Revisión de las localidades fosilíferas del departamento de Antioquia, Colombia

Even though only 11.5% of Antioquia’s area has outcrops of sedimentary rocks, a review of the literature and the development of a digital map of fossil localities (27), allows us to conclude that the region has a great palaeontological potential. The data show that Antioquia’s fossil occurrences date from Ordovician (~ 485.4 to ~ 443.8Ma) to Quaternary (~ 2.6Ma to the Present). Moreover, there are macro-fossils belonging to different phyla (i.e. Chordata, Echinodermata, Hemichordata, Mollusca and Trachaeophyta). The oldest paleofauna in the area, consists of graptolites and trilobites recorded in Paleozoic metasedimentary rocks, whereas marine mollusks and echinoderms compose the major fossil assemblages of the Cretaceous. The paleoflora (i.e. fossil leaves and petrified wood) in the area is associated with to the Amaga Formation (Oligocene - Miocene). Finally, fossils of terrestrial vertebrates (i.e. mastodons and horses) are recorded in Quaternary deposits.