Lecho Formation

Lecho Formation
Stratigraphic range: Early Maastrichtian ~70–68  Ma PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N ↓
Type	Geological formation
Unit of	Salta Group
Underlies	Yacoraite Formation
Overlies	Los Blanquitos Formation
Lithology
Primary	Sandstone
Location
Coordinates	26°06′S65°24′W / 26.1°S 65.4°W / -26.1; -65.4
Approximate paleocoordinates	28°36′S52°00′W / 28.6°S 52.0°W / -28.6; -52.0
Region	Jujuy, Salta
Country	Argentina
Extent	Salta Basin
Lecho Formation (Argentina)

The Lecho Formation is a geological formation in the Salta Basin of the provinces Jujuy and Salta of northwestern Argentina. Its strata date back to the Early Maastrichtian, and is a unit of the Salta Group. The fine-grained bioturbated sandstones of the formation were deposited in a fluvial to lacustrine coastal plain environment.

Dinosaur remains are among the fossils that have been recovered from the formation. ^[1]

According to Frankfurt and Chiappe (1999), the Lecho Formation is composed of reddish sandstones. The Lecho is part of the Upper/Late Cretaceous Balbuena Subgroup (Salta Group), which is a near-border stratigraphic unit of the Andean sedimentary basin. Fossils from this formation include the titanosaur Saltasaurus along with a variety of avian and non-avian theropods.

Fossil content

Aves and Dinosaurs from the Lecho Formation
Genus	Species	Location	Stratigraphic position	Material	Notes	Images
Elbretornis	E. bonapartei			Scapula, partial coracoid, humerus, partial radius, partial ulna [2]	Enantiornithes
Enantiornis [3]	E. leali [3]			"Postcranial elements" [4]	Enantiornithes
Lectavis [3]	L. bretincola [3]			"Tarsometatarsus and tibiotarsus" [4]	Enantiornithes
Martinavis	M. minor			Partial humerus [2]	Enantiornithes
	M. saltariensis			Humerus [2]
	M. vincei			Humeri [2]
	M. whetstonei			Partial humerus [2]
Noasaurus [3]	N. leali [3]			Isolated elements from the head and foot, as well as a verebral arch. [5] A putative oviraptorosaurian cervical vertebra [6] is likely to belong to this taxon. [7]	Noasaurid abelisaurs
Saltasaurus [3]	S. loricatus [3]			"Partial skeletons of at least [six] individuals, including jaws and armor." [8]	Saltasaurid titanosaurs
Soroavisaurus [3]	S. australis [3]			"Tarsometatarsus and phalanges." [9]	Avisaurid enantiornithes
Yungavolucris [3]	Y. brevipedalis [3]			"Tarsometatarsi" [9]	Enantiornithes

See also

• List of dinosaur-bearing rock formations
• Marília Formation

References

1. Weishampel et al., 2004, "Dinosaur distribution (Late Cretaceous, South America)." pp. 600-604
2. Walker & Dyke, 2009
3. "63.7 Provincia de Salta, Argentina; 3. Lower Kirtland Formation," in Weishampel et al., 2004, p.603
4. "Table 11.1," in Weishampel et al., 2004, p.213
5. "Table 3.1," in Weishampel et al., 2004, p.49
6. Frankfurt & Chiappe, 1999
7. Agnolin & Martinelli, 2007
8. "Table 13.1," in Weishampel et al., 2004, p.270
9. "Table 11.1," in Weishampel et al., 2004, p.214

Bibliography

• Walker; Dyke (2009), "Euenantiornithine birds from the Late Cretaceous of El Brete (Argentina)", Irish Journal of Earth Sciences , 27: 15–62, doi:10.3318/IJES.2010.27.15
• Agnolin, F.L.; Martinelli, A.G. (2007), "Did oviraptorosaurs (Dinosauria; Theropoda) inhabit Argentina?" (PDF), Cretaceous Research , 28 (5): 785–790, Bibcode:2007CrRes..28..785A, doi:10.1016/j.cretres.2006.10.006
• Weishampel, David B.; Dodson, Peter; Osmólska, Halszka (2004), The Dinosauria, 2nd edition, Berkeley: University of California Press, pp. 1–880, ISBN   0-520-24209-2 , retrieved 2019-02-21
• Frankfurt, N.G.; Chiappe, L.M. (1999), "A Possible Oviraptorosaur From The Late Cretaceous of Northwestern Argentina", Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology , 19 (1): 101–105, Bibcode:1999JVPal..19..101F, doi:10.1080/02724634.1999.10011126