The La Casita 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 ...

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

. 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

Kimmeridgian In the geologic timescale, the Kimmeridgian is an age in the Late Jurassic Epoch and a stage in the Upper Jurassic Series. It spans the time between 157.3 ± 1.0 Ma and 152.1 ± 0.9 Ma (million years ago). The Kimmeridgian follows the Oxfordian ...

to lowermost

Berriasian In the geological timescale, the Berriasian is an age/stage of the Early/Lower Cretaceous. It is the oldest subdivision in the entire Cretaceous. It has been taken to span the time between 145.0 ± 4.0 Ma and 139.8 ± 3.0 Ma (million years ago) ...

. It is laterally equivalent to the

La Caja Formation The La Caja Formation is a geologic formation in Mexico. It preserves fossils dating from the Kimmeridgian to the lower Berriasian. La Caja Formation is widespread in northeastern and central Mexico and known for their abundant and diverse well-pr ...

and the

Pimienta Formation The Pimienta Formation is a geologic formation in Mexico. It preserves fossils dating back to the Tithonian-Berriasian. The formation is considered laterally equivalent to the La Casita Formation. The Metriorhynchid '' Cricosaurus vignaudi'' is k ...

. The

ichthyosaur Ichthyosaurs (Ancient Greek for "fish lizard" – and ) are large extinct marine reptiles. Ichthyosaurs belong to the order known as Ichthyosauria or Ichthyopterygia ('fish flippers' – a designation introduced by Sir Richard Owen in 1842, altho ...

s ''

Jabalisaurus ''Jabalisaurus'' is an ophthalmosaurid ichthyosaur from the Late Jurassic La Caja Formation of Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered ...

'' and ''

Acuetzpalin ''Acuetzpalin'' (meaning "water lizard" in Classical Nahuatl) is an extinct genus of platypterygiine ophthalmosaurid ichthyosaur found in the Kimmeridgian La Casita Formation in Mexico. It is known from a partial skeleton (missing the limbs), of ...

'' are known from the formation, as well as the

metriorhynchid Metriorhynchidae is an extinct family of specialized, aquatic metriorhynchoid crocodyliforms from the Middle Jurassic to the Early Cretaceous period (Bajocian to early Aptian) of Europe, North America and South America. The name Metriorhynchidae ...

Dakosaurus ''Dakosaurus'' is an extinct genus of crocodylomorph within the family Metriorhynchidae that lived during the Late Jurassic and Early Cretaceous. It was large, with teeth that were serrated and compressed lateromedially (flattened from side to ...

'' and indeterminate pliosaurs.M.-C. Buchy, E. Frey, W. Stinnesback and J. G. Lopez-Oliva. 2006
An annotated catalogue of the Upper Jurassic (Kimmeridgian and Tithonian) marine reptiles in the collections of the Universidad Autonoma de Nuevo Leon, Facultad de Ciencias de la Tierra, Linares, Mexico
''Oryctos'' 6:1-18

References

External links

Jurassic Mexico Kimmeridgian Stage Tithonian Stage Jurassic System of North America {{Jurassic-stub

See also

References

External links