(Late?) Paleozoic age for the “Cretaceous” Tucutunemo Formation, northern Venezuela: Stratigraphic and tectonic implications

The largely phyllitic Tucutunemo Formation of the Caribbean Mountains of north-central Venezuela has been assigned to the Early or Late Cretaceous on the basis of lithologic correlation. Reexamination of some limestones in thin section revealed a crinoid-brachiopod microfacies in which productid spine bases and sections were identified. Other forms include bryozoans, probable dasyclad algae, and a possible chaetetid. The microfacies closely resemble those of limestones of the Permian Palmarito Formation of the Venezuelan Andes. These features suggest a (late?) Paleozoic age for the Tucutunemo Formation. A range of possible tectonic settings for the formation is summarized in two autochthonous and two allochthonous models.