Onzole Formation


The Onzole Formation is an Early Pliocene geologic formation in the Borbón Basin of northwestern Ecuador. The formation consists of a shallow marine sandstone member containing many fish fossils, among which megalodon, and a deep water member comprising tuffaceous shales and mudstones containing gastropods, bivalves and scaphopods.

Subdivision

The formation consists of the Esmeraldas Member, which is a unit comprising highly foraminiferal tuffaceous calcareous shale. They were deposited by shallow water gravity flows, which brought the Esmeraldas fauna into the deep water from shallow water, on the order of.
The Esmeraldas Member is covered by the Súa Member comprising burrowed, bioturbated, silty sandstones deposited in a coastal environment.

Fossil content

The formation has provided bivalve, gastropod, and scaphopod fossils and the following vertebrates:Carcharhinus egertoni, C. priscusCarcharocles megalodonDiaphus ecuadorensisGaleocerdo aduncusHemipristis serraIsistius triangulusNegaprion eurybathrodonOdontaspis acutissimaRhizoprionodon taxandriaeBrotula cf. ordwayiChilara tayloriEucinostomus cf. curraniLarimus cf. pacificusLepophidium borbonensis, L. limulumLepophidium microlepisMerluccius cf. angustimanusOrthopristis cf. cantharinusOtophidium indefatigabileParaconger californiensisPorichthys analis, Porichthys margaritatus, Porichthys cf. notatusStellifer onzoleAnchoa sp.Apogon sp.Citharichthys sp.Diaphus sp.Haemulon sp.Lampadena sp.