The Cretaceous in Southwest region, Mexico

Paleontology and geology

In the Cretaceous, subduction continued to add volcanic islands and slices of oceanic crust to the western margin of the Southwestern Region. This activity generated significant volcanism, creating volcanoes that spewed ash and lava over the surface and forming large masses of granite underneath older rocks. As this part of the region was pushed up, shallow seas continued to cover the eastern side. Rudist bivalves built up reefs in these seas, which were also home to corals, sponges, gastropods, echinoderms, cephalopods, many other invertebrates, various bony fish, and sharks. On land, conifers and cycadeoids grew in forests, swamps, and wetlands, where early reptiles, sphenodontians, crocodilians, lizards, turtles, pterosaurs, and dinosaurs lived. One site in the southeast preserves animals and plants in exceptional detail, as well as soft-bodied and less common fossils, like worms, sea cucumbers, insects, and spiders.

Links to more on the Cretaceous in Southwest region

Organizations | Research and Collections | Resources

Museums (showing 1 of 1 listings)

The Regional Museum Mixteco: This museum in Tepexi de Rodriguez, Puebla, Mexico houses fossils from the Tlayua quarry, as well as local archeological items.

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Ongoing Research Projects (showing 1 of 1 listings)

The Tlayúa quarry near Tepexi de Rodriguez, Puebla, Mexico: Information about this Cretaceous fossil site that has been studied by researchers from UNAM's Institute of Geology for more than ten years.

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History of Paleontology (showing 1 of 1 listings)

Dinosaurios en México: A history of dinosaur discoveries in Mexico.

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