El Molino Formation Stratigraphic range: Maastrichtian ~ | |
---|---|
Type | Geological formation |
Unit of | Puca Group |
Underlies | Santa Lucía Formation |
Overlies | Chaunaca Formation |
Lithology | |
Primary | Sandstone |
Other | Limestone |
Location | |
Coordinates | 19°30′S65°48′W / 19.5°S 65.8°W Coordinates: 19°30′S65°48′W / 19.5°S 65.8°W |
Approximate paleocoordinates | 22°00′S51°48′W / 22.0°S 51.8°W |
Region | Cochabamba, Chuquisaca & Potosí Departments |
Country | Bolivia |
Extent | Altiplano & Potosí Basins |
The El Molino Formation is a Maastrichtian geologic formation pertaining to the Puca Group of central Bolivia. The formation comprises fine-grained sandstones and sandy limestones with stromatolites deposited in a shallow marine to lacustrine environment. The formation has provided fossils of Dolichochampsa minima , [1] and ichnofossils of Ankylosauria indet., Ornithopoda indet., Theropoda indet. and Titanosauridae indet. [2] [3] [4] The tracksite of Cal Orcko is the best known example of the ichnofossil locations of the formation. The ichnofossil of Ligabueichnum bolivianum may be attributed to an ankylosaur. [5] The fossil fish species Dasyatis molinoensis is named after the formation.
Other fossils retrieved from the formation are: [6]
Argiles et Grès à Reptiles Formation also known as the Argiles Rutilantes Formation is an early Maastrichtian French geologic formation in the département of Var preserving the remains of several types of dinosaurs and other extinct organisms.
Dolichochampsa is an extinct genus of eusuchian crocodylomorph. It is the type genus and only member of the family Dolichochampsidae. Fossils have been found in the Yacoraite Formation of Argentina and the El Molino Formation of Bolivia of Maastrichtian age. It had a distinctive slender snout. Because the material associated with the specimens is so fragmentary, its relationships with other eusuchians remain unknown. Jouve et al. (2020) assigned Dolichochampsa to Gavialoidea, making it the oldest known South American member of this clade.
The Hidden Lake Formation is a Late Cretaceous geologic formation in Antarctica. The sandstones and siltstones of the formation were deposited in a deltaic environment.
The In Beceten Formation, also Beceten or Ibecten is a Coniacian to Santonian geologic formation in the Iullemmeden Basin of Niger. Dinosaur remains are among the fossils that have been recovered from the formation, although none have yet been referred to a specific genus. The lithology primarily consists of clays, fine limestones and sandy clays.
The Yacoraite Formation is a largely Mesozoic geologic formation. The deposits of this formation mainly date from the Maastrichtian of the Upper Cretaceous, but the Cretaceous–Paleogene boundary runs right through this formation near its top, and the uppermost parts are consequently from the Danian. It was probably deposited around the intertidal zone, as the sedimentary rocks of this formation alternate according to sea level changes between deposits of muddy beaches and of shallow ocean.
The Chacarilla Formation is an Oxfordian to Early Cretaceous geologic formation of the Tarapacá Basin in northern Chile, close to the border with Bolivia. The marine and fluvial formation preserves several dinosaur trackways and has been declared a Natural Sanctuary in 2004.
The Sousa Formation is a Berriasian-Hauterivian geologic formation in Paraíba, Brazil. Fossil sauropod tracks have been reported from the formation.
The Chaunaca Formation is a Campanian geologic formation of Bolivia. Fossil sauropod tracks have been reported from the formation.
The Antenor Navarro Formation is an Early Cretaceous geologic formation in Brazil. Fossil sauropod tracks have been reported from the formation.
The Baños del Flaco Formation is a Late Jurassic to Early Cretaceous (Tithonian to Berriasian geologic formation in central Chile. The formation comprises limestones and sandstones deposited in a shallow marine to fluvial environment. Fossil ornithopod tracks have been reported from the formation.
The Xiguayuan Formation is an Early Cretaceous (Barremian) geologic formation in Hebei Province of China. Fossil ornithopod tracks have been reported from the formation. It was deposited in a shallow lacustrine setting and is noted for its hyperpycnite facies.
The Santa Lucía Formation is a Maastrichtian to Paleocene (Danian) geologic formation in Bolivia. Fossil ornithopod tracks have been reported from the Cretaceous lower part of the formation. It is the type formation of the Tiupampan South American land mammal age.
The Apón Formation is a geological formation in northwestern Venezuela and northern Colombia, whose thick-bedded limestone interbedded with subordinate amounts of dark gray calcareous shale and sandy shale strata date back to the Early Cretaceous. Pterosaur remains of Ornithocheiridae indet. are among the fossils that have been recovered from the formation.
The Botucatu Formation is an Aptian geologic formation of the Paraná and Pelotas Basins in southern Brazil and northern Uruguay. The formation is composed of quartzitic sandstones, deposited in an eolian environment. Fossil theropod tracks have been reported from the formation.
The La Puerta Formation is a Late Jurassic to Early Cretaceous geologic formation of southern Bolivia. The fluvial and eolian sandstones preserve ichnofossils of Theropoda indet., Thyreophora indet., Ankylosauria indet. and Stegosauria indet. at the Tunasniyoj tracksite. The formation is possibly a distal extension of the Botucatu Formation. The Tunasniyoj assemblage is the oldest dinosaur tracksite for Bolivia, and includes the oldest known evidence assigned to ankylosaurs and stegosaurs for South America.
The Toro Toro Formation is a Late Campanian geologic formation pertaining to the Puca Group of central Bolivia. The porous yellowish medium-to-coarse grained ferruginous (iron-containing) sandstones and mudstones with gypsum intercalations, deposited in a beach environment, preserve many ichnofossils of Ligabueichnium bolivianum, Dromaeopodus sp., Ornithopoda indet., Theropoda indet. and Titanosauridae indet. The formation has provided the earliest known tracksite of dinosaurs in Bolivia. The Toro Toro Formation represents part of the postrift stage in an alluvial to deltaic environment within the Potosí Basin. The formation is a local equivalent of the Chaunaca Formation. The most famous of the dinosaur tracksites is Cal Orcko, however these are in the El Molino Formation
The Missão Velha Formation is an early Aptian geologic formation in northeastern Brazil's Araripe Basin where the states of Pernambuco, Piauí and Ceará come together. The formation is the middle stratigraphic unit of the Vale do Carirí Group, overlying the Brejo Santo Formation and overlain by the Abaiara Formation.
The Malhada Vermelha Formation is an Early Cretaceous geologic formation in Ceará, northeastern Brazil. The formation preserves reptile, fish and ichnofossils.
The Tacuarembó Formation is a Late Jurassic (Kimmeridgian) geologic formation of the eponymous department in northern Uruguay. The fluvial to lacustrine sandstones, siltstones and mudstones preserve ichnofossils, turtles, crocodylomorphs, fish and invertebrates.