Cucaracha Formation
The Cucaracha Formation (Tca) is a geologic formation in Panama. It preserves vertebrate and plant fossils dating back to the Neogene period; Early to Middle Miocene epochs (Hemingfordian). Fossils of the crocodylian Centenariosuchus, the turtle Rhinoclemmys panamaensis and the artiodactyl Paratoceras have been found in the formation.
The Cucaracha Formation is approximately 125 metres (410 ft) thick, and dated to 19 to 14 Ma.
Fossil content
Color key
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Notes Uncertain or tentative taxa are in small text; |
Mammals
Bats
Bats reported from the Cucaracha Formation | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Genus | Species | Presence | Material | Notes | Images |
Americanycteris | A. cyrtodon | Centenario Bridge & Hodges Hill | Partial jaw & right premolar | A leaf-nosed bat, first reported as a new "large insectivorous phyllostomine" |
Carnivorans
Carnivorans reported from the Cucaracha Formation | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Genus | Species | Presence | Material | Notes | Images |
Bassaricyonoides | B. sp. | Gaillard Cut | A procyonid | ||
Daphoenodon | cf. D. sp. | Gaillard Cut | A bear dog | ||
Hemicyonidae indet. | Indeterminate | Gaillard Cut | Radius & ulna fragment | A bear | |
Tomarctus | T. brevirostris | Gaillard Cut | Jaw & teeth | A borophagine dog |
Rodents
Rodents reported from the Cucaracha Formation | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Genus | Species | Presence | Material | Notes | Images |
Nototamias | N. sp. | Gaillard Cut | A ground squirrel | ||
Petauristodon | P. sp. | Gaillard Cut | A flying squirrel | ||
Proheteromys | P. sp. | Gaillard Cut | A heteromyid | ||
Texomys | T. stewarti | Pedro Miguel Lock & Gaillard Cut | Teeth | A jimomyid |
Ungulates
Ungulates reported from the Cucaracha Formation | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Genus | Species | Presence | Material | Notes | Images |
Anchitherium | A. clarencei | Gaillard Cut & Centenario Bridge | Mandible fragment, upper cheek tooth & maxilla | An equid | |
Archaeohippus | A. sp. | Gaillard Cut | Calcaneus & tooth | An equid | |
Cynorca | C. occidentale | Gaillard Cut, Centenario Bridge & Hodges Hill | Jaw elements with teeth | Species reassigned to the genus Tedfordhyus | |
Floridaceras | F. whitei | Gaillard Cut | Jaws, teeth & femur fragment | A rhinoceros | |
Floridatragulus | cf. F. nanus | Gaillard Cut | A camelid | ||
Machaeromeryx | cf. M. sp. | Gaillard Cut | A moschid | ||
Menoceras | M. barbouri | Gaillard Cut | Teeth & limb elements | A rhinoceros | |
Merycochoerus | M. matthewi | Gaillard Cut | Skull elements | An oreodont | |
Parablastomeryx | cf. P. sp. | Gaillard Cut | A moschid | ||
Paratoceras | P. coatesi | Gaillard Cut, Centenario Bridge, Hodges Hill & Cartagena Hill | Skull elements, teeth & limb fragments | A protoceratid, first reported as P. wardi | |
P. wardi | Gaillard Cut | Skull elements, teeth & limb fragments | Remains reassigned to P. coatesi | ||
Tedfordhyus | T. occidentalis | Gaillard Cut, Centenario Bridge & Hodges Hill | Jaw elements with teeth | A peccary, originally named Cynorca occidentale |
Reptiles
Birds
Birds reported from the Cucaracha Formation | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Genus | Species | Presence | Material | Notes | Images |
Accipitridae indet. | Indeterminate | West side of the Panama Canal | Talon | A large eagle, talon resembles those of the crowned eagle and martial eagle |
Crocodilians
Crocodilians reported from the Cucaracha Formation | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Genus | Species | Presence | Material | Notes | Images |
Centenariosuchus | C. gilmorei | Hodges Hill | Skull & jaw | A caiman | |
cf. C. gilmorei | Centenario Bridge | Right angular | A caiman | ||
Dadagavialis | D. gunai | East margin of the Panama Canal | Partial snout | A gavialid | |
cf. D. gunai | Centenario Bridge | Partial mandible | A gavialid | ||
Eusuchia indet. | Indeterminate | Panama Canal Zone | Headless skeleton | Osteoderms comparable to those of gavialids such as Gavialosuchus, but crocodilian osteoderms are non-diagnostic |
Squamates
Squamates reported from the Cucaracha Formation | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Genus | Species | Presence | Material | Notes | Images |
Boa | B. cf. B. constrictor | Cartagena Hill & Hodges Hill | Incomplete vertebrae | A boid snake |
Turtles
Turtles reported from the Cucaracha Formation | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Genus | Species | Presence | Material | Notes | Images |
Podocnemididae indet. | Incertae sedis | Centenario Bridge | Right epiplastron | A side-necked turtle | |
Rhinoclemmys | R. panamaensis | Centenario Bridge | Shell elements | A geoemydid turtle | |
R. sp. | Centenario Bridge & Culebra Reach | Isolated bones | A geoemydid turtle | ||
Staurotypus | S. moschus | Centenario Bridge | Peripheral part of shell | A kinosternid turtle | |
Testudinidae indet. | Incertae sedis | Culebra Reach | Shell & limb elements | A tortoise | |
Trionychidae indet. | Incertae sedis | Centenario Bridge | Right costal | A softshell turtle |
Plants
Plants reported from the Cucaracha Formation | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Genus | Species | Presence | Material | Notes | Images |
Ampelorhiza | A. heteroxylon | Culebra Cut | Roots | A member of Paullinieae | |
Antrocaryon | A. panamaensis | Lirio East | Endocarps | A member of Anacardiaceae | |
Dracontomelon | D. montesii | Lirio East | Endocarps | A member of Anacardiaceae | |
Guazumaoxylon | G. miocenica | Hodges Hill | Wood | A member of Malvaceae, similar to Guazuma | |
Mammea | M. paramericana | Northern Lirio East | Stem | A member of Calophyllaceae | |
Oreomunnea | O. grahamii | Lirio East | Nuts | A member of Juglandaceae | |
Panascleroticoxylon | P. crystallosa | Hodges Hill | Wood | A member of Malpighiales | |
Parinari | P. panamensis | Lirio East, Gold Hill & Empire sites | Endocarps | A member of Chrysobalanaceae | |
Parinarioxylon | P. panamensis | Lirio East | Wood | A member of Chrysobalanaceae | |
Periplanetoxylon | P. panamense | Hodges Hill | Wood | A member of Malvaceae | |
Prioria | P. canalensis | Hodges Hill | Wood | A legume | |
P. hodgesii | Hodges Hill | Wood | A legume | ||
Rourea | R. blatta | Northern Lirio East site | Wood | A liana belonging to the Connaraceae | |
Spondias | S. rothwellii | Lirio East | Endocarps | A member of Anacardiaceae |
See also
References
- ^ Geologic Map, 1980
- ^ Cucaracha Formation at Fossilworks.org
- ^ Centenariosuchus at Fossilworks.org
- ^ Kirby et al., 2008, p.9
- ^ Kirby et al., 2008, p.11
- ^ MacFadden, Bruce J.; Bloch, Jonathan I.; Evans, Helen; Foster, David A.; Morgan, Gary S.; Rincon, Aldo; Wood, Aaron R. (March 2014). "Temporal Calibration and Biochronology of the Centenario Fauna, Early Miocene of Panama". The Journal of Geology. 122 (2): 113–135. Bibcode:2014JG....122..113M. doi:10.1086/675244. ISSN 0022-1376.
- ^ Morgan, Gary S.; Czaplewski, Nicholas; Rincon, Aldo F.; Bloch, Jonathan Ivan (November 2023). "A new early Miocene bat (Chiroptera: Phyllostomidae) from Panama confirms middle Cenozoic chiropteran dispersal between the Americas". Journal of Mammalian Evolution. 30 (4): 963–993. doi:10.1007/s10914-023-09690-4.
- ^ Macfadden, Bruce J. (2006). "North American Miocene Land Mammals from Panama". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 26 (3): 720–734. doi:10.1671/0272-4634(2006)26[720:NAMLMF]2.0.CO;2. ISSN 0272-4634. JSTOR 4524616.
- ^ Slaughter, Bob H. (1981). "A New Genus of Geomyoid Rodent from the Miocene of Texas and Panama". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 1 (1): 111–115. Bibcode:1981JVPal...1..111S. doi:10.1080/02724634.1981.10011884. ISSN 0272-4634. JSTOR 4522841.
- ^ MacFadden, Bruce J. (2009). "Three-Toed Browsing Horse Anchitherium (Equidae) from the Miocene of Panama". Journal of Paleontology. 83 (3): 489–492. Bibcode:2009JPal...83..489M. doi:10.1666/08-155.1. ISSN 0022-3360. JSTOR 29739113.
- ^ Macfadden, Bruce J.; Kirby, Michael X.; Rincon, Aldo; Montes, Camilo; Moron, Sara; Strong, Nikki; Jaramillo, Carlos (March 2010). "Extinct peccary "Cynorca" occidentale (Tayassuidae, Tayassuinae) from the Miocene of Panama and correlations to North America". Journal of Paleontology. 84 (2): 288–298. Bibcode:2010JPal...84..288M. doi:10.1666/09-064R.1. ISSN 0022-3360.
- ^ PROTHERO, DONALD R. (2021-05-28). THE SYSTEMATICS OF NORTH AMERICAN PECCARIES (MAMMALIA: ARTIODACTYLA: TAYASSUIDAE). New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science.
- ^ Rincon, Aldo F.; Bloch, Jonathan I.; Macfadden, Bruce J.; Jaramillo, Carlos A. (2015-09-03). "New early Miocene protoceratids (Mammalia, Artiodactyla) from Panama". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 35 (5): e970688. Bibcode:2015JVPal..35E0688R. doi:10.1080/02724634.2015.970688. ISSN 0272-4634.
- ^ Steadman, David. W.; MacFadden, Bruce J. (2016). "A large eagle (Aves, Accipitridae) from the early Miocene of Panama". Journal of Paleontology. 90 (5): 1012–1015. Bibcode:2016JPal...90.1012S. doi:10.1017/jpa.2016.103. ISSN 0022-3360. JSTOR 48572611. S2CID 132732768.
- ^ Hastings, Alexander K.; Bloch, Jonathan I.; Jaramillo, Carlos A.; Rincon, Aldo F.; Macfadden, Bruce J. (2013). "Systematics and biogeography of crocodylians from the Miocene of Panama". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 33 (2): 239. Bibcode:2013JVPal..33..239H. doi:10.1080/02724634.2012.713814. ISSN 0272-4634.
- ^ Salas-Gismondi, Rodolfo; Moreno-Bernal, Jorge W.; Scheyer, Torsten M.; Sánchez-Villagra, Marcelo R.; Jaramillo, Carlos (2019-06-18). "New Miocene Caribbean gavialoids and patterns of longirostry in crocodylians". Journal of Systematic Palaeontology. 17 (12): 1049–1075. Bibcode:2019JSPal..17.1049S. doi:10.1080/14772019.2018.1495275. ISSN 1477-2019.
- ^ Head, Jason J.; Rincon, Aldo F.; Suarez, Catalina; Montes, Camilo; Jaramillo, Carlos (2012-10-31). "Fossil evidence for earliest Neogene American faunal interchange: Boa (Serpentes, Boinae) from the early Miocene of Panama". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 32 (6): 1328–1334. Bibcode:2012JVPal..32.1328H. doi:10.1080/02724634.2012.694387. ISSN 0272-4634.
- ^ Cadena, E.; Bourque, J.R.; Rincón, A.F.; Bloch, J.I.; Jaramillo, C.A.; MacFadden, B.J. (2012). "New turtles (Chelonia) from the late Eocene through Late Miocene of the Panama Canal Basin". Journal of Paleontology. 86 (3): 539–557. Bibcode:2012JPal...86..539C. doi:10.1666/11-106.1.
- ^ Jud, Nathan A.; Allen, Sarah E.; Nelson, Chris W.; Bastos, Carolina L.; Chery, Joyce G. (2021-04-07). Wong, William Oki (ed.). "Climbing since the early Miocene: The fossil record of Paullinieae (Sapindaceae)". PLOS ONE. 16 (4): e0248369. Bibcode:2021PLoSO..1648369J. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0248369. ISSN 1932-6203. PMC 8026063. PMID 33826635.
- ^ Herrera, Fabiany; Carvalho, Mónica R.; Jaramillo, Carlos; Manchester, Steven R. (July 2019). "19-Million-Year-Old Spondioid Fruits from Panama Reveal a Dynamic Dispersal History for Anacardiaceae". International Journal of Plant Sciences. 180 (6): 479–492. doi:10.1086/703551. ISSN 1058-5893.
- ^ Rodríguez-Reyes, Oris; Falcon-Lang, Howard; Gasson, Peter; Collinson, Margaret; Jaramillo, Carlos (October 2014). "Fossil woods (Malvaceae) from the lower Miocene (early to mid-Burdigalian) part of the Cucaracha Formation of Panama (Central America) and their biogeographic implications". Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology. 209: 11–34. Bibcode:2014RPaPa.209...11R. doi:10.1016/j.revpalbo.2014.05.006. ISSN 0034-6667.
- ^ Nelson, Chris W.; Jud, Nathan A. (2017-03-01). "Biogeographic Implications of Mammea paramericana sp. nov. from the Lower Miocene of Panama and the Evolution of Calophyllaceae". International Journal of Plant Sciences. 178 (3): 241–257. doi:10.1086/689618. ISSN 1058-5893. S2CID 89714823.
- ^ Graham, Alan; Montiel, Olga Martha; Raven, Peter H.; Stevens, Warren Douglas (2014). "Fruits of Oreomunnea (Juglandaceae) in the early Miocene of Panama". Paleobotany and biogeography :a festschrift for Alan Graham in his 80th year. Missouri Botanical Garden. pp. 124–133.
- ^ Rodriguez-Reyes, Oris; Gasson, Peter; Thornton, Carolyn; Falcon-Lang, Howard J.; Jud, Nathan A. (2017-12-06). "Panascleroticoxylon crystallosa gen. et sp. nov.: a new Miocene malpighialean tree from Panama". IAWA Journal. 38 (4): 437–455. doi:10.1163/22941932-20170178. ISSN 0928-1541.
- ^ Jud, Nathan A.; Nelson, Chris W.; Herrera, Fabiany (2016-02-10). "Fruits and wood of Parinari from the early Miocene of Panama and the fossil record of Chrysobalanaceae". American Journal of Botany. 103 (2): 277–289. doi:10.3732/ajb.1500425. ISSN 0002-9122. PMID 26865122.
- ^ Rodríguez-Reyes, Oris; Gasson, Peter; Falcon-Lang, Howard J.; Collinson, Margaret E. (November 2017). "Fossil legume woods of the Prioria-clade (subfamily Detarioideae) from the lower Miocene (early to mid-Burdigalian) part of the Cucaracha Formation of Panama (Central America) and their systematic and palaeoecological implications". Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology. 246: 44–61. Bibcode:2017RPaPa.246...44R. doi:10.1016/j.revpalbo.2017.06.005.
- ^ Jud, Nathan A.; Nelson, Chris W. (May 2017). "A liana from the lower Miocene of Panama and the fossil record of Connaraceae". American Journal of Botany. 104 (5): 685–693. doi:10.3732/ajb.1700080. ISSN 0002-9122. PMID 28500228.
Bibliography
- Kirby, Michael Xavier; Jones, Douglas S.; MacFadden, Bruce J. (2008), "Lower Miocene Stratigraphy along the Panama Canal and Its Bearing on the Central American Peninsula", PLoS ONE, 3 (7): 1–14, Bibcode:2008PLoSO...3.2791K, doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0002791, PMC 2464738, PMID 18665219
- Stewart, R.H.; Stewart, J.L.; Woodring, W.P. (1980), Geologic Map of the Panama Canal and Vicinity (PDF), USGS, p. 1, retrieved 2019-02-09
- Woodring, W.P (1957), Geology and Paleontology of Canal Zone and Adjoining Parts of Panama - 306A Geology and description of Tertiary mollusks (Gastropods: Trochidae to Turritellidae) (PDF), USGS, pp. 1–186, retrieved 2019-02-09