
* '' Phenacodus intermedius''][
]
Wasatchian correlations
See also
* List of fossiliferous stratigraphic units in Colorado
This article contains a list of fossil-bearing stratigraphic units in the state of Colorado, U.S.
Sites
See also
* Paleontology in Colorado
References
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fossiliferous stratigraphic units in Colorado
Colorado
Stratigraphi ...
* Paleontology in Colorado
The location of the state of Colorado
Paleontology in Colorado refers to paleontological research occurring within or conducted by people from the U.S. state of Colorado.
The geologic column of Colorado spans about one third of Earth's history. ...
References
Bibliography
*
{{Chronostratigraphy of Colorado
Geologic formations of Colorado
Eocene Series of North America
Paleogene Colorado
Ypresian Stage
Wasatchian
Paleontology in Colorado