Earth:Pisco Formation

Pisco Formation
Stratigraphic range: Mid Miocene-Early Pleistocene
(Colloncuran-Uquian)
~15–2 Ma

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Pisco Formation; Stratigraphic range: Mid Miocene-Early Pleistocene; (Colloncuran-Uquian); ~15–2 Ma PreЄ Є O S D C P T J K Pg N
	Lithology and sediments of the Pisco Formation across its allomembers
Type	Geological formation
Unit of	Pisco Basin
Overlies	Chilcatay & Caballas Formations
Thickness	640 m (2,100 ft)
Lithology
Primary	Tuffaceous sandstone, diatomaceous siltstone
Other	Conglomerate, dolomite
Location
Coordinates	[ ⚑ ] : 15°42′S 74°30′W / 15.7°S 74.5°W
Paleocoordinates	[ ⚑ ] 15°48′S 73°48′W / 15.8°S 73.8°W
Region	Arequipa & Ica Regions
Country	Peru
Extent	From Pisco to Yauca
Type section
Named for	Pisco
	class=notpageimage\| Outcrops of the formation in Peru

Short description: 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.

Several specialists consider the Pisco Formation one of the most important Lagerstätten,^[1]^[2] 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,^[3] the aquatic sloth Thalassocnus,^[4] the sperm whale Acrophyseter, and the walrus-like dolphin Odobenocetops.^[5]

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.

Fauna

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.^[12]^[13] 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]

Vertebrates

Mammal

Pinniped

Pinniped
Taxa	Species	Description	Images	Notes
Acrophoca	A. longirostirus	A large pinniped thought to be the ancestor of the leopard seal		^[15]
Australophoca	A. changorum	TBA		^[16]
Hadrokirus	H. martini	A species of true seal		^[15]^[17]
Hydrarctos	H. lomasiensis	TBA		^[15]
Piscophoca	P. pacifica	A seal		^[18]

Cetacean

Cetacean
Taxa	Species	Description	Images	Notes
Acrophyseter	A. deinodon	A small raptorial physeteroid		^[19]^[20]
Acrophyseter	A. robustus	A small raptorial physeteroid		^[19]^[20]
Atocetus	A. iquensis	A small toothed whale		^[21]^[22]
Australithax	A. intermedia	A long-snouted porpoise		^[23]
Balaenoptera	B. siberi	A baleen cetacean		^[16]^[24]
Belonodelphis	B. peruanus	An long delphinid		^[16]^[21]^[25]
Brachydelphis	B. jahuayensis	An early delphinid		^[16]^[21]^[26]^[27]
Brachydelphis	B. mazeasi	An early delphinid		^[16]^[21]^[26]^[27]
Brujadelphis	B. ankylorostris	A river delphinid		^[28]
Hemisyntrachelus	H. oligodon	An early form of orca		^[15]
Incakujira	I. anillodefuego	A small baleen cetacean		^[16]^[29]
Kogia	K. danomurai	A basal member of the Kogia genus. Small physeteroid		^[30]
Koristocetus	K. pescei	A small sperm whale		^[31]
Livyatan	L. melvillei	An 18-meter long raptorial physeteroid with 36 centimetres (1.18 ft) teeth		^[3]
Lomacetus	L. ginsburgi	A cetacean		^[16]^[32]
Miocaperea	M. pulchra	A cetothere whale		^[33]
Ninoziphius	N. platyrostris	A giant beaked whale		^[15]
Odobenocetops	O. leptodon	A cetacean with dual tusks		^[5]
Odobenocetops	O. peruvianus	A cetacean with dual tusks		^[5]
Piscobalaena	P. nana	A small baleen whale		^[15]^[18]
Piscocetus	P. sacaco	An extinct cetacean		^[34]
Piscolithax	P. aenigmaticus	A porpoise		^[15]^[16]
Pliopontos	P. littoralis	An early delphinid		^[15]
Scaphokogia	S. cochlearis	An extinct pygmy sperm whale		^[16]^[35]

Xenarthra

Xenarthra
Taxa	Species	Description	Images	Notes
Thalassocnus	T. antiquus	a semi-aquatic marine sloth		^[4]^[15] ^[19]^[34]
	T. carolomartini
	T. littoralis
	T. natans

Fish

Chondrichthyes

Cartilaginous fishes
Taxa	Species	Description	Images	Notes
Carcharias	C. taurus	The sand tiger shark		^[15]
Carcharhinus	C. sp. indent	A requiem shark		^[9]
Carcharodon	C. carcharias	The great white shark		^[34]^[15]
Carcharodon	C. hubbelli	The great white shark		^[34]^[15]
Cosmopolitodus	C. hastalis	The broad-toothed mako		^[9]
Hexanchus	H. gigas	A cow shark		^[34]
Isurus	I. oxyrhincus	The shortfin mako		^[16]
Myliobatis	M. sp	A species of eagle ray		^[9]
Otodus	O. chubutensis			^[9]
Otodus	O. megalodon	The largest of the megatoothed sharks (and of all fishes)		^[9]

Actinopterygii

Bony fishes
Taxa	Species	Description	Images	Notes
Alosinae	A. indent	A type of herring		^[9]
Centropomidae	C. aff. Psamoperca	A snook fish		^[9]
Triglidae	T. indent	A type of sea robin		^[9]
Xiphiidae	X. ident	A sword fish		^[9]
Xiphiorhynchus	X. sp	A ray-finned fish		^[9]
Sardinops	S. sp.	A sardine		^[18]

Birds

Birds
Taxa	Species	Description	Images	Notes
Spheniscus	S. humbodti	Humboldt penguin		^[14]
	S. megarhampus	Banded penguin		^[14]
	S. muizoni	The oldest banded penguin		^[36]^[37]
	S. urbinai	A larger banded penguin than S. muizoni		^[14]
Rhamphastosula	R. aguierrei			^[15]^[38]
Rhamphastosula	R. ramirezi			^[15]^[38]
Sula	S. brandi			^[19]^[39]
	S. magna
	S. sulita
Morus	M. peruvianus			^[19]
Perugyps	P. diazi			^[19]
Fulmarus	Fulmarus sp.			^[15]
Pelagornis	Pelagornis sp.			^[16]^[40]
Pelecanus	Pelecanus sp.			^[41]
Phalacrocorax	P. aff. bougainvillii			^[15]^[42]
Phalacrocorax	cf. Phalacrocorax sp.			^[15]^[42]

Reptiles

Reptiles
Taxa	Species	Description	Images	Notes
Sacacosuchus	S. cordovai	A gavialid crocodylian		^[43]
Piscogavialis	P. jugaliperforatus	A gryposuchine gavialid crocodylian		^[19]^[18]
Pacifichelys	P. urbinai	A sea turtle		^[12]^[44]
Chelonia	Cheloniidae indet.			^[9]
Eusuchia	E. sp.			^[15]

Invertebrates

Invertebrates
Fossils	Notes
Acanthina obesa, A. triangularis, Concholepas kieneri, Anadara sp., Dosinia sp., Herminespina sp.	^[15]

Correlations

Laventan

Laventan correlations in South America
Formation	Honda	Honda	Aisol	Cura-Mallín	Pisco	Ipururo	Pebas	Capadare	Urumaco	Inés	Paraná	Map
Basin	VSM	Honda	San Rafael	Caldera	Pisco	Ucayali	Amazon	Falcón		Venezuela	Paraná	Pisco Formation (South America)
Country	Colombia	Bolivia	Argentina	Chile	Peru			Venezuela			Argentina
Boreostemma	14px					14px				14px
Hapalops	14px	14px					14px
Miocochilius	14px	14px				14px
Theosodon	14px		14px			14px
Xenastrapotherium	14px	14px				14px
Mylodontidae	14px	14px	14px						14px
Sparassodonta
Primates
Rodents	10px	10px	10px	10px		10px	10px	10px
Birds	10px		10px					10px
Terror birds
Reptiles	10px	10px	10px			10px	10px	10px	10px
megalodon					10px				10px		10px
Flora
Insects
Environments	Fluvial			Fluvio-deltaic		Fluvio-lacustrine		Fluvio-deltaic			Fluvial	Laventan volcanoclastics 8px Laventan fauna Laventan flora
Volcanic	Yes

References

↑ Brand et al., 2004
↑ Brand et al., 2011
↑ ^3.0 ^3.1 Lambert et al., 2010
↑ ^4.0 ^4.1 De Muizon et al., 2003
↑ ^5.0 ^5.1 De Muizon & Domning, 2002
↑ Báez Gómez, 2006, p.65
↑ Stucchi, 2007, p.368
↑ Altamirano Sierra, 2013, p.3
↑ ^9.00 ^9.01 ^9.02 ^9.03 ^9.04 ^9.05 ^9.06 ^9.07 ^9.08 ^9.09 ^9.10 Báez Gómez, 2006, p.66
↑ Poma Porras et al., 2009, p.86
↑ De Muizon et al., 2004, p.287
↑ ^12.0 ^12.1 Parham & Pyenson, 2010, p.231
↑ Bianucci et al., 2015, p.543
↑ ^14.0 ^14.1 ^14.2 ^14.3 Stucchi, 2007, p.370
↑ ^15.00 ^15.01 ^15.02 ^15.03 ^15.04 ^15.05 ^15.06 ^15.07 ^15.08 ^15.09 ^15.10 ^15.11 ^15.12 ^15.13 ^15.14 ^15.15 Sud Sacaco West at Fossilworks.org
↑ ^16.0 ^16.1 ^16.2 ^16.3 ^16.4 ^16.5 ^16.6 ^16.7 ^16.8 ^16.9 Aguada de Loma at Fossilworks.org
↑ Amson & De Muizon, 2014, p.524
↑ ^18.0 ^18.1 ^18.2 ^18.3 Hueso Blanco at Fossilworks.org
↑ ^19.0 ^19.1 ^19.2 ^19.3 ^19.4 ^19.5 Sud Sacaco at Fossilworks.org
↑ Lambert et al., 2008
↑ ^21.0 ^21.1 ^21.2 Cerro la Bruja at Fossilworks.org
↑ De Muizon, 1988, p.131
↑ De Muizon, 1988, p.88
↑ Demeré et al., 2005, p.115
↑ De Muizon, 1988, p.192
↑ De Muizon, 1988, p.82
↑ De Muizon, 1988, p.108
↑ Lambert et al., 2017
↑ Marx & Kohno, 2016, p.5
↑ Benites‐Palomino, Aldo; Vélez‐Juarbe, Jorge; Collareta, Alberto; Ochoa, Diana; Altamirano, Ali; Carré, Matthieu; Laime, Manuel J.; Urbina, Mario et al. (August 2021). Lautenschlager, Stephan. ed. "Nasal compartmentalization in Kogiidae (Cetacea, Physeteroidea): insights from a new late Miocene dwarf sperm whale from the Pisco Formation" (in en). Papers in Palaeontology 7 (3): 1507–1524. doi:10.1002/spp2.1351. ISSN 2056-2799. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/spp2.1351.
↑ Collareta et al., 2017, p.261
↑ De Muizon, 1988, p.27
↑ Miocaperea pulchra at Fossilworks.org
↑ ^34.0 ^34.1 ^34.2 ^34.3 Sacaco at Fossilworks.org
↑ De Muizon, 1988, p.66
↑ Göhlich, 2007, p.287
↑ Stucchi, 2007, p.369
↑ Stucchi et al., 2016, p.423
↑ Stucchi et al., 2016, p.419
↑ Chávez et al., 2007
↑ Altamirano Sierra, 2013, p.6
↑ Yauca at Fossilworks.org
↑ Salas-Gismondi, R.; Ochoa, D.; Jouve, S.; Romero, P.E.; Cardich, J.; Perez, A.; DeVries, T.; Baby, P. et al. (2022-05-11). "Miocene fossils from the southeastern Pacific shed light on the last radiation of marine crocodylians". Proceedings of the Royal Society B 289 (1974). doi:10.1098/rspb.2022.0380. PMID 35538785.
↑ Cerro Colorado Pisco at Fossilworks.org

Bibliography

Altamirano Sierra, Alí J. 2013. Primer registro de pelicano (Aves: Pelecanidae) para el Mioceno tardio de la formacion Pisco, Peru. Bulletin de l'Institut français d'études andines 42. 1–12.
Amson, E., and C. De Muizon. 2013. A new durophagous phocid (Mammalia: Carnivora) from the late Neogene of Peru and considerations on monachine seals phylogeny. Journal of Systematic Palaeontology 12. 523–548.
Báez Gómez, Diego A. 2006. Estudio paleoambiental de la Formación Pisco: Localidad Ocucaje. Revista del Instituto de Investigaciones FIGMMG 9. 64–69.
Bianucci, G.; C. Di Celma; W. Landini; K. Post; C. Tinelli, and C. de Muizon. 2015. Distribution of fossil marine vertebrates in Cerro Colorado, the type locality of the giant raptorial sperm whale Livyatan melvillei (Miocene, Pisco Formation, Peru). Journal of Maps 12. 543.
Brand, Leonard; Mario Urbina; Arthur Chadwick; Thomas J. DeVries, and Raul Esperante. 2011. A high resolution stratigraphic framework for the remarkable fossil cetacean assemblage of the Miocene/Pliocene Pisco Formation, Peru. Journal of South American Earth Sciences 31. 414–425.
Brand, Leonard R.; Raúl Esperante; Arthur V. Chadwick; Orlando Poma Porras, and Merling Alomía. 2004. Fossil whale preservation implies high diatom accumulation rate in the Miocene–Pliocene Pisco Formation of Peru. Geology 32. 165–168.
Chávez Hoffmeister, Martín Felipe; Marcelo Stucchi, and Mario Urbina Schmitt. 2007. El registro de Pelagornithidae (Aves: Pelecaniformes) y la avifauna neógena del Pacífico sudeste. Bulletin de l'Institut Français d'Études Andines 33. 175–197.
Collareta, Alberto; Olivier Lambert; Christian de Muizon; Mario Urbina, and Giovanni Bianucci. 2017. Koristocetus pescei gen. et sp. nov., a diminutive sperm whale (Cetacea: Odontoceti: Kogiidae) from the late Miocene of Peru. Fossil Record 20. 259–278.
Demeré, Thomas A.; Annalisa Berta, and Michael R. McGowen. 2005. The Taxonomic and Evolutionary History of Fossil and Modern Balaenopteroid Mysticetes. Journal of Mammalian Evolution 12. 99–143.
Göhlich, Ursula B.. 2007. The oldest fossil record of the extant penguin genus Spheniscus — a new species from the Miocene of Peru. Acta Palaeontologica Polonica 52. 285–298.
Lambert, Olivier; Giovanni Bianucci; Mario Urbina, and Jonathan H. Geisler. 2017. A new inioid (Cetacea, Odontoceti, Delphinida) from the Miocene of Peru and the origin of modern dolphin and porpoise families. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 179. 919–946.
Lambert, Olivier; Giovanni Bianucci; Klaas Post; Christian De Muizon; Rodolfo Salas Gismondi; Mario Urbina, and Jelle Reumer. 2010. The giant bite of a new raptorial sperm whale from the Miocene epoch of Peru. Nature 466. 105–108.
Lambert, Olivier; Giovanni Bianucci, and Christian De Muizon. 2008. A New Stem-Sperm Whale (Cetacea, Odontoceti, Physeteroidea) from the Latest Miocene of Peru. Comptes Rendus Palevol 7. 361–369.
Marx, Felix G., and Naoki Kohno. 2016. A new Miocene baleen whale from the Peruvian desert. Royal Society Open Science 3. 1–27.
De Muizon, Christian; H. Gregory McDonald; Rodolfo Salas Gismondi, and Mario Urbina Schmitt. 2004. The youngest species of the aquatic sloth Thalassocnus and a reassessment of the relationships of the nothrothere sloths (Mammalia: Xenarthra). Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 24. 287–297.
De Muizon, Christian; H. Gregory McDonald; Rodolfo Salas Gismondi, and Mario Urbina. 2003. A new early species of the aquatic sloth Thalassocnus (Mammalia, Xenarthra) from the Late Miocene of Peru. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 23. 886–894.
De Muizon, Christian, and Daryl P. Domning. 2002. The anatomy of Odobenocetops (Delphinoidea, Mammalia), the walrus-like dolphin from the Pliocene of Peru and its palaeobiological implications. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 134. 423–452.
De Muizon, C. 1988. Les Vertébrés fossiles de la Formation Pisco (Pérou). Troisième partie: Les Odontocètes (Cetacea, Mammalia) du Miocène. Editions Recherche sur les Civilisations 78. 1–244.
Parham, J.F., and N.D. Pyenson. 2010. New sea turtle from the Miocene of Peru and iterative evolution of feeding ecomorphologies since the Cretaceous. Journal of Paleontology 84. 231–247.
Poma Porras, Orlando; Edgard Horna Santillán, and Raúl Esperante. 2009. Baleen Fósil (Cetacea: mysticeti) en Sedimentos de la Cuenca Marina del Neógeno en la Formación Pisco, al Sur del Perú. Revista de Investigación Universitaria 1. 84–97.
Stucchi, M.; R.M. Varas Malca, and M. Urbina Schmitt. 2016. New Miocene sulid birds from Peru and considerations on their Neogene fossil record in the Eastern Pacific Ocean. Acta Palaeontologica Polonica 61. 417–427.
Stucchi, M. 2007. Los pingüinos de la Formación Pisco (Neógeno), Perú. 4th European Meeting on the Palaeontology and Stratigraphy of Latin America, Cuadernos del Museo Geominero 8. 367–373.

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