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EOCENE MOLLUSKS FROM THE PISCO BASIN (SOUTHERN PERU): EVIDENCE
FOR RE-EVALUATING THE AGE OF THE OTUMA FORMATION


Thomas J. DeVries

Burke Museum oI Natural History and Culture. University oI Washington. Seattle, WA 98195 USA
Mailing Address: Box 13061. Burton, WA 98013 USA


In a review oI the stratigraphy oI the Pisco Iorearc basin oI southern Peru, DeVries (1998) described a
depositional sequence whose strata were assigned to the newly named Otuma Iormation. Otuma
sediments unconIormably overlie the diatomaceous sediments oI the upper middle to upper Eocene
Paracas Iormation and unconIormably underlie basal transgressive sandstones oI the uppermost
Oligocene to lower middle Miocene Chilcatay Iormation. Molluscan assemblages Irom Otuma
sections near Paracas included two species with biostratigraphic signiIicance: Turritella woodsi
Lisson, 1925, and Peruchilus culberti Olsson, 1931.
Newly discovered molluscan assemblages Irom Bajada del Diablo (BDD) and the Paracas area provide
better means Ior correlating strata Irom southern to northern Peru. Many Otuma mollusks occur in
sediments oI the upper Eocene Chira-Verdun Iormation oI the northern Talara basin, while a Iew Irom
Paracas beds are the same as those Irom the middle Eocene Talara Iormation. These data Iorce a re-
evaluation oI the age oI the Otuma Iormation.

GEOLOGY AND PALEONTOLOGY OF NEW OTUMA SECTIONS

Bajada del Diablo is an alluvium-Iloored valley that ends in a line oI 250-meter bluIIs overlooking
Playa Esperanza (1429'S, 7558'W). Sedimentary outcrops are exposed in Iault-bound blocks along
cliIIs near Cerro Alto and Iive kilometers east near the head oI the valley. The coastal section consists
oI 50 meters oI alternating beds oI indurated and soIt bioclastic sandstones, which unconIormably
overlie 40 meters oI gray Iine-grained sandstone. The angular unconIormity is marked by scattered
igneous boulders and Ophiomorpha burrows.
The basal 26 meters above the unconIormity yielded a molluscan Iauna oI Ostrea, Cardita newelli
Rivera, 1957, venerids, and Turritella woodsi, the same assemblage seen in basal Otuma sandstones
near Paracas. The upper, Iiner-grained portion oI the section and sections up the valley contained a
more diverse molluscan Iauna (Table I).
Otuma sections near Paracas were described by DeVries (1998). A section oI bioclastic gravel and
sandstone at Cerro Santa Cruz is herein assigned to the Otuma Iormation based on the occurrence oI
Turritella cochleiformis Gabb, 1869, a species common at BDD and Iirst described in Chira shales
near Paita (Hanna and Israelsky, 1925). Other taxa Irom Santa Cruz are listed in Table I.

AGE OF OTUMA SEQUENCES

The occurrence oI molluscan taxa with pre-Chira/Verdun aIIinities (Olsson, 1928, 1930, 1931) in the
Paracas Iormation is consistent with middle Eocene radiometric and microIossil ages Ior Paracas
sediments cited by DeVries (1998) and calcareous nannoIossil ages (zones NP14-NP17, about 49-38
Ma) cited Ior the pre-Chira/Verdun Talara Group in northern Peru (Narvaez and Petri, 2001). The
upper age limit on the Paracas Iormation may be deIined by three
40
Ar-
39
Ar ages oI 37.2, 36.5, and
35.7 Ma Irom ashes in a depositional sequence in the Ica Valley (DeVries, 1998). Mollusks Irom the
Ica sequence (Turritella lagunillasensis Rivera, 1957; Glvcvmeris arquilloensis Rivera, 1957) are the
same as those Iound in Paracas sandstones near Paracas.
II sandstones in the lower Ica Valley are correctly assigned to the Paracas Iormation, the overlying
sequence should have a latest Eocene (35-34 Ma) or Oligocene age. A late Eocene age is consistent
with ages Ior mollusks Irom BDD Iirst described Irom upper Eocene Chira /Verdun sediments in the
Talara basin. The presence oI taxa Irom BDD that also occur or only occur in post-Chira/Verdun strata
XII Congreso Peruano de Geologia. Resumenes Extendidos.
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437
suggests the Otuma sediments may be in part as young as early Oligocene. These ages are slightly
older than those suggested by DeVries (1998).
Table I. Selected Iossil marine mollusks Irom the Pisco and Talara basins. Data Irom Olsson (1928, 1929, 1931), Petersen
(1954), Rivera (1957) and DeVries (unpublished).

PARACAS OTUMA OTUMA OTUMA

SPECIES
Prieto/
Arquillo/
Lagunilla
Talpo,
Paracas
Throat
Santa
Cruz
Bajada
del Diablo
Pre
Chira/
Verdun
Chira-
Verdun
Post
Chira/
Verdun
Turritella paracasensis / chira x x x
T. lagunillasensis / gilbertharrisi x ? x
Epitonium peruvianum x x x
Dorsanum lagunitensis x x x
Sulcobuccinum coronaria x x x
Sulcobuccinum monilis x x
Sulcobuccinum parinasensis x x x x x x
Andicula occidentalis x x
Xancus pavtensis x x
Olivancellaria inca x x x
Amotapus arbolensis x x x x
Xenophora carditigera x x
Peruchilus culberti x x x
Turritella cochleiformis x x x
Turritella meroensis / sp. nov. x x
Turritella woodsi x x x x
Ficus chiraensis x x x
Bursa chira x x x
Ectinochilus gaudichaudi x x x `
Conus chiraensis x x x x
Morum charanalense x x
Joluta mancorensis x x x
Tritaria sullana x x
Clathrodrillia mira x x x
Miltha woodi x x x x

SYSTEMATIC PALEONTOLOGY

Turritella cochleiformis Gabb, 1869
Turritella cochleiformis Gabb, 1869, p. 29; Gabb, 1878, p. 264, pl. 35, Iigs. 7, 7a; Hanna and Israelsky, 1925, p.
41, pl. 7, Iigs. 6, 7.
Specimens oI Turritella cochleiformis are recognized by their two sharp keels, rather than the three sharp keels
oI T. paracasensis Rivera, 1957. Late Eocene. Figure 12.

Turritella woodsi Lisson, 1925
Turritella woodsi Lisson, 1925, p. 29, pl. 3, Iig. 9; Rivera, 1957, p. 176, pl. 1, Iig. 5, pl. 6, Iig. 43; Turritella
portaroi Lisson, 1925, p. 30, pl. 3, Iig. 10; Turritella conquistadorana Hanna & Israelsky, 1925, p. 41, pl. 7, Iig.
5.
The distribution oI Turritella woodsi and synonymy with northern T. conquistadorana Hanna and Israelsky,
1925, was addressed by DeVries (1998). Late Eocene to latest Oligocene. Figure 6.

Xenophora carditigera Nielsen and DeVries, 2002
Xenophora carditigera Nielsen and DeVries, 2002, p. 73, Iigs. 3-11.
Xenophora carditigera is a useIul index Iossil Ior Otuma sections in the Pisco Basin, being Iound near Paracas,
Chilcatay, and BDD. Late Eocene to early Oligocene. Figure 5.

Bursa chira Olsson, 1930
Bursa chira Olsson, 1930, p. 62, pl. 10, Iigs. 5, 6, 7, 13; Bursa chira var. vasila Olsson, 1930, p. 63, pl. 10, Iigs.
3, 4.
Small bursids oI varying widths were described by Olsson (1930) Irom the Talara and Chira Iormations. BDD
specimens are larger than both northern taxa. Middle to Late Eocene. Figure 2.

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Figure 1. Sulcobuccinum parinasensis x 0.76. 2. Bursa chira x 1.04. 3. Peruchilus culberti x 1.46. 4. Peruchilus
culberti, outer lip. 5. Xenophora carditigera x 1.18. 6. Turritella woodsi x 1.19. 7. Turritella sp. nov., aII. T.
meroensis x 1.37. 8. Joluta mancorensis x 1.20. 9. Ectinocheilus gaudichaudi x 2.53. 10. Conus chiraensis x
1.17. 11. Clathodrillia mari x 1.32. 12. Turritella cochleiformis x 2.16. 13. Turritella paracasensis x 2.20.

Comparative material deposited with the Laboratorio de Vertebrados, Museo de Historia Natural, Universidad
Nacional Mayor de San Marcos, Lima, Peru.

Morum (Herculea) cI. M. charanalense Olsson, 1931
Morum (Herculea) charanalense Olsson, 1931, p. 97, pl. 17, Iigs. 1, 2.
A specimen Irom BDD has the elongate Iorm, low spire, well spaced vertical ribs, and absence oI axial cords
that distinguish the Mancora taxon Irom older species. Early Oligocene. Not Iigured.

Ficus chiraensis Olsson, 1931
Ficus chiraensis Olsson, 1931, p. 97, pl. 18, Iigs. 10, 12.
Ficus chiraensis Irom the Chira Iormation has lower spires and Iewer secondary spiral threads than F. woodringi
Olsson, 1931, Irom the younger Heath Iormation. Late Eocene. Not Iigured.

Ectinochilus gaudichaudi (d'Orbigny, 1842)
Rostellaria gaudichaudi d'Orbigny, 1842, p. 116, pl. 14, Iigs. 6, 7, 8; Ectinochilus gaudichaudi d'Orbigny, 1842.
Olsson, 1928, p. 71, pl. 16, Iigs. 3, 4, 6, 7.
Because the posterior canal is incompletely preserved in Pisco specimens, the generic assignment remains
tentative, as it was Ior Olsson (1928). Late Eocene. Figure 9.

Peruchilus culberti Olsson, 1931
Peruchilus culberti Olsson, 1931, p. 91, pl. 14, Iigs. 8, 12, 13.
Peruchilus culberti oI the Chira and Mancora Iormations diIIers Irom the Chilean Hemichenopus araucanus
Philippi, 1887, in having only a posterior digit extended Irom the outer lip, rather than a posterior and anterior
digit. Late Eocene to early Oligocene. Figures 3, 4.

Sulcobuccinum parinasensis (Woods, 1922)
Pseudoliva parinasensis Woods, 1922, p. 93, pl. 12, Iigs. 4-6; Pseudoliva parinasensis var. samanica Olsson,
1928, p. 77, pl. 19, Iigs. 1-3; Pseudoliva parinasensis var. mancorensis Olsson, 1928, p. 78, pl. 19, Iigs. 4-6.
Sulcobuccinum parinasensis (Woods, 1922) had been placed in the genus Pseudoliva Swainson, 1840, and
Buccinorbis Conrad, 1865 (Vermeij, 1998). Contrary trends in size and development oI the parietal callus in
northern and southern populations cast doubt on the biostratigraphic utility oI Olsson's (1928) varieties.
Middle Eocene to late Oligocene. Figure 1.


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Sociedad Geologica del Peru

439
Joluta mancorensis Olsson, 1928
Joluta (Peruluta) mancorensis Olsson, 1928, p. 92, pl. 22, Iigs. 1-3.
Joluta mancorensis appears unchanged throughout its stratigraphic range in the Talara basin Irom the
Chira/Verdun to the Heath Iormation. Late Eocene to late Oligocene. Figure 8.

Clathrodrillia mira Olsson, 1931
Clathrodrillia mira Olsson, 1931, p. 120, pl. 21, Iig. 5.
Otuma deposits at Playa Talpo and Bajada del Diablo contain at least Iour turrid species. Olsson (1931) reports
Clathrodrillia mira Irom the Chira Iormation. Late Eocene. Figure 11.

REFERENCES

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