La Mesa de Copoya, Chiapas, Mexico (Eocene of Mexico)

Also known as Reef 3369

Where: Chiapas, Mexico (16.7° N, 93.1° W: paleocoordinates 18.5° N, 83.8° W)

• coordinate stated in text

• local area-level geographic resolution

When: San Juan Formation, Lutetian (47.8 - 41.3 Ma)

• formation-level stratigraphic resolution

Environment/lithology: reef, buildup or bioherm; lithified sandstone and lithified limestone

• Most fossil are from biostomic biomicrite/biomicrosparite with partial chert replacement of skeletal aragonite.

Size classes: macrofossils, mesofossils, microfossils

Collection methods: mechanical, peel or thin section,

• New material and summary of older publications

Primary reference: I. Ferrusquía-Villafranca, S. P. Applegate, and L. Espinosa-Arrubarrena. 2000. First Paleogene selachifauna of the Middle American-Caribbean-Antillean region, La Mesa de Copoya, west-central Chiapas-geologic setting. Revista Mexicana de Ciencias Geológicas 17(1):1-23 [W. Kiessling/W. Kiessling/W. Kiessling]more details

Purpose of describing collection: general faunal/floral analysis

PaleoDB collection 45920: authorized by Wolfgang Kiessling, entered by Wolfgang Kiessling on 14.12.2004

Creative Commons license: CC BY (attribution)

Taxonomic list

Foraminifera
  -
Tubothalamea
 Miliolida - Alveolinidae
 Miliolida - Hauerinidae
Quinqueloculina sp. d'Orbigny 1826
Foraminifera
 Asterigerinacea - Amphisteginidae
 Orbitoidacea - Lepidocyclinidae
 Nummulitacea - Nummulitidae
 Nummulitacea - Asterocyclinidae
Anthozoa
 Helioporacea -
Heliopora mexicanae Frost and Langenheim 1974
 Scleractinia - Pocilloporidae
Stylophora cf. cambridgensis Wells 1934 stony coral
 Scleractinia - Actinacididae
Actinacis carribensis stony coral
A. caribensis
Actinacis barretti Wells 1934 stony coral
 Scleractinia - Poritidae
Goniopora copayens stony coral
 Scleractinia - Siderastreidae
Siderastrea scotia Wells 1945 stony coral
 Scleractinia - Columastreidae
"Haimesastraea peruviana" = Haimesiastraea
"Haimesastraea peruviana" = Haimesiastraea stony coral
 Scleractinia - Mussidae
? Syzygophyllia sp. Reuss 1860 stony coral
 Scleractinia - Montlivaltiidae
Placosmilia copoyensis Frost and Langenheim 1974 stony coral
 Scleractinia - Rhizangiidae
Rhizangia sp. Milne-Edwards and Haime 1848 stony coral
Gastropoda
 Cerithioidea - Cerithiidae
Cerithium sp. Bruguière 1789 cerith snail
Cerathium sp.
Bivalvia
 Ostreida - Ostreidae
Ostrea sp. Linnaeus 1758 oyster
Chondrichthyes
 Carcharhiniformes - Hemigaleidae
Hemipristis sp. Agassiz 1835 ground shark
 Carcharhiniformes - Galeocerdidae
Galeocerdo sp. Müller and Henle 1837 tiger shark
 Orectolobiformes - Ginglymostomatidae
Nebrius sp. Rüppell 1837 nurse shark
 Lamniformes - Odontaspididae
? Odontaspis sp. Agassiz 1838 sand tiger shark
 Lamniformes - Carchariidae
Carcharias sp. Rafinesque 1810 sand shark
 Lamniformes - Lamnidae
Isurus cf. precursor mackerel shark
Carcharodon auriculatus Blainville 1818 white shark
 Lamniformes - Mitsukurinidae
Striatolamia macrota Agassiz 1838 goblin shark