La Quinta Formation
Introduction The '''La Quinta Formation''' is a Jurassic geologic formation which crops out in the Cordillera de Mérida and Serranía del Perijá of western Venezuela and northeastern Colombia. The formation is also present in the subsurface of the Cesar-Ranchería and Maracaibo Basins. At its type locality near La Grita, Táchira, it consists of a basal dacitic tuff followed by interlayered sandstones, tuffs, siltstones and rare limestones. Dinosaur remains including ''Laquintasaura'', ''Tachiraptor'', and ''Perijasaurus'' are among the fossils that have been recovered from the formation.U–Pb zircon analysis demonstrates that the formation dates to 200.91+0.55 Ma at its base and a maximum age of 174.8 Ma.
Paleofauna GenusSpecieslocationMaterialNotesImages''Laquintasaura''''L. venezuelae''VenezuelaPartial skeleton First dinosaur identified from Venezuela ''Perijasaurus''''P. lapaz''Cesar Department, ColombiaPartial dorsal vertebraPreviously known as the "Cesar sauropod", and was the first dinosaur discovered in Colombia''Tachiraptor''''T. admirabilis''VenezuelaA tibia and ischium
Regional correlations
See also * List of dinosaur-bearing rock formations** List of stratigraphic units with few dinosaur genera
Notes
References === Bibliography ===* * Barrett, P. M., R. J. Butler, S. C. Moore-Fay, F. E. Novas, J. M. Moody, J. M. Clark, and M. R. Sänchez-Villagra. ‘Dinosaur Remains from the La Quinta Formation (Lower or Middle Jurassic) of the Venezuelan Andes’. Paläontologische Zeitschrift 82, no. 2 (2008): 163–177. * Weishampel, David B.; Dodson, Peter; and Osmólska, Halszka (eds. ): The Dinosauria, 2nd, Berkeley: University of California Press. 861 pp. .==== Maps ====* * * * * *