MANAURE, Beds

CRETACEOUS (Aptian)

Distrito Magdalena, Colombia

Author of name: unknown.

Original reference C. J. Maury, 1925, p. 413.

Original description: ibid.

The name Manaure beds was published by C. J. Maury (1925, p. 413) with the following indications:

"LOWER CRETACEOUS. Aptian. Manaure beds, western Zulia, in the region of the Sierra de Perijá, west of Lake Maracaibo; with Exogyra boussingaulti d'Orbigny, characteristic of the Urgo-Aptian of France, Spain, Algeria... (etc.) ".

The town of Manaure is situated not in the State of Zulia, Venezuela, but in the District of Magdalena, Colombia, in the western side of Perijá Range. Apparently, Maury, without giving the reference, took her information from a publication by Gerhardt (1897) on the Cretaceous of Venezuela, Colombia and Perú. We have not seen Gerhardt's publication, but Liddle (1928, p. 150-151; 1946, p. 222) reproduced, textually, the pertinent part of Gerhardt's paper. Gerhadrt gave the locality as "Manaure, and mentions that the discovery of the E. boussingaulti proves the presence of the UrgoAptian in northern Venezuela. This explains Maury's error, which was repeated by Liddle in 1928, when (without mentioning Maury), he cited the Manaure locality in connection with the Cogollo formation, and gave the localization (erroneously) as the "District of Maracaibo" in the State of Zulia. In 1946, he corrects the error, noting that Manaure is situated in Colombia. Gerth (1935, p. 349) mentions E. boussingauldi from Manaure, but gives the localization correctly as on the west side of the Perijá Range.

Hedberg (1938, p. 274) considers the name undesirable. Since the typelocality is not in Venezuela, the name Manaure beds should be eliminated from the list of Venezuelan formations.

Frances de Rivero