| Tablazo Formation | |
|---|---|
| Stratigraphic range: Mid Pleistocene (Lujanian) ~ | |
| Type | Geological formation |
| Lithology | |
| Primary | Claystone, sandstone |
| Location | |
| Coordinates | 1°12′S80°48′W / 1.2°S 80.8°W |
| Region | Santa Elena Province |
| Country |  Ecuador |
| Type section | |
| Named for | Cerro El Tablazo |
  Tablazo Formation, Ecuador (Ecuador) | |
The Tablazo Formation is a Middle Pleistocene geologic formation of Santa Elena Province in western Ecuador. The claystones and sandstones were deposited in an estuarine environment. [1]
The formation has provided the following fossils: [1]
An association of two subadult and one adult specimen of Smilodon fatalis was reported from the formation by Reynolds, Seymour & Evans (2021), who interpret the subadult specimens as likely to be siblings, and evaluate the implications of this finding for the knowledge of the life history of S. fatalis. [4]
Smilodon is an extinct genus of felids. It is one of the best known saber-toothed predators and prehistoric mammals. Although commonly known as the saber-toothed tiger, it was not closely related to the tiger or other modern cats, belonging to the extinct subfamily Machairodontinae, with an estimated date of divergence from the ancestor of living cats around 20 million years ago. Smilodon was one of the last surviving machairodonts alongside the distantly related Homotherium. Smilodon lived in the Americas during the Pleistocene epoch. The genus was named in 1842 based on fossils from Brazil; the generic name means "scalpel" or "two-edged knife" combined with "tooth". Three species are recognized today: S. gracilis, S. fatalis, and S. populator. The two latter species were probably descended from S. gracilis, which itself probably evolved from Megantereon. The hundreds of specimens obtained from the La Brea Tar Pits in Los Angeles constitute the largest collection of Smilodon fossils.
Homotherium is an extinct genus of scimitar-toothed cat belonging to the extinct subfamily Machairodontinae that inhabited North America, Eurasia, and Africa during the Pliocene and Pleistocene epochs from around 4 million to 12,000 years ago. It was one of the last surviving members of the subfamily alongside the more famous sabertooth Smilodon, to which it was distantly related. It was a large cat, comparable in size to a lion, functioning as an apex predator in the ecosystems it inhabited. In comparison to Smilodon, the canines of Homotherium were shorter, and it is suggested to have a different ecology from Smilodon as pursuit predator adapted to running down large prey in open habitats, with species of the genus also proposed to have engaged in cooperative hunting.
Machairodontinae is an extinct subfamily of carnivoran mammals of the family Felidae. They were found in Asia, Africa, North America, South America, and Europe, with the earliest species known from the Middle Miocene, with the last surviving species becoming extinct around Late Pleistocene-Holocene transition.
Glyptodon is a genus of glyptodont, an extinct group of large, herbivorous armadillos, that lived from the Pliocene, around 3.2 million years ago, to the early Holocene, around 11,000 years ago, in South America. It is one of, if not the, best known genus of glyptodont. Glyptodon has a long and storied past, being the first named extinct cingulate and the type genus of the subfamily Glyptodontinae. Fossils of Glyptodon have been recorded as early as 1814 from Pleistocene aged deposits from Uruguay, though many were incorrectly referred to the ground sloth Megatherium by early paleontologists.
Catonyx is an extinct genus of ground sloth of the family Scelidotheriidae, endemic to South America during the Pliocene and Pleistocene epochs. It lived from 2.5 Ma to about 10,000 years ago, existing for approximately 2.49 million years. The most recent date obtained is about 9600 B.P.
Protocyon is an extinct genus of large canid endemic to South and North America during the Late Pleistocene living from 781 to 12 thousand years ago.
Arctotherium is an extinct genus of the Pleistocene short-faced bears endemic to Central and South America. Arctotherium migrated from North America to South America during the Great American Interchange, following the formation of the Isthmus of Panama during the late Pliocene. The genus consists of one early giant form, A. angustidens, and several succeeding smaller species, which were within the size range of modern bears. Arctotherium was adapted to open and mixed habitat. They are genetically closer to the spectacled bear, than to Arctodus of North America, implying the two extinct forms evolved large size in a convergent manner.
Gondolin Cave is a fossiliferous dolomitic paleocave system in the Northwest Province, South Africa. The paleocave formed in the Eccles Formation dolomites. Gondolin is currently the only described hominin-bearing fossil site in the Northwest Province-portion of the designated Cradle of Humankind UNESCO World Heritage Site. The cave is located on privately owned land and is not accessible to the public. As is the case with other South African Paleo-cave systems with Pliocene and/or Pleistocene fossil deposits, the system was mined for lime during the early 20th century. As a result, the system has been heavily disturbed and consists of only a small active cave, a series of in situ remnant cave deposits, and extensive dumpsites of ex situ calcified sediments produced during mining activities.
This paleomammalogy list records new fossil mammal taxa that were described during the year 2018, as well as notes other significant paleomammalogy discoveries and events which occurred during that year.
This paleomammalogy list records new fossil mammal taxa that were described during the year 2019, as well as notes other significant paleomammalogy discoveries and events which occurred during that year.
Paleontology or palaeontology is the study of prehistoric life forms on Earth through the examination of plant and animal fossils. This includes the study of body fossils, tracks (ichnites), burrows, cast-off parts, fossilised feces (coprolites), palynomorphs and chemical residues. Because humans have encountered fossils for millennia, paleontology has a long history both before and after becoming formalized as a science. This article records significant discoveries and events related to paleontology that occurred or were published in the year 2018.
This list of fossil reptiles described in 2019 is a list of new taxa of fossil reptiles that were described during the year 2019, as well as other significant discoveries and events related to reptile paleontology that occurred in 2019.
This paleomammalogy list records new fossil mammal taxa that were described during the year 2020, as well as notes other significant paleomammalogy discoveries and events which occurred during the year.
Paleontology or palaeontology is the study of prehistoric life forms on Earth through the examination of plant and animal fossils. This includes the study of body fossils, tracks (ichnites), burrows, cast-off parts, fossilised feces (coprolites), palynomorphs and chemical residues. Because humans have encountered fossils for millennia, paleontology has a long history both before and after becoming formalized as a science. This article records significant discoveries and events related to paleontology that occurred or were published in the year 2021.
This paleomammology list records new fossil mammal taxa that were described during the year 2021, as well as notes other significant paleomammology discoveries and events which occurred during 2021.
This paleomammology list records new fossil mammal taxa that were described during the year 2022, as well as notes other significant paleomammalogy discoveries and events which occurred during 2022.
This list of fossil reptiles described in 2023 is a list of new taxa of fossil reptiles that were described during the year 2023, as well as other significant discoveries and events related to reptile paleontology that occurred in 2023.
This article records new taxa of fossil mammals of every kind that are scheduled to be described during the year 2023, as well as other significant discoveries and events related to paleontology of mammals that are scheduled to occur in the year 2023.
This article records new taxa of fossil mammals of every kind that are scheduled to be described during the year 2024, as well as other significant discoveries and events related to paleontology of mammals that are scheduled to occur in the year 2024.
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