Trilobites and inarticulate brachiopods from the Devonian Floresta Formation of Colombia: a review
Abstract
The study of Devonian Colombian trilobites and inarticulate brachiopods allows to recognize two biostratigraphic levels
within the Floresta Formation. The first level, in the lower part of the formation, is late Emsian in age, and yields 14 distinct
trilobite taxa, including Colombianaspis carvalhoae gen. et sp. nov. The second one, in the upper part of the formation,
is assigned to the Givetian based on the co-occurrence of the genera Dipleura and Greenops; this is the first record
of a Givetian age for the upper part of the Floresta Formation. The inarticulate brachiopods collected from the uppermost
part of the formation suggest a Givetian age. Inarticulate brachiopods as well as the trilobites show close affinities with
the North Eastern Americas Realm, but they also suggest European affinities. The late Emsian occurrence of calmoniids
from Colombia is indicative of restricted faunal exchanges with the Malvinokaffric Realm.