Neogene Caribbean elasmobranchs: diversity, paleoecology and paleoenvironmental significance of the Cocinetas Basin assemblage (Guajira Peninsula, Colombia)

The Cocinetas Basin is located on the eastern flank of La Guajira Peninsula, northern Colombia (South Caribbean). During late Oligocene through Pliocene, much of the basin was submerged. The extensive deposits in this area suggest a transition from a shallow marine to a fluvio–deltaic system, with a rich record of invertebrate and vertebrate fauna. The elasmobranch assemblages of the early Miocene to late Pliocene succession in the Cocinetas Basin (Jimol, Castilletes and Ware Formations, and Patsua Valley) are described for the first time. The assemblages include at least 30 taxa of sharks (Squaliformes, Pristiophoriformes, Orectolobiformes, Lamniformes and Carcharhiniformes) and batoids (Rhinopristiformes and Myliobatiformes), of which 24 taxa are reported from the Colombian Neogene for the first time. Paleoecological and paleoenvironmental interpretations are based on the feeding ecology, and on estimates of paleosalinity using stable isotope compositions of oxygen in the bioapatite of shark teeth. The isotopic composition of studied specimens corroborates the paleoenvironmental settings for the studied units suggested on the basis of other proxies. These Neogene elasmobranch assemblages from the Cocinetas Basin, provide new insights of the shark and ray diversity inhabiting the coastal and estuarine environments of the northwestern margin of South America, both during the existence of the gateway between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, and following its closure