Several stratigraphic units in Colombia have provided fossils. The richest formations are the
Devonian Cuche and
Floresta Formation
The Floresta Formation ( es, Formación Floresta, Df) is a geological formation of the Altiplano Cundiboyacense in the Eastern Ranges of the Colombian Andes. The sequence of siltstones, shales, coquinas and sandstone beds dates to the Devonia ...
s, the
Cretaceous
The Cretaceous ( ) is a geological period that lasted from about 145 to 66 million years ago (Mya). It is the third and final period of the Mesozoic Era, as well as the longest. At around 79 million years, it is the longest geological period of ...
Paja Formation
Paja may refer to:
* Paja, Iran, a village in Sari County
* Paja (given name), a Serbian masculine name
* Paja (surname)
* Paja Formation, geologic formation in Colombia
* Paja Brava
:''Paja Brava is also used in Spanish speaking countries to ...
, the
Paleocene
The Paleocene, ( ) or Palaeocene, is a geological epoch that lasted from about 66 to 56 million years ago (mya). It is the first epoch of the Paleogene Period in the modern Cenozoic Era. The name is a combination of the Ancient Greek ''pal ...
Cerrejón Formation
The Cerrejón Formation is a geologic formation in Colombia dating back to the Middle-Late Paleocene. It is found in the El Cerrejón sub-basin of the Cesar-Ranchería Basin of La Guajira and Cesar. The formation consists of bituminous coal fie ...
and the
Miocene
The Miocene ( ) is the first epoch (geology), geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about (Ma). The Miocene was named by Scottish geologist Charles Lyell; the name comes from the Greek words (', "less") and (', "new") and mea ...
La Venta site. The latter is the richest
Konzentrat-Lagerstätte in northern South America and comprises the formations of the
Honda Group.
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Fossiliferous stratigraphic units
''Formations are ordered according to their youngest age''
Proposed reclassification of South American gomphotheres
Some authors,
Lucas, Mothé, Avilla et al., propose a reclassification of the South American gomphotheres as follows:
[Lucas, 2013][Mothé et al., 2012][Mothé et al., 2016a][Mothé et al., 2016b]
* ''
Stegomastodon'' is an exclusively North American genus
* ''
Haplomastodon
''Notiomastodon'' is an extinct proboscidean genus of gomphotheres (a distant relative to modern elephants) endemic to South America from the Pleistocene to the beginning of the Holocene. ''Notiomastodon'' specimens reached a size similar to t ...
'' is a South American genus, but synonymous with ''
Notiomastodon
''Notiomastodon'' is an extinct proboscidean genus of gomphotheres (a distant relative to modern elephants) endemic to South America from the Pleistocene to the beginning of the Holocene. ''Notiomastodon'' specimens reached a size similar to that ...
''
* as ''Notiomastodon'' was
defined earlier, all ''Haplomastodon'' species should be considered part of ''Notiomastodon''
* all formerly described species as ''Stegomastodon sp.'', ''Haplomastodon sp.'' and ''Notiomastodon sp.'' belong to a single species; ''Notiomastodon platensis''
* ''
Cuvieronius
''Cuvieronius'' is an extinct New World genus of gomphothere, named after the French naturalist Georges Cuvier. Alive, specimens typically stood about tall at the shoulder, weighed about and would have superficially resembled a modern elephant ...
'' is the only remaining South American genus outside of ''Notiomastodon''
Evolution
*
Lucas (2010, 2013) proposes that ''Notiomastodon'' evolved from ''Cuvieronius'' inside South America
[
* Mothé et al. (2012, 2015, 2016) propose that ''Notiomastodon'' and ''Cuvieronius'' reached South America in two separate migration waves][Mothé & Avilla, 2015, p.33]
See also
* List of fossiliferous stratigraphic units in Venezuela
*
* South American land mammal age
The South American land mammal ages (SALMA) establish a geologic timescale for prehistoric South American fauna beginning 64.5 Ma during the Paleocene and continuing through to the Late Pleistocene (0.011 Ma). These periods are referred to as age ...
* Gomphothere fossils in Colombia
* Geology of Colombia
Geology of Colombia refers to the geological composition of the Republic of Colombia that determines its geography. Most of the emerged territory of Colombia covers vast areas within the South American plate, whereas much submerged territory lie ...
** Geology of the Ocetá Páramo
** Geology of the Altiplano Cundiboyacense
** Geology of the Eastern Hills of Bogotá
Notes and references
Notes
References
Bibliography
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External links
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Paleontología en Colombia
{{Paleontology in Colombia, state=expanded
.Colombia
Fossils
Fossil
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 ...