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Pisco Formation
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 Late Miocene up to the Early Pliocene, roughly from 9.6 to 4.5 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.

Several specialists consider the Pisco Formation one of the most important Lagerstätten, based on the large amount of exceptionally preserved marine fossils, including sharks (most notably megalodon), penguins, whales, dolphins, birds, marine crocodiles and aquatic giant sloths.

Famous fossils found in these layers include the giant raptorial sperm whale Livyatan, the aquatic sloth Thalassocnus, the sperm whale Acrophyseter, and the walrus-like dolphin Odobenocetops.

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Description

The Pisco Formation of the Pisco Basin consists of tuffaceous sandstones, diatomaceous yellow to gray siltstones and a basal conglomerate.6 The formation is deposited from Pisco in the north to Yauca in the south. The northern portion is known as the Ocucaje Area and the southern part as the Sacaco Area.7 The total thickness of the formation is estimated at 640 metres (2,100 ft).8 The formation unconformably overlies the Chilcatay and Caballas Formations.

Paleobiota of the Pisco Formation

The Pisco Formation has provided a rich resource of marine fauna, including marine mammals like cetaceans and seals, large fishes, reptiles, and penguins.9 It is also one of the richest sites in the world for fossil cetaceans, with close to 500 examples being found in the formation.10

The oldest fossils of the aquatic sloth Thalassocnus (T. antiquus) come from the Aguada de Lomas horizon of the Pisco Formation and were dated at roughly 7 Ma. The youngest specimen (T. carolomartini) was found in the Sacaco horizon and dated to approximately 3 Ma.11 Thalassocnus was preyed upon by the probable apex predators of the environment, Livyatan and megalodon.1213 The youngest strata belonging to the formation have been dated at 2 Ma, corresponding to the Early Pleistocene (Uquian). Fossils of the Humboldt penguin were found in these deposits at the Yauca locality.14

Birds

TaxaSpeciesDescriptionImagesNotes
SpheniscusS. humbodtiHumboldt penguin15
S. megarhampusBanded penguin16
S. muizoniThe oldest banded penguin1718
S. urbinaiA larger banded penguin than S. muizoni19
RamphastosulaR. aguierrei2021
R. ramirezi
SulaS. brandi2223
S. magna
S. sulita
MorusM. peruvianus24
PerugypsP. diazi25
Ciconiidae indet.Gen. et sp. indet.26
FulmarusFulmarus sp.27
PelagornisPelagornis sp.2829
PelecanusPelecanus sp.30
PhalacrocoraxP. aff. bougainvillii3132
cf. Phalacrocorax sp.

Fish

Bony fish

TaxaSpeciesDescriptionImagesNotes
AlosinaeA. indetA type of herring33
CentropomidaeC. aff. PsamopercaA snook fish34
TriglidaeT. indentA type of sea robin35
XiphiidaeX. identA sword fish36
SardinopsS. sp.A sardine37

Rays

TaxaSpeciesDescriptionImagesNotes
MyliobatisIndeterminateA species of eagle ray38

Sharks

TaxaSpeciesDescriptionImagesNotes
CarchariasC. taurusThe sand tiger shark39
CarcharhinusC. sp. indentA requiem shark40
CarcharodonC. carchariasThe great white shark4142
C. hubbelli
CosmopolitodusC. hastalisThe broad-toothed mako43
HexanchusH. gigasA cow shark44
IsurusI. oxyrhincusThe shortfin mako45
OtodusO. chubutensis46
O. megalodonThe largest of the megatoothed sharks (and of all fishes)

Mammals

Cetaceans

TaxaSpeciesDescriptionImagesNotes
AcrophyseterA. deinodonA small raptorial physeteroid4748
A. robustus
AtocetusA. iquensisA small toothed whale4950
AustralithaxA. intermediaA long-snouted porpoise51
BalaenopteraB. siberiA baleen cetacean5253
BelonodelphisB. peruanusA long delphinid545556
BrachydelphisB. jahuayensisAn early delphinid57585960
B. mazeasi
BrujadelphisB. ankylorostrisA river delphinid61
HemisyntrachelusH. oligodonAn early form of orca62
IncakujiraI. anillodefuegoA small baleen cetacean6364
I. fordycei
KogiaK. danomuraiA basal member of the Kogia genus. Small physeteroid65
KoristocetusK. pesceiA small sperm whale66
LivyatanL. melvilleiAn 18-meter long raptorial physeteroid with 36 centimetres (1.18 ft) teeth67
LomacetusL. ginsburgiA cetacean6869
MamaziphiusM. reyesiAn early beaked whale.70
MiocapereaM. pulchraA cetothere whale71
NinoziphiusN. platyrostrisA giant beaked whale72
OdobenocetopsO. leptodonA cetacean with dual tusks73
O. peruvianus
PiscobalaenaP. nanaA small baleen whale7475
PiscocetusP. sacacoAn extinct cetacean76
PiscolithaxP. aenigmaticusA porpoise7778
PliopontosP. littoralisAn early delphinid79
ScaphokogiaS. cochlearisAn extinct pygmy sperm whale8081

Pinnipeds

Seals
TaxaSpeciesDescriptionImagesNotes
AcrophocaA. longirostirusA large pinniped thought to be the ancestor of the leopard seal82
AustralophocaA. changorumA phocidae seal.83
HadrokirusH. martiniA species of true seal8485
HydrarctosH. lomasiensisAn Otariidae seal.86
MagophocaM. brevirostrisA monachinae seal.87
PiscophocaP. pacificaA phocidae seal88

Xenarthrans

Sloths
TaxaSpeciesDescriptionImagesNotes
ThalassocnusT. antiquusa semi-aquatic marine sloth89909192
T. carolomartini
T. littoralis
T. natans

Mollusks

Bivalves

TaxaSpeciesDescriptionImagesNotes
DosiniaIndeterminate93

Polychaetes

TaxaSpeciesDescriptionImagesNotes
DiplochaetetesD. mexicanus94

Gastropods

TaxaSpeciesDescriptionImagesNotes
AcanthinaA. obesa95
A. triangularis96
ConcholepasC. kieneri97
HerminespinaIndeterminate98

Reptiles

TaxaSpeciesDescriptionImagesNotes
SacacosuchusS. cordovaiA gavialid crocodylian99
PiscogavialisP. jugaliperforatusA gryposuchine gavialid crocodylian100101
PacifichelysP. urbinaiA sea turtle102103
CheloniaIndeterminate104
EusuchiaIndeterminate105

Correlations

Laventan

Laventan correlations in South America
FormationHondaHondaAisolCura-MallínPiscoIpururoPebasCapadareUrumacoInésParanáMap
BasinVSMHondaSan RafaelCalderaPiscoUcayaliAmazonFalcónVenezuelaParanáPisco Formation (South America)
Country Colombia Bolivia Argentina Chile Peru Venezuela Argentina
Boreostemma
Hapalops
Miocochilius
Theosodon
Xenastrapotherium
Mylodontidae
Sparassodonta
Primates
Rodents
Birds
Terror birds
Reptiles
megalodon
Flora
Insects
EnvironmentsFluvialFluvio-deltaicFluvio-lacustrineFluvio-deltaicFluvial Laventan volcanoclastics Laventan fauna Laventan flora
VolcanicYes

See also

Bibliography

Further reading

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Pisco Formation.
  • A. Alván, J. Apolín, and C. Chacaltana. 2004. Los dientes de Seláceos (Condrichthyies) y su aplicación estratigráfica en Las Lomas de Ullujaya (Ica, Perú). XIII Congreso Peruano de Geología. Resúmenes Extendidos 595–598
  • A. Collareta, O. Lambert, W. Landini, C. Di Celma, E. Malinverno, R. Varas-Malca, M. Urbina and G. Bianucci. 2017. Did the giant extinct shark Carcharocles megalodon target small prey? Bite marks on marine mammal remains from the late Miocene of Peru. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 469:84-91
  • R. Esperante, L. Brand, K. E. Nick, O. Poma, and M. Urbina. 2008. Exceptional occurrence of fossil baleen in shallow marine sediments of the Neogene Pisco Formation, Southern Peru. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 257:344-360
  • A. Gioncada, A. Collareta, K. Gariboldi, O. Lambert, C. Di Clema, E. Bonaccorsi, M. Urbina and G. Bianucci. 2016. Inside baleen: Exceptional microstructure preservation in a late Miocene whale skeleton from Peru. Geology
  • C. S. Gutstein, M. A. Cozzuol, A. O. Vargas, M. E. Suarez, C. L. Schultz and D. Rubilar-Rogers. 2009. Patterns of skull variation of Brachydelphis (Cetacea, Odontoceti) from the Neogene of the Southeastern Pacific. Journal of Mammalogy 90(2):504-519
  • O. Lambert, A. Collareta, W. Landini, K. Post, B. Ramanssamy, C. Di Celma, M. Urbina and G. Bianucci. 2015. No deep diving: evidence of predation on epipelagic fish for a stem beaked whale from the Late Miocene of Peru. Proceedings of the Royal Society B 282:20151530
  • J. Machare, T. DeVries, and E. Fourtanier. 1988. Oligo-Miocene transgression along the Pacific margin of South America: new paleontological and geological evidence from the Pisco basin (Peru). Géodyynamique 3(1–2):25-37
  • R. Marocco and C. de Muizon. 1988. Los vertebrados del Neogeno de La Costa Sur del Perú: Ambiente sedimentario y condiciones de fosilización. Bulletin de l'Institut Français d'Études Andines 17(2):105-117
  • C. de Muizon and D. P. Domning. 1985. The first records of fossil sirenians in the southeastern Pacific Ocean. Bulletin du Museum National d'Histoire Naturelle. Section C: Sciences de la Terre: Paléontologie, Géologie, Minéralogie, Paris: Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle 7(3):189-213
  • C. de Muizon. 1983. Pliopontos littoralis un nouveau Platanistidae Cetacea du Pliocene de la cote peruvienne. Comptes Rendus de l'Académie des Sciences Paris Série II (296)1101-1104
  • C. de Muizon. 1978. Arctocephalus (Hydrarctos) lomasiensis, subgen. nov. et nov sp., un nouvel Otariidae du Mio-Pliocene de Sacaco. Bulletin de l'Institute Français d'Études Andines 7(3–4):169-189
  • M. Urbina and M. Stucchi. 2005. Los cormoranes (Aves: Phalacrocoracidae) del Mio-Plioceno de la Formacion Pisco, Peru. Boletin de la Sociedad Geologica del Peru 99:41-49
  • R. M. Varas Malca and A. Valenzuela Toro. 2011. A basal monachine seal from the middle Miocene of the Pisco Formation, Peru. Ameghiniana 48(4):R216-R217
  • T. J. DeVries. 2008. Pliocene and Pleistocene Fissurella Bruguiére, 1789 (Gastropoda: Fissurellidae) from Southern Peru. The Veliger 50(2):129-148
  • T. J. DeVries. 2007. Cenozoic Turritellidae (Gastropoda) from southern Peru. Journal of Paleontology 81(2):331-351
  • T. J. DeVries, L. T. Groves, and M. Urbina. 2006. A new early Miocene Muracypraea Woodring, 1957 (Gastropoda: Cypraeidae) from the Pisco Basin of southern Peru. The Nautilus 120(3):101-105
  • T. J. DeVries. 2003. Acanthina Fischer von Waldheim, 1807 (Gastropoda: Muricidae), an ocenebrine genus endemic to South America. The Veliger 46(4):332-350
  • T. J. DeVries. 1997. Neogene Ficus (Mesogastropoda: Ficidae) from the Pisco Basin (Peru). Boletín de la Sociedad Geológica de Perú 86:11-18

References

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