Swiss J Palaeontol (2015) 134:5–43 DOI 10.1007/s13358-015-0071-4 Revised stratigraphy of Neogene strata in the Cocinetas Basin, La Guajira, Colombia F. Moreno • A. J. W. Hendy • L. Quiroz • N. Hoyos • D. S. Jones • V. Zapata • S. Zapata • G. A. Ballen • E. Cadena • A. L. Ca´rdenas • J. D. Carrillo-Bricen˜o • J. D. Carrillo • D. Delgado-Sierra • J. Escobar • J. I. Martı´nez • C. Martı´nez • C. Montes • J. Moreno • N. Pe´rez • R. Sa´nchez • C. Sua´rez • M. C. Vallejo-Pareja • C. Jaramillo Received: 25 September 2014 / Accepted: 2 February 2015 / Published online: 4 April 2015 Ó Akademie der Naturwissenschaften Schweiz (SCNAT) 2015 Abstract The Cocinetas Basin of Colombia provides a made exhaustive paleontological collections, and per- valuable window into the geological and paleontological formed 87Sr/86Sr geochronology to document the transition history of northern South America during the Neogene. from the fully marine environment of the Jimol Formation Two major findings provide new insights into the Neogene (ca. 17.9–16.7 Ma) to the fluvio-deltaic environment of the history of this Cocinetas Basin: (1) a formal re-description Castilletes (ca. 16.7–14.2 Ma) and Ware (ca. 3.5–2.8 Ma) of the Jimol and Castilletes formations, including a revised formations. We also describe evidence for short-term pe- contact; and (2) the description of a new lithostratigraphic riodic changes in depositional environments in the Jimol unit, the Ware Formation (Late Pliocene). We conducted and Castilletes formations. The marine invertebrate fauna extensive fieldwork to develop a basin-scale stratigraphy, of the Jimol and Castilletes formations are among the richest yet recorded from Colombia during the Neogene. The Castilletes and Ware formations have also yielded Electronic supplementary material The online version of this diverse and biogeographically significant fossil vertebrate article (doi:10.1007/s13358-015-0071-4) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users. assemblages. The revised lithostratigraphy and F. Moreno Á L. Quiroz Á N. Hoyos Á V. Zapata Á S. Zapata Á V. Zapata G. A. Ballen Á E. Cadena Á A. L. Ca´rdenas Á Ecopetrol S.A., Bogota´, Colombia J. D. Carrillo-Bricen˜o Á J. D. Carrillo Á J. Escobar Á C. Martı´nez Á J. Moreno Á N. Pe´rez Á R. Sa´nchez Á C. Sua´rez Á E. Cadena M. C. Vallejo-Pareja Á C. Jaramillo Senckenberg Museum, Frankfurt, Germany Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Panama´, USA J. D. Carrillo-Bricen˜o Á J. D. Carrillo F. Moreno Á N. Hoyos Á A. L. Ca´rdenas Paleontological Institute and Museum, University of Zurich, Corporacio´n Geolo´gica ARES, Bogota´, Colombia Zurich, Switzerland F. Moreno (&) D. Delgado-Sierra Á J. I. Martı´nez University of Rochester, Rochester, NY, USA Universidad Eafit, Medellı´n, Colombia e-mail: [email protected] C. Martı´nez A. J. W. Hendy Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, Los Angeles, CA, USA C. Montes Á N. Pe´rez Universidad de los Andes, Bogota´, Colombia A. J. W. Hendy Á D. S. Jones Florida Museum of Natural History, Gainesville, FL, USA J. Moreno University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, NE, USA L. Quiroz University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Canada C. Sua´rez Museo de la Plata, La Plata, Argentina N. Hoyos Á A. L. Ca´rdenas Á J. Escobar Universidad del Norte, Barranquilla, Colombia 6 F. Moreno et al. chronostratigraphy presented here provides the necessary Cocinetas, which is located on the eastern flank of La background information to explore the complete evolu- Guajira Peninsula, northern Colombia (Fig. 1). The tionary and biogeographic significance of the excellent Cocinetas Basin provides an extensive and well-exposed fossil record of the Cocinetas Basin. sedimentary and paleontological record of the past 30 million years. Keywords Stratigraphy Á Paleontology Á There are very few geologic studies of the Cocinetas Paleoenvironments Á GABI (Great American Biotic Basin. The stratigraphy was first described by Renz (1960), Interchange) Á Miocene Á Pliocene Á Cocinetas Basin Á La who proposed the formal names, stratotypes, depositional Guajira Peninsula Á Colombia environments, and ages for the various units of the basin (Figs. 1 and 2). Rollins (1965) carried out further detailed descriptions redefining a number of stratigraphic units Introduction (Fig. 2). Biostratigraphic data based on micropaleontology (Becker and Dusenbury 1958; Burgl 1960; Lockwood Cenozoic pull-apart sedimentary basins are common along 1965; Renz 1960; Rollins 1965; Zapata 2010) and the northern edge of the South American continent as a macropaleontology (Olsson and Richards 1961; Rollins consequence of the interaction between the South Amer- 1965; Thomas 1972) have been previously reported. ican and Caribbean plates (Muessig 1984; Pindell 1991; However, most of these studies are taxonomically outdat- Zapata et al. 2014). One such sedimentary basin is ed, lack of systematic analysis, and are based on Fig. 1 Regional location of Cocinetas Basin flanked by the Serranı´as shown in red. Image from Landsat 8 OLI-TIRS sensor acquired on of Cocinas, Jarara and Macuira, in the northern Guajira Peninsula of January 10, 2014 (RGB 543). Scale bar is 10 km Colombia, South America. Stratotypes defined by Renz (1960) are Stratigraphy of the Cocinetas Basin, Colombia 7 Fig. 2 Historical stratigraphic nomenclature for the Cocinetas Basin, La Guajira, Colombia. Gray color indicates intervals where sediment was not preserved paleontological collections of variable quality. A review of sedimentary basins along the northern margin of South macropalaeontological evidence for the age of the Neogene America, e.g., Cocinetas, Chichibacoa, Falcon, La Vela, units of the Cocinetas Basin is provided by Hendy et al. and Paraguana´ (Macellari 1995; Muessig 1984; Zapata (2015) in this issue. et al. 2014). Over the past 4 years, we have conducted extensive The Cocinetas Basin located in the Guajira Peninsula is fieldwork in the Cocinetas Basin, including geological bounded by the Cocinas, Jarara, and Macuira ranges mapping, lithofacies descriptions, and extensive and sys- (Fig. 1). Sedimentation in the basin started during the tematic collection of microfossils, marine and terrestrial middle-late Eocene (Macarao Formation) and continued invertebrates, marine and terrestrial vertebrates, and plants. again during the Late Oligocene (Siamana Formation), Here, we provide a revised stratigraphy for the Neogene of with a sequence of conglomerates and thick carbonates the Cocinetas Basin, including a redefinition of the Jimol (Fig. 2) (Macellari 1995; Renz 1960). Overlying the Sia- and Castilletes formations, and the description of a new mana Formation is the Early Miocene Uitpa Formation, a lithostratigraphic unit, namely the Ware Formation (Plio- thick sequence of calcareous mudstone interbedded with cene). In addition we present a chronostratigraphic lithic sandstones (Renz 1960; Rollins 1965). Overlying the framework that is supported by 87Sr/86Sr isotopic analyses Uitpa Formation are the Miocene Jimol and Castilletes and marine invertebrate biostratigraphy, and a paleoenvi- formations (Fig. 2), composed mostly of lithic sandstones ronmental interpretation of the sedimentary succession. and mudstones, which can be highly fossiliferous. The last phase of preserved sedimentation is represented by the Pliocene Ware Formation, a new formation formally pro- Geological setting posed herein. Since the Late Eocene, the northern margin of the South American plate has been affected by right-lateral trans- Former lithostratigraphic definition of Neogene units pressive tectonism caused by its oblique convergence with the southern margin of the Caribbean plate (Macellari Renz (1960) formally described the Siamana, Uitpa, Jimol, 1995; Pindell and Barret 1990; Zapata et al. 2014). This and Tucacas formations (Fig. 2). Rollins (1965) formally interaction has caused the fragmentation and eastward named the Macarao Formation; redefined the Siamana, migration of several South American blocks including the Uitpa, and Jimol formations; proposed the name Castilletes Paraguana´, Falcon, Maracaibo, Guajira, Perija´, and Santa as a replacement for the Tucacas Formation; and redefined Marta, and the subsequent opening of pull-apart ages and areal distribution for these units (Fig. 2). It should 8 F. Moreno et al. be noted that Renz (1960) named the Jimol Formation after earliest Miocene based on the larger foraminifer Cerro Jimol located to the southeast of the Jarara Range Miogypsina antillea. Rollins (1965), however, accepted and proposed its stratotype in Quebrada Aischi (Fig. 1), that none of the macrofauna collected were diagnostic for outside the boundaries of the Cocinetas basin. Rollins age, although they seem to suggest a Pliocene age (fol- (1965) had a different opinion, and assigned both the lowing current biostratigraphic knowledge). As noted Quebrada Aischi and Cerro Jimol sections as belonging to above, Rollins’s (1965) identifications and interpretation the Siamana Formation. He redefined the areal distribution are in doubt and are critically assessed by Hendy et al. in some problematic areas as Cerro Jimol and Quebrada (2015) in this issue. Rollins (1965 p. 59) agreed with Renz Aischi, but accepted the general distribution proposed by (1960) that the base of the Castilletes was in the Miocene, Renz (1960). Without defining a new stratotype, he de- but argued that the top of the unit was Pliocene on the basis scribed the Jimol Formation as the sandy limestone, cal- of its stratigraphic