Jama Formation

Last updated
Jama Formation
Stratigraphic range: Pliocene-Early Pleistocene
(Montehermosan-Ensenadan)
~5.3–0.8  Ma
O
S
D
C
P
T
J
K
Pg
N
Type Geological formation
Lithology
Primary Claystone, sandstone
Location
Coordinates 0°12′S80°18′W / 0.2°S 80.3°W / -0.2; -80.3
Approximate paleocoordinates 0°18′S79°54′W / 0.3°S 79.9°W / -0.3; -79.9
Region Manabí Province
CountryFlag of Ecuador.svg  Ecuador
Type section
Named for Jama
Equador physical map.svg
Yellow ffff80 pog.svg
Jama Formation (Ecuador)

The Jama Formation is a Pliocene to Early Pleistocene (Montehermosan to Ensenadan in the SALMA classification) geological formation in Ecuador. The claystones and sandstones were deposited in a coastal environment. The age of the Jama Formation is constrained by 40Ar/39Ar dating of tephra beds. [1] The formation is correlated to the Charco Azul Formation of western Panama and southeastern Costa Rica. [2]

Contents

Subdivision

The formation is subdivided in, from top to base:

Fossil content

The formation has provided bivalve, gastropod and scaphopod fossils.

See also

Related Research Articles

<i>Scelidotherium</i> Extinct genus of ground sloths

Scelidotherium is an extinct genus of ground sloth of the family Scelidotheriidae, endemic to South America during the Late Pleistocene epoch. It lived from 780,000 to 11,000 years ago, existing for approximately 0.67 million years.

<i>Glossotherium</i> Extinct genus of ground sloths

Glossotherium is an extinct genus of large mylodontid ground sloths of the subfamily Mylodontinae. It represents one of the best-known members of the family, along with Mylodon and Paramylodon. Reconstructed animals were between 3 and 4 metres long and possibly weighed up to 1,002.6–1,500 kg. The majority of finds of Glossotherium date from the Middle and Upper Pleistocene, around 300,000 to 10,000 years ago, with a few dating older, as far back Pliocene, about 3.3-3 million years ago. The range included large parts of South America, east of the Andes roughly from latitude 20 to 40 degrees south, leaving out the Amazon Basin in the north. In western South America, finds are also documented north of the equator. The animals largely inhabited the open landscapes of the Pampas and northern savanna regions.

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. These periods are referred to as ages, stages, or intervals and were established using geographic place names where fossil materials where obtained.

The Huayquerian age is a period of geologic time within the Late Miocene epoch of the Neogene, used more specifically within the SALMA classification. It follows the Chasicoan and precedes the Montehermosan age.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shungura Formation</span> Stratigraphic formation in the Omo river basin in Ethiopia

The Shungura Formation is a stratigraphic formation located in the Omo river basin in Ethiopia. It dates to the Late Pliocene to Early Pleistocene. Oldowan tools have been found in the formation, suggesting early use of stone tools by hominins. Among many others, fossils of Panthera were found in Member G of the formation.

Negaprion eurybathrodon is an extinct species of lemon shark, which existed globally from the Late Eocene to the Pliocene. It was described by Blake in 1862.

<i>Eleutherocercus</i> Extinct genus of mammals

Eleutherocercus was a genus of glyptodonts that lived during the Late Miocene and Early Pliocene in South America. Fossils of the genus have been found in the Huayquerian Ituzaingó Formation and the Montehermosan Monte Hermoso Formation in Argentina.

The Cuscatlán Formation is a geologic formation in El Salvador. It preserves fossils dating back to the Pliocene to Middle Pleistocene period.

The Gracias Formation is a geologic formation in Honduras. The mainly sandstones, siltstones and claystones preserve vertebrate fossils dating back to the Neogene period.

Charco Azul Formation is a geologic formation of the Charco Azul Group in western Panama and southeastern Costa Rica. It preserves gastropod fossils dating back to the Pliocene period.

The Charco Azul Group is a geologic group in southeastern Costa Rica and western Panama. The group comprises the Armuelles, Penita and Charco Azul Formations and preserves fossils.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pisco Formation</span> Geologic formation in Peru

The Pisco Formation is a geologic formation located in Peru, on the southern coastal desert of Ica and Arequipa. The approximately 640 metres (2,100 ft) thick formation was deposited in the Pisco Basin, spanning an age from the Middle Miocene up to the Early Pleistocene, roughly from 15 to 2 Ma. The tuffaceous sandstones, diatomaceous siltstones, conglomerates and dolomites were deposited in a lagoonal to near-shore environment, in bays similar to other Pacific South American formations as the Bahía Inglesa and Coquimbo Formations of Chile.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coquimbo Formation</span> Geological formation in Chile

Coquimbo Formation is a Miocene to Middle Pleistocene sedimentary formation located in Coquimbo Region in Norte Chico, Chile. The lowermost unit belongs to the lower Miocene, with the third-deepest unit dated at 11.9 ± 1.0 Ma. The uppermost unit of the formation is estimated at 1.2 Ma. In the area of Tongoy, the Coquimbo Formation was deposited in an ancient bay that was formed in a graben or half-graben, with a normal fault dipping east. Sea level changes during the Holocene have caused erosion to cut several marine terraces into the formation.

Tubul Formation is an Early Pleistocene sedimentary formation located in Arauco Province in south–central Chile. Its sediments were deposited in marine conditions. It overlies unconformably the folded sedimentary formations of Ranquil (Miocene–Pliocene), Quiriquina and the Lebu Group (Paleocene-Eocene).

The Canoa Formation is a Piacenzian to Calabrian geologic formation in Ecuador. The sandstones were deposited in a coastal environment. The formation is correlated to the Charco Azul Formation of western Panama and southeastern Costa Rica.

The Onzole Formation is an Early Pliocene geologic formation in the Borbón Basin of northwestern Ecuador. The formation consists of a shallow marine sandstone member containing many fish fossils, among which megalodon, and a deep water member comprising tuffaceous shales and mudstones containing gastropods, bivalves and scaphopods.

References

Further reading