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Miocene geologic formation in southern California, United States From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Modelo Formation is a Miocene geologic formation in the Simi Hills and western Santa Susana Mountains of southern California, including under parts of Los Angeles.
Modelo Formation | |
---|---|
Stratigraphic range: Late Miocene, | |
Type | Formation |
Underlies | Pico Formation |
Overlies | Rincon Shale |
Thickness | 600 metres (2,000 ft) |
Lithology | |
Primary | Shale |
Location | |
Region | Los Angeles County and Ventura County, California |
Country | United States |
Extent | Simi Hills, Santa Susana Mountains |
It preserves fossils dating back to the Late Miocene of the Neogene period, among them a high number of fossil representatives of modern pelagic and deep-sea fish taxa (as well as some with benthic affinities), in addition to some seabirds and cetaceans. As suggested from this fauna, the sediments of the formation were likely deposited in a deepwater marine habitat at middle to upper bathyal depths within an abyssal fan, with geological changes along the San Andreas fault causing a rapid uplift during the latest Miocene, bringing these former deepwater sediments to the surface.[1] It is likely partially contemporaneous with the Monterey Formation in some areas, such as the Ventura Basin.[2]
Volcanic ash beds are known from the formation; these, along with fossil microorganisms, indicate that the formation was deposited between 13 to 5.5 million years ago.[3]
This section needs additional citations for verification. (September 2024) |
Based on the Paleobiology Database and Fierstine et al (2012). Much of the fauna is shared with the Monterey Formation, though some distinct taxa are also known:[4][5]
Many of these taxa were described by David Starr Jordan from specimens excavated during the construction of the Sepulveda Boulevard Tunnel through the Santa Monica Mountains.
Genus | Species | Location | Member | Material | Notes | Images |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Absalomichthys | A. velifer | Articulated skeletons | A manefish. | |||
Araeosteus | A. rothi | Articulated skeletons | A relative of the prowfish. | |||
Argyropelecus | A. bullockii | Articulated skeletons | A marine hatchetfish. | |||
Bathylagus | B. angelensis | Articulated skeletons | A deep-sea smelt. | |||
Bolinichthys | B. sp. | Articulated skeletons | A lanternfish.[6] | |||
Chalcidichthys | C. malacopterygius | Articulated skeletons | A manefish. | |||
Chauliodus | C. eximius | Articulated skeletons | A viperfish. | |||
?Clupea | ?C. tiejei | Articulated skeleton | A herring, classification in Clupea uncertain. | |||
Cyclothone | C. solitudinis | Lower | Articulated skeleton | A bristlemouth. | ||
Decapterus | D. hopkinsi | Articulated skeleton | A mackerel scad. | |||
D. sp. | ||||||
Diaphus | D. bolini | Articulated skeletons | A lanternfish. | |||
Eclipes | E. santamonicae | Articulated skeletons | A cod. | |||
E. veternus | ||||||
Etringus | E. scintillans | Articulated skeletons, isolated scales | A herring, possibly a round herring. | |||
Ganolytes | G. aratus | Articulated skeletons, isolated scales | A herring. | |||
G. cameo | ||||||
Hipposyngnathus | H. imporcitor | Upper | Articulated skeletons | A pipefish. | ||
Plectrites | P. classeni | Articulated skeletons | A seabream. | |||
Quaesita | Q. quisquilia | Articulated skeletons | A deep-sea smelt. | |||
Lampanyctus | L. petrolifer | Articulated skeletons | A lanternfish, L. petrolifer potentially in an undescribed genus. | |||
L. sp. | ||||||
Laytonia | L. californica | Articulated skeleton | A halosaur. | |||
Lompoquia | L. culveri | Articulated skeleton | A drumfish. | |||
L. retropes | ||||||
L. sp. | ||||||
Molidae indet. | An ocean sunfish. | |||||
Myctophum | M. sp. | Articulated skeletons | A lanternfish.[6] | |||
Pseudoseriola | P. gilliandi | Articulated skeletons | A relative of the bluefish. | |||
P. sp. | ||||||
Rhomurus | R. fulcratus | Partial skeleton | A halfbeak, either in the Hemiramphidae or the extinct Forficidae. | |||
Sarda | S. stockii | Partial skeletons | A bonito. | |||
Scomber | S. sanctaemonicae | Partial skeleton | A true mackerel. | |||
S. cf. japonicus (=Pneumatophorus cf. grex) | Scale | |||||
S. sp. | Mulholland Drive | Partial skeletons | ||||
Scomberesox | S. edwardsi | Lower | Skull, partial segment with scales | A saury. | ||
Scorpaena | S. ensiger | Articulated skeletons | A scorpionfish. | |||
Sebastes | S. davidi | Articulated skeletons | A rockfish. | |||
S. sp. | ||||||
Syngnathus | S. avus | Articulated skeletons | A pipefish. | |||
Thyrsocles | T. kriegeri | Articulated skeletons | A euzaphlegid. | |||
Xyne | X. grex | Articulated skeletons, isolated scales | A herring. | |||
Zanteclites | Z. sp. | Isolated scales | A Neotropical silverside. | |||
Zaphlegulus | Z. venturaensis | A euzaphlegid. |
Genus | Species | Location | Member | Material | Notes | Images |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Osteodontornis | O. orri | Sherman Oaks | A pseudotooth bird. | |||
Phalacrocorax | P. femoralis | A cormorant. | ||||
Puffinus | P. diatomicus | Sherman Oaks | Incomplete skeleton. | A shearwater. | ||
Sula | S. willetti | Sherman Oaks | Leg bones. | A booby. |
Genus | Species | Location | Member | Material | Notes | Images |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Atocetus | A. nasalis | Upper | A kentriodontid toothed whale. | |||
Mixocetus | M. elysius | Lincoln Heights | Elysian Park Sandstone | Skull | A tranatocetid baleen whale, for which the formation is the type locality. |
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