Trilobites from the upper middle Cambrian (Miaolingian, Guzhangian) of the Sierra Los Ajos, northern Sonora, Mexico: Biostratigraphic and paleogeographic considerations

Abstract

A Cambrian sedimentary sequence with a predominant lithology of limestone, sandy limestone, and quartzite pertaining to the Bolsa and Abrigo formations is exposed in the Sierra Los Ajos to the east of Cananea city (northeastern Sonora, Mexico). Two fossil assemblages from Guzhangian layers of the Abrigo Formation are described herein. The trilobites identified comprise Tricrepicephalus texanus (Shumard), Crepicephalus sp., Coosia ariston (Walcott), Coosia sp., Cedaria cf. eurycheilos Palmer, Coosella sp., Llanoaspis modesta Lochman, and Llanoaspis? sp., representing the Cedaria and Crepicephalus zones (Miaolingian, Guzhangian). The Cambrian rocks of northeastern Sonora (Sierra Los Ajos, El Tule, and Meste˜nas hills), southern Arizona, and Texas, were deposited as part of a thick sedimentary sequence on the southwestern margin of Laurentia, associated with an inner shelf marine environment. The distribution of the trilobites identified confirms the existence of a widespread Cambrian faunal province that includes the southeastern United States of America and northwestern Mexico.