The Floresta Formation ( es, Formación Floresta, Df) is a

geological 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 expo ...

of the Altiplano Cundiboyacense in the

Eastern Ranges The Eastern Ranges is an Australian rules football team in the NAB League, the Victorian statewide under-18s competition. The club is a founding member of the competition (1992) and has produced several players for the Australian Football Le ...

of the Colombian

Andes The Andes, Andes Mountains or Andean Mountains (; ) are the longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range is long, wide (widest between 18°S – 20°S ...

. The sequence of

siltstone Siltstone, also known as aleurolite, is a clastic sedimentary rock that is composed mostly of silt. It is a form of mudrock with a low clay mineral content, which can be distinguished from shale by its lack of fissility.Blatt ''et al.'' 1980, ...

shale Shale is a fine-grained, clastic sedimentary rock formed from mud that is a mix of flakes of clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolin, Al2 Si2 O5( OH)4) and tiny fragments (silt-sized particles) of other minerals, especia ...

s, coquinas and

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 ...

beds dates to the

Devonian The Devonian ( ) is a geologic period and system of the Paleozoic era, spanning 60.3 million years from the end of the Silurian, million years ago (Mya), to the beginning of the Carboniferous, Mya. It is named after Devon, England, w ...

period;

Late Emsian The Devonian ( ) is a geologic period and system of the Paleozoic era, spanning 60.3 million years from the end of the Silurian, million years ago (Mya), to the beginning of the Carboniferous, Mya. It is named after Devon, England, wher ...

, Eifelian and Early Givetian epochs, and has a maximum thickness of . The unit is highly fossiliferous;

brachiopod Brachiopods (), phylum Brachiopoda, are a phylum of trochozoan animals that have hard "valves" (shells) on the upper and lower surfaces, unlike the left and right arrangement in bivalve molluscs. Brachiopod valves are hinged at the rear end, ...

bryozoa Bryozoa (also known as the Polyzoa, Ectoprocta or commonly as moss animals) are a phylum of simple, aquatic invertebrate animals, nearly all living in sedentary colonies. Typically about long, they have a special feeding structure called a ...

ns, gastropods,

trilobite Trilobites (; meaning "three lobes") are extinct marine arthropods that form the class Trilobita. Trilobites form one of the earliest-known groups of arthropods. The first appearance of trilobites in the fossil record defines the base of the ...

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 secre ...

s and

bivalve Bivalvia (), in previous centuries referred to as the Lamellibranchiata and Pelecypoda, is a class of marine and freshwater molluscs that have laterally compressed bodies enclosed by a shell consisting of two hinged parts. As a group, biv ...

s have been found in the Floresta Formation. Some fragments of Placoderm fish fossils were found in the Floresta Formation, while the overlying

Cuche Formation The Cuche Formation ( es, Formación Cuche, Cc) is a geological formation of the Floresta Massif, Altiplano Cundiboyacense in the Eastern Ranges of the Colombian Andes. The sequence of siltstones, shales, and sandstone beds dates to the Late Devo ...

is much richer in fish biodiversity.

Etymology

The formation was first described as Floresta Series by Olsson and Carter in 1939. The current definition was given by Botero in 1950. The formation is named after Floresta, Boyacá, where the formation

outcrop An outcrop or rocky outcrop is a visible exposure of bedrock or ancient superficial deposits on the surface of the Earth. Features Outcrops do not cover the majority of the Earth's land surface because in most places the bedrock or superficia ...

s.Mojica & Villarroel, 1984, p.64

Description

Lithologies

The Floresta Formation is characterized by a lower sequence of

s and ochre to beige

s with alternating coquinas, while the upper part consists of siltstones with

sandy Sandy may refer to: People and fictional characters *Sandy (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Sandy (surname), a list of people *Sandy (singer), Brazilian singer and actress Sandy Leah Lima (born 1983) * (Sandy) ...

beds.Morzadec et al., 2015, p.332

Stratigraphy and depositional environment

The Floresta Formation overlies the

El Tíbet Formation EL, El or el may refer to: Religion * El (deity), a Semitic word for "God" People * EL (rapper) (born 1983), stage name of Elorm Adablah, a Ghanaian rapper and sound engineer * El DeBarge, music artist * El Franco Lee (1949–2016), America ...

and is overlain by the

. The age has been estimated to be

to Early Givetian.Morzadec et al., 2015, p.355 Stratigraphically, the formation is time equivalent with the Portachuelo Formation around Quetame.Morzadec et al., 2015, p.331 The Onondaga Formation of New York is considered time equivalent too.Giroud López, 2014, p.168 The formation contains

concretion A concretion is a hard, compact mass of matter formed by the precipitation of mineral cement within the spaces between particles, and is found in sedimentary rock or soil. Concretions are often ovoid or spherical in shape, although irregular ...

s and a high diversity of

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 ...

s. The formation was deposited in a transgressional and regressional epicontinental marine

environment Environment most often refers to: __NOTOC__ * Natural environment, all living and non-living things occurring naturally * Biophysical environment, the physical and biological factors along with their chemical interactions that affect an organism or ...

at the edge of the

Paleo-Tethys Ocean The Paleo-Tethys or Palaeo-Tethys Ocean was an ocean located along the northern margin of the paleocontinent Gondwana that started to open during the Middle Cambrian, grew throughout the Paleozoic, and finally closed during the Late Triassic; ex ...

.Janvier & Villarroel, 1998, p.6 The uppermost part of the formation has been deposited in a deltaic setting,Giroud López, 2014, p.169 with the lower sequence formed in a coral reef environment.Giroud López, 2014, p.170

Fossil content

Remains of '' Barroisella sp.'',Morzadec et al., 2015, p.335 '' ?Tarutiglossa sp.'',Morzadec et al., 2015, p.336 '' Dipleura cf. dekayi'', '' Dechenella boteroi'',Morzadec et al., 2015, p.340 '' Mannopyge sp.'', '' Cordania gasepiou'', '' Viaphacops cristata'',Morzadec et al., 2015, p.342 '' Anchiopsis armata'',Morzadec et al., 2015, p.344 '' Synphoria stemmata'', '' Coronura cf. lessepsensis'',Morzadec et al., 2015, p.346 '' Greenops cf. grabaui'',Morzadec et al., 2015, p.348 '' Belenopyge contusa'', '' Kettneraspis callicera'', Placoderm fishes,Janvier & Villarroel, 1998, p.9 '' Platyceras nodosum'',Giroud López, 2014, p.39 '' Acrospirifer olssoni'', '' Anoplotheca cf. silvetii'', '' Atrypa harrisi'', '' Australospirifer cf. antarcticus'', '' Aviculopecten wellsi'', '' Brachyspirifer palmerae'', '' Camarotoechia dotis'', '' Chonetes cf. billingsi'', '' C. comstockii'', '' C. cf. stubeli'', '' Chonostrophia knodi'', '' Cyclotrypa boyaca'', '' C. carribeana'', '' C. dickeyi'', '' C. reticulata'', '' C. stellata'', '' Cymostrophia dickeyi'', '' C. schucherti'', '' C. waringi'', '' Cypricardinia cf. subindenta'', '' Cyrtina hamiltonensis'', '' Dalmanites cf. patacamayaensis'', '' Dictyostrophia cooperi'', '' Elytha colombiana'', '' Eodevonaria imperialis'', '' Favosites aff. hamiltonensis'', '' Fenestrellina colombiana'', '' F. olssoni'', '' F. acuta'', '' F. quadrata'', '' F. harrisi'', '' Fistulipora anomala'', '' F. megalopora'', '' Florestacanthus morenoi'', '' Heliophyllum halli'', '' Intrapora fragilis'', '' I. megalopora'', '' Leiorhynchus mysia'', ''

Leptaena boyaca ''Leptaena'' is an extinct genus of mid-sized brachiopod that existed from the Dariwilian epoch to the Emsian epoch, though some specimens have been found in strata as late in age as the Tournasian epoch. Like some other Strophomenids, ''Lept ...

'', '' Meganteris australis'', '' Megastrophia hopkinsi'', '' M. pygmaea'', '' Meristella wheeleri'', '' Nucleospira concinna'', '' Odontopleura callicera'', '' Pentagonia gemmisulcata'', '' Phacops cf. salteri'', '' Pholidops florestae'', '' Platyostoma lineata'', '' Pleurodictyum americanum'', '' Polypora elegantula'', '' P. granulifera'', '' Prismopora inornata'', '' Schellwienella goldringae'', '' Semicoscinium colombiensis'', '' S. minutum'', '' Spinocyrtia cf. valenteana'', '' Spinulicosta spinulicosta'', '' Spirifer kingi'', '' Strophonella floweri'', '' S. meridionalis'', '' Sulcoretepora olssoni'', '' S. subramosa'', '' Taeniopora florestae'', '' Tropidoleptus carinatus'', '' Unitrypa casteri'', '' Acanthograptus sp.'', '' Actinopteria sp'', '' Amphigenia sp.'', '' Anthozoa sp.'', '' Camarotoechia sp.'', '' Cryptonella sp.'', '' Cyphaspis sp.'', '' Cryphaeus sp.'', '' Dalmanites sp.'', '' Derbyina sp.'', '' Gastropoda sp.'', '' Grammysia sp.'', '' Homalonotus sp.'', '' Leptostrophia sp.'', '' Mediospirifer sp.'', '' Orthoceras sp.'', '' Ostracoda sp.'', '' Orthis sp.'', '' Paraspirifer sp.'', '' Proetus sp.'', '' Pterinea sp.'', '' Strophodonta sp.'', '' Thamnopora sp.'', and '' Vitulina sp.'' have been described from the Floresta Formation.Floresta
at

Fossilworks Fossilworks is a portal which provides query, download, and analysis tools to facilitate access to the Paleobiology Database, a large relational database assembled by hundreds of paleontologists from around the world. History Fossilworks was cre ...

.org '' Colombianaspis carvalhoae gen. et sp. nov.'', '' Schizobolus pilasiensis sp. nov.'' and '' Tarijactinoides sp. nov.'',Morzadec et al., 2015, p.352 were newly described in 2015.

Outcrops

The Floresta Formation is found at the Floresta Massif around its

type locality Type locality may refer to: * Type locality (biology) * Type locality (geology) See also * Local (disambiguation) * Locality (disambiguation) {{disambiguation ...

in Floresta, Boyacá,Mojica & Villarroel, 1984, p.70 stretching to the south until between

Busbanzá Busbanzá () is a town and municipality in the Colombian Department of Boyacá. Busbanzá is part of the Tundama Province, a subregion of Boyacá. Busbanzá is located at from Sogamoso. It borders Betéitiva in the north, in the east and south ...

and

Nobsa Nobsa is a town and municipality in Sugamuxi Province, part of Boyacá department. The urban centre is situated on the Altiplano Cundiboyacense at from the national capital Bogotá at an elevation of . Other parts of the municipality range in e ...

and to the west close to Belén,

Cerinza Cerinza is a town and municipality in the Colombian Department of Boyacá, and part of the Tundama Province subregion. Cerinza borders Belén in the north, Encino, Santander in the west, Santa Rosa de Viterbo in the south and Floresta and B ...

and Tutazá.Plancha 172, 1998 The formation is also found in the upper course of the Chicamocha River in the eponymous

canyon A canyon (from ; archaic British English spelling: ''cañon''), or gorge, is a deep cleft between escarpments or cliffs resulting from weathering and the erosive activity of a river over geologic time scales. Rivers have a natural tendency to cut ...

. Many of the fossils are on display in the paleontological museum of Floresta.

Regional correlations

Notes

References

Bibliography

* * * *

Maps

* * * * *

External links

*
Peces devónicos de Colombia, diversidad en los mares y ríos de hace 410-355 millones de años
{{Paleontology in Colombia, state=expanded Geologic formations of Colombia Devonian System of South America Devonian Colombia Shale formations Deltaic deposits Reef deposits Geography of Boyacá Department