Tlayúa Formation

The Tlayúa Formation is an Early Cretaceous (late Albian) geological formation near Tepexi de Rodríguez, Puebla.^[1]

Tlayúa Formation
Stratigraphic range: Albian PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N
Type	Geological formation
Sub-units	Lower, Middle and Upper Members
Underlies	Unconformity with Eocene-Oligocene Pie de Vaca Formation
Overlies	Orizaba Formation
Thickness	Lower: 50 m Middle: 35 m Upper: 40 m
Lithology
Primary	Limestone
Other	Mudstone
Location
Coordinates	19.1°N 98.2°W / 19.1; -98.2
Approximate paleocoordinates	17.1°N 61.6°W / 17.1; -61.6
Region	Puebla
Country	Mexico
Type section
Named for	Tlayúa Quarry
Tlayúa Formation (Mexico)

Paleobiota

The formation contains a diverse array of vertebrate and invertebrate fossils. About 70% of the macrofossils are osteichthyan fish.^[2] Other vertebrates include chelonians, pterosaurs, lepidosaurs, and crocodiles.^[3] Cyanobacteria, foraminifera, algae, gymnosperms, sponges, cnidarians, annelids, gastropods, ammonites, bivalves, arachnids, insects, isopods, anomurans, brachyurans, crinoids, echinoids, holothuroids, stelleroids, and ophiuroids, have also been recovered from the Tlayúa Formation.^[3][4][5]

Lepidosaurs

Genus	Species	Abundance	Notes
Huehuecuetzpalli	H. mixtecus		A primitive lizard
Pamizinsaurus	P. tlayuaensis		An osteoderm-covered sphenodontian
Ankylosphenodon[6]	A. pachyostosus		An aquatic sphenodontian
Tepexisaurus[7]	T. tepexii		A basal scincomorph

Fish

Mainly after González-Rodríguez (2016)^[8] and Applegate et al. (2006)^[9]

• Araripichthys webri
• Armigatus carrenoae
• Armigatus felixi
• Axelrodichthys cf. araripensis
• Cipactlichthys scutatus
• Epaelops martinezi
• Macrosemiocotzus americanus
• Michin csernai
• Notagogus novomundi
• Nusaviichthys nerivelai
• Pachyamia mexicana
• Paraclupea seilacheri
• Quetzalichthys perrilliatae
• Ranulfoichthys dorsonudum
• Tahnaichthys magnuserrata
• Teoichthys brevipina
• Teoichthys kallistos
• Tepexichthys aranguthyrom
• Tlalocbatos applegatei
• Tlayuamichin itztli
• Unamichthys espinosai
• Ellimmichthys sp.
• cf. Amblysemius
• cf. Bananogmius
• Belonostomus sp.
• cf. Brannerion
• Lepidotes sp.
• cf. Lycoptera
• cf. Megalops
• Neoproscinetes sp.
• Notelops sp.
• cf. Paraelops
• cf. Rhacolepis
• Vinctifer sp.
• cf. Yabrudichthys
• Gonorhynchiform indet.

Other vertebrates

• Testudines indet. (at least two taxa)
• Pterosauria indet. (tentatively assigned as Nyctosaurus and Pteranodon)
• Crododylia indet.

Arthropods

• Archaeoniscus aranguthyorum
• Atocatle ranulfoi
• Ixtahua benjamini
• Protaegla miniscula
• Tepexicarcinus tlayuaensis
• Sphaeromatidae sp.
• Ostracoda?

Mollusks

• Inoceramus sp.
• Pectinidae indet.
• Osteridae indet.
• Gastropoda indet.
• Neohibolites minimus obtusus
• Neohibolites minimus pinguis
• Neohibolites minimus claviformis
• Neohibolites praeultimus
• Mesohibolites semicanaliculatus
• Martoniceras sp.
• Hysteroceras sp.
• Anisoceras sp.

Echinoderms

• Ophiactis applegatei
• Paleopentacta alencasterae
• Parapsolus tlayuensis
• Astropecten sp.
• Echinaster sp.
• Ophidiaster sp.
• Plutonaster sp.
• Tamaria sp.
• Crinoidea indet.

Other invertebrates

• Porifera
• Anthozoa
• Annelida

Plants

• cf. Araucaria sp.
• cf. Frenolopsis
• Brachyphyllum sp.
• Podozamites sp.
• Zamites sp.
• Phaeophyceae

References

1. Applegate, S. (1988). "A new genus and species of a holostean belonging to the family Ophiopsidae, Teoichthys kallistos, from the Cretaceous, near Tepexi de Rodriguez, Puebla" (PDF). Revista Mexicana de Ciencias Geológicas. 7 (2): 200–205.
2. Alvarado-Ortega J, González-Rodríguez KA, Blaco-Piñón A, Espinosa-Arrubarrena L, Ovalles-Damián E (2006). "Mesozoic Osteichthyans of Mexico". In Vega, FJ, TG Nyborg, MC Perrilliat, M. Montellano-Ballesteros, SRS Cevallos-Ferriz. (eds.). Studies on Mexican Paleontology, Topics on Geobiology 24. Dordrecht, Netherlands: Springer Verlag. pp. 169–207. ISBN 1402039859.
3. Vega FJ, Bruce NL, Serrano L, Bishop GA, Perrilliat MD (2005). "A review of the Lower Cretaceous (Tlayúa Formation: Albian) Crustacea from Tepexi de Rodríguez, Puebla, Central Mexico" (PDF). Bulletin of the Mizunami Fossil Museum (32): 25–30. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-06-12.
4. Buitrón-Sánchez, Blanca Estela; Durán-Gónzalez, Alicia; Martín-Cao-Romero, Carolina; Solís-Marín, Francisco Alonso; Laguarda-Figueras, Alfredo. "Lower Cretaceous (Albian) Asteroidea (Echinodermata) from Tepexi de Rodriguez, Puebla, Mexico". Revista de Biología Tropical. 63 (2): 7–15.
5. Solé, Jesús; Pi-Puig, Teresa; Bermúdez-Chávez, Cynthia; Garduño-Martínez, Diana; Alvarado-Ortega, Jesús (2022-12-05). "Mineralogy, geochemistry, and K-Ar dating of feldspars and clays from an exceptional Cretaceous fossil locality (Tlayúa, Puebla, Mexico): Insights into the depositional and diagenetic ages and processes". Chemical Geology. 612: 121134. doi:10.1016/j.chemgeo.2022.121134. ISSN 0009-2541.
6. Reynoso, V. H. (2000). "An Unusual Aquatic Sphenodontian (Reptilia: Diapsida) from the Tlayua Formation (Albian), Central Mexico". Journal of Paleontology. 74 (1): 133–148. doi:10.1017/S0022336000031310. JSTOR 1306891.
7. Vega, Francisco J.; Nyborg, Torrey G.; María del Carmen Perrilliat; Marisol Montellano-Ballesteros; Sergio R.S Cevallos-Ferriz; Sara A. Quiroz-Barroso (2006). "Research on Fossil Amphibians and Reptiles". In Landman, Neil H. (ed.). Studies on Mexican Paleontology. Vol. 24. Douglas S. Jones. Dordrecht, Netherlands: Springer. p. 214. ISBN 1-4020-3882-8. Retrieved 31 May 2011.
8. Rodríguez, Katia González; Fielitz, Christopher. "CRETACEOUS OSTEICHTHYAN FISH ASSEMBLAGES FROM MEXICO". Cretaceous Period: Biotic Diversity and Biogeography. New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science Bulletin. 71.
9. Applegate, Shelton P.; Espinosa-Arrubarrena, Luis; Alvarado-Ortega, Jesús; Benammi, Mouloud (2006), Vega, Francisco J.; Nyborg, Torrey G.; Perrilliat, María Del Carmen; Montellano-Ballesteros, Marisol (eds.), "Revision of Recent Investigations in the Tlayúa Quarry", Studies on Mexican Paleontology, Dordrecht: Springer Netherlands, pp. 275–304, doi:10.1007/1-4020-3985-9_13, ISBN 978-1-4020-3985-0, retrieved 2024-07-16

Further reading

• L. Martin-Medrano and P. Garcia-Barrera. 2006. Fossil Ophiuroids of Mexico. In F. J. Vega, T. G. Nybor, M. D. C. Perrillat, M. Montellano-Ballesteros, S. R. S. Cevallos-Ferriz, S. A. Quiroz-Barroso (eds.), Topics in Geobiology 24:115-131