Late middle Miocene vertebrates from the Peruvian Amazonian Basin (Inuya and Mapuya Rivers, Ucayali): Fitzcarrals expedition 2005

RODOLFO, SALAS-GISMONDI; PATRICE, BABY; PIERRE-OLIVIER, ANTOINE; FRANÇOIS, PUJOS; MOULOUD, BENAMMI; NICOLAS, ESPURT; STÉPHANE, BRUSSET; MARIO, URBINA; DARIO, DE FRANCESCHI

Lima, Perú

Congreso; XIII Congreso Peruano de Geología; 2006

Sociedad Geológica del Perú

    Vertebrate fossils are known from different localities of the Peruvian Amazon basin. Most of them, however have not been studied well, are out of the country, or have controversial ages (Spillmann, 1949; Willard, 1966; Matthiessen, 1961; Campbell et al., 2000; Campbell et al., 2004). In August 2005, a French-Peruvian expedition explored the Inuya and Mapuya Rivers in the northwestern flank of the Fitzcarrald arch and collected numerous stratigraphically in situ vertebrate remains that are stored in the MUSM. The Fitzcarrald arch is an important geomorphic element located east to the central Peruvian Andes (Baby et al., 2005). Strong erosion by rivers has created exposure of Neogene beds with good fossiliferous outcrops. The expedition analyzed tectonic, sedimentologic, stratigraphic, paleomagnetic, paleobotanic, and paleovertebrate evidence in order to contribute to our understanding of the geo-biotic evolution of the Amazon basin during the Neogene. In the Amazon Basin, geological clues have led to controversial interpretations regarding to paleoenvironment and age (e.g., Wesselingh et al., 2002). Vertebrate paleontology may offer important data when stratigraphic correlation and radiometric dates have a restricted chance of success. This paper presents a preliminary Miocene vertebrate assemblage of the Fitzcarrald area. Chronological and ecological data, based on the vertebrates, are also provided.