A Middle Devonian Trilobite Assemblage from Venezuela

Abstract

Three new species of trilobites are described from the upper level of the Caño del Oeste Formation (Middle Devonian) of Venezuela. These taxa include a phacopinine, Viaphacops venezuelensis, n. sp., and two asteropyginines, Rhenops odremani, n. sp., and Greenops per-ijaensis, n. sp. The biogeographic implications of these records are discussed. Viaphacops is somewhat cosmopolitan in its distribution. The presence of Rhenops in Venezuela represents a profound range extension beyond the Rhenish-Bohemia region of the Old World Realm. The Venezuelan occurrence of Greenops represents a southerly range extension within the Eastern Americas Realm, reinforcing faunal similarities previously recognized among Devonian bra-chiopods and trilobites of Venezuela and North America. RESUMEN Se describen tres especies nuevas de trilobites provenientes del nivel más alto de la For-matión Caño del Oeste (Devónico medio) de Venezuela. Estos taxones incluyen un facopinino, Viaphacops venezuelensis, n. sp., y dos asteropigininos, Rhenops odremani, n. sp. y Greenops perijaensis, n. sp. Se discuten las implicancias biogeográficas de estos registros. Viaphacops tiene una distribución amplia. La presencia de Rhenops en Venezuela representa una extensión significativa de su distribución más allá de la región Rheno-Bohemia del Viejo Mundo. El registro de Greenops en Venezuela extiende su distribución hacia el sur dentro del Dominio del Este de las Américas, apoyando las similtudes reconocidas previamente, entre los bra-quiópodos y los trilobites devónicos de Venezuela y América del Norte.

Trilobites and inarticulate brachiopods from the Devonian Floresta Formation of Colombia: a review

“…Close affinities with the Middle Devonian of Venezuela have also been established, based on the occurrence of the genera Viaphacops and Greenops (Carvalho & Moody 2000). Colombia and Venezuela were most probably very close to each other geographically, and had strong faunal relationships with the NEAR (Cooper 1982, p. 164).…”

Taxonomía e historia de los trilobites (Arthropoda: Arachnomorpha) del Museo Nacional de Historia Natural, Santiago

“…: 3). Paciphacops (Viaphacops) orurensis es conocida únicamente en Formaciones bolivianas del Devónico Inferior (véase Carvalho y Moody 2000;Rustán et al 2012). Por su parte, Paciphacops (Paciphacops) waisfeldae tiene registro en Cochabamba, Bolivia (Edgecombe y Ramsköld 1994), no obstante, el empleo de nomenclatura abierta usada en la asignación específica (P. aff.…”

Tectono-stratigraphic and sedimentological analysis of the Early to Middle Devonian Floresta Formation: Insights from the Floresta Massif, Northern Andes, Colombia

“…In general, there are great similarities between the fauna associations of the Floresta Formation and those of North America, something that was supported by Morales (1965) mainly based on brachiopod associations. Carvalho and Moody (2000) established close affinities in Colombian faunal content with the Middle Devonian of Venezuela, which suggests that Colombia and Venezuela were geographically close and shared strong faunal similarities with Europe and North America (Cooper, 1982). Based on the information presented above, particularly in the trilobite and inarticulate fauna associations, it can be inferred that two distinct biostratigraphic levels exist in the Floresta Formation.…”