Cerro Fortaleza Formation | |
---|---|
Stratigraphic range: Campanian to Maastrichtian ~ | |
Type | Geological formation |
Underlies | La Irene Formation |
Overlies | Anita Formation |
Thickness | 460 m (1,510 ft) |
Lithology | |
Primary | Sandstone |
Location | |
Coordinates | 49°54′S72°06′W / 49.9°S 72.1°W |
Approximate paleocoordinates | 51°54′S61°48′W / 51.9°S 61.8°W |
Region | Santa Cruz Province, southern Patagonia |
Country | Argentina |
Extent | Austral Basin |
The Cerro Fortaleza Formation, in older literature described as Pari Aike Formation, is a Late Cretaceous geologic formation of Campanian to Maastrichtian age [1] [2] (although it has formerly been reported to be Cenomanian to Santonian) [3] of the Austral Basin in southern Patagonia, Argentina.
The sandstones of the formation were deposited in a fluvial environment. The formation has an estimated thickness of 460 metres (1,510 ft) and overlies the Anita Formation, while it is overlain by the La Irene Formation. [4] These formations are considered Campanian & Maastrichtian in age, respectively, [4] [3] making the Cerro Fortaleza Formation aged between them.
The giant titanosaurs Puertasaurus and Dreadnoughtus , the megaraptoran Orkoraptor , Austrocheirus isasii , and the ornithopod Talenkauen have been recovered from the formation alongside turtles and crocodiles. [5]
The Neuquén Group is a group of geologic formations found in Argentina. Rocks in the Neuquén Group fall within the Cenomanian to early Campanian stages of the Late Cretaceous Period. It overlies the older Lohan Cura Formation and is itself overlain by the younger Allen Formation of the Malargüe Group, separated from both by unconformities, dated to 98 and 79 Ma respectively.
Talenkauen is a genus of basal iguanodont dinosaur from the Campanian or Maastrichtian age of the Late Cretaceous Cerro Fortaleza Formation, formerly known as the Pari Aike Formation of Patagonian Lake Viedma, in the Austral Basin of Santa Cruz, Argentina. It is based on MPM-10001A, a partial articulated skeleton missing the rear part of the skull, the tail, and the hands. The type and only species is Talenkauen santacrucensis.
The Candeleros Formation is a geologic formation that crops out in the Río Negro, Neuquén, and Mendoza provinces of northern Patagonia, Argentina. It is the oldest formation in the Neuquén Group and belongs to the Rio Limay Subgroup. Formerly that subgroup was treated as a formation, and the Candeleros Formation was known as the Candeleros Member.
Rocasaurus is a genus of titanosaurian sauropod that lived in South America. Rocasaurus was discovered in Argentina in 2000, within the Allen Formation which is dated to be middle Campanian to early Maastrichtian in age. This genus grew up to 8 metres (26 ft) long, making it one of the smaller sauropods. It seems to be closely related to saltasaurid dinosaurs, like Saltasaurus and Neuquensaurus.
Puertasaurus is a genus of sauropod dinosaur that lived in South America during the Late Cretaceous Period. It is known from a single specimen recovered from sedimentary rocks of the Cerro Fortaleza Formation in southwestern Patagonia, Argentina, which probably is Campanian or Maastrichtian in age. The only species is Puertasaurus reuili. Described by the paleontologist Fernando Novas and colleagues in 2005, it was named in honor of Pablo Puerta and Santiago Reuil, who discovered and prepared the specimen. It consists of four well-preserved vertebrae, including one cervical, one dorsal, and two caudal vertebrae. Puertasaurus is a member of Titanosauria, the dominant group of sauropods during the Cretaceous.
Orkoraptor is a genus of medium-sized megaraptoran theropod dinosaur from the late Cretaceous Period of Argentina. It is known from incomplete fossil remains including parts of the skull, teeth, tail vertebrae, and a partial tibia. The specialized teeth resemble those of some maniraptoriform theropods, namely the deinonychosaurs and compsognathids. This and other anatomical features led the authors who described it to suggest that it was a maniraptoran coelurosaur. However, subsequent studies found it to be a megaraptoran. Found in the Cerro Fortaleza Formation of Southern Patagonia, it is one of the southernmost carnivorous dinosaurs known from South America.
The Magallanes Basin or Austral Basin is a major sedimentary basin in southern Patagonia. The basin covers a surface of about 170,000 to 200,000 square kilometres and has a NNW-SSE oriented shape. The basin is bounded to the west by the Andes mountains and is separated from the Malvinas Basin to the east by the Río Chico-Dungeness High. The basin evolved from being an extensional back-arc basin in the Mesozoic to being a compressional foreland basin in the Cenozoic. Rocks within the basin are Jurassic in age and include the Cerro Toro Formation. Three ages of the SALMA classification are defined in the basin; the Early Miocene Santacrucian from the Santa Cruz Formation and Friasian from the Río Frías Formation and the Pleistocene Ensenadan from the La Ensenada Formation.
The Cerro Barcino Formation is a geological formation in South America whose strata span the Early Cretaceous to the earliest Late Cretaceous. The top age for the formation has been estimated to be Cenomanian. Earlier estimates placed the formation until the Campanian.
The La Colonia Formation is a geological formation in Argentina whose strata date back to the Late Cretaceous. Dinosaur remains are among the fossils that have been recovered from the formation.
The Allen Formation is a geological formation in Argentina whose strata date back to the Late Cretaceous (middle Campanian to early Maastrichtian. Dinosaur remains are among the fossils that have been recovered from the formation. Indeterminate chelid remains and other vertebrates have also been discovered in this formation.
The Chorrillo Formation, also named as Chorillo Formation, is a Maastrichtian geologic formation in southern Patagonia, Argentina. The formation is more than 50 metres (160 ft) thick and underlies the Calafate Formation and rests on top of the La Irene Formation.
Austrocheirus is an extinct genus of theropod dinosaur that lived during the Late Cretaceous period. It was named and described by Martin Ezcurra, Federico Agnolin and Fernando Novas in 2010. It contains the type species Austrocheirus isasii. The generic name means "southern hand". The specific epithet honours discoverer and preparator Marcelo Pablo Isasi.
The Malargüe Group is a group of geologic formations of the Neuquén Basin of the Mendoza, Neuquén, Río Negro and La Pampa Provinces in northern Patagonia, Argentina. The formations of the Malargüe Group range in age between the middle Campanian to Deseadan, an Oligocene age of the SALMA classification, straddling the Cretaceous–Paleogene boundary, about 79 million to 30 million years in age. The group overlies the older Neuquén Group, separated by an unconformity dated to 79 Ma. The rocks of the Malargüe Group comprise both marine and continental deposits which are over 400 m (1312 ft) thick in total.
The Mata Amarilla Formation is a fossiliferous formation of the Austral Basin in southern Patagonia, Argentina. The formation consists of sediments deposited during the Middle Cenomanian, dated to 96.94 to 95.52 Ma. The middle section of the formation was previously considered to be the Pari Aike Formation.
Martín Dário Ezcurra is an Argentine palaeontologist naming many extinct genera such as Aerotitan, Lophostropheus and Powellvenator.
Kaikaifilusaurus is an extinct genus of rhynchocephalians in the family Sphenodontidae from the Late Cretaceous of South America. Fossils of the genus were found in Cenomanian sediments of the Candeleros Formation and Turonian layers of the Huincul Formation, both of the Neuquén Basin and the Albian strata of the Cerro Barcino Formation in the Cañadón Asfalto Basin, all in Patagonia, Argentina. The genus contains two species, K. minimus and the type species K. calvoi.
The Dorotea Formation is a geological formation in the Río de Las Chinas Valley of the Magallanes Basin in Patagonian Chile whose strata date back to the Campanian to Maastrichtian of the Late Cretaceous.
Patagopelta is an extinct genus of ankylosaurian dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous Allen Formation of Argentina. The genus contains a single species, P. cristata, known from a partial skeleton. While originally described as a nodosaurine, later discoveries provided support for parankylosaurian affinities for the taxon. Patagopelta is a very small ankylosaur, comparable in size to the dwarf nodosaurid Struthiosaurus, about 2 m (6.6 ft) long.
Yatenavis is an extinct genus of enantiornithine bird from the Late Cretaceous Chorrillo Formation of Santa Cruz Province, Argentina. The genus contains a single species, Y. ieujensis, known from a partial humerus.
Titanomachya is an extinct genus of titanosaurian sauropod dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous La Colonia Formation of Argentina. The genus contains a single species, T. gimenezi. It is a relatively small titanosaur, weighing around 7.8 tonnes.