Quebrada del Barro Formation

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Quebrada del Barro Formation
Stratigraphic range: Norian
Type Geological formation
Unit of Marayes Group
Underlies Los Riscos Formation
Overlies Carrizal Formation
Lithology
Primary Sandstone
Other Siltstone
Location
Coordinates 31°54′S67°12′W / 31.9°S 67.2°W / -31.9; -67.2
Approximate paleocoordinates 40°48′S30°00′W / 40.8°S 30.0°W / -40.8; -30.0
Region San Juan Province
CountryFlag of Argentina.svg  Argentina
Extent Marayes-El Carrizal Basin
Relief Map of Argentina.jpg
Pink ff0080 pog.svg
Quebrada del Barro Formation (Argentina)

The Quebrada del Barro Formation is a geological formation of the Marayes-El Carrizal Basin in San Juan Province, Argentina. This formation is the most fossiliferous portion of the Triassic Marayes Group, and is also the youngest unit of the group, overlying the El Carrizal Formation. An unconformity at the top of the Quebrada del Barro Formation separates it from the Cretaceous-age Los Riscos Formation of the El Gigante Group. [1] [2] [3] [4] Part of the formation may be made into a provincial park following the discovery of the fossils of Ingentia , a giant sauropodomorph dinosaur which helped elucidate the early evolution of sauropods. [5]

Contents

Sedimentology

The Quebrada del Barro Formation formed within a rift basin during a period of renewed fracturing. It encompasses 600 to 1,400 metres (2,000 to 4,600 ft) of red sandstones, fine conglomerates, and diamictites. [3] Early hypotheses on the depositional environment proposed that the sediments formed in an alluvial fan or braided river system, while a newer proposal outlines how four different facies within the formation can be used to reconstruct a meandering semiarid floodplain deposited by mudflows and discharging in heterolithic terminal splays. [6]

Fossil content

The fauna of Quebrada del Barro is similar to that of the neighboring Los Colorados Formation which is considered to be from the Norian stage of the Late Triassic. [7] Both formations preserve fossils from groups such as sauropodomorph dinosaurs, cynodonts, and testudinatans. However, Quebrada del Barro is more abundant in sphenodontians ( Sphenotitan ), tritheledontid cynodonts, and coelophysoid dinosaurs ( Lucianovenator ), while sauropodomorphs are somewhat less common and aetosaurs are completely absent, in contrast to the Los Colorados Formation. [3] Sphenodontians and cynodonts are also abundant in microfossil assemblages. [6] In addition, the Quebrada del Barro Formation preserves some of the only pterosaur and Dromomeron specimens known from Triassic strata in Argentina. Although the sphenodontian and cynodont-dominated fauna of Quebrada del Barro is akin to that of the Faxinal del Sotorno assemblage of the Brazilian Caturrita Formation, the fauna of the Faxinal del Sotorno assemblage is otherwise indicative of an older part of the Triassic than the Quebrada del Barro Formation. [3]

Dinosaurs

Theropods of the Quebrada del Barro Formation
GenusSpeciesMaterialNotesImages
Lucianovenator [8] L. bonoiSeveral specimens including vertebrae, hip fragments, and a partial tibiaA coelophysid theropod
Lucianovenator restoration.jpg
Sauropodomorphs of the Quebrada del Barro Formation
TaxonSpeciesMaterialNotesImages

Ingentia [9]

I. prima

"cervical and dorsal vertebrae, scapula"

A lessemsaurid sauropod

Leyesaurus [2] L. marayensisA massospondylid sauropodomorph. Known from uppermost layers which may belong to a different unit of Hettangian (Early Jurassic) age. [3]
Leyesaurus skull in dorsal view.png
Sauropodomorpha sp.Complete foot and tail vertebraeUndiagnostic sauropodomorph remains originally referred to Riojasaurus [2] [10]

Other avemetatarsalians

Non-dinosaur avemetatarsalias of the Quebrada del Barro Formation
TaxonSpeciesMaterialNotesImages
Dromomeron [11] D. gigasA partial femura lagerpetid
Dromomeron BW.jpg
Pachagnathus P. benitoiSnout fragmentA raeticodactylid pterosaur [12]
Pterosauria sp.Partial ulnaan indeterminate pterosaur [3]
Yelaphomte Y. praderioiSnout fragmentA raeticodactylid pterosaur [12]

Pseudosuchians

Pseudosuchias of the Quebrada del Barro Formation
TaxonSpeciesMaterialNotesImages
"Rauisuchidae"sp.Skull fragments, osteodermsan indeterminate "rauisuchid" smaller than Fasolasuchus [3]
Crocodylomorpha sp.A specimen including a partial osteoderm and vertebrae fragmentsIndeterminate, possibly a "sphenosuchid" [3]
Crocodylomorpha sp.Two incomplete specimens including osteoderms, vertebrae, and other bonesa protosuchid, possibly synonymous with Hemiprotosuchus [3]

Rhynchocephalians

Rhynchocephalians of the Quebrada del Barro Formation
GenusSpeciesMaterialNotesImages
Sphenotitan [13] S. leyesinumerous specimens (~50% of all recovered fossils) [3] an eilenodontine sphenodontian
Sphenotitan skull.svg

Other reptiles

Other reptiles of the Quebrada del Barro Formation
TaxonSpeciesMaterialNotesImages
Archosauriformes sp.Maxilla, caudal vertebra, metatarsal, indeterminate limb bone (tibia?)Various indeterminate fragments likely belonging to pseudosuchians or dinosauromorphs [4]
Waluchelys W. cavitesta2 partial skeletons and carapacesan australochelyid stem-turtle [14] [3]

Synapsids

Synapsids of the Quebrada del Barro Formation
TaxonSpeciesMaterialNotesImages
Tritheledontidae sp.36 specimens, including a partial skeletonan undescribed tritheledontid cynodont. May be two taxa based on two morphotypes: "long-snout" and "short-snout". [3]

Related Research Articles

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sauropodomorpha</span> Extinct clade of dinosaurs

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<i>Leyesaurus</i> Extinct genus of dinosaurs

Leyesaurus is an extinct genus of massospondylid sauropodomorph dinosaur known from the San Juan Province, northwestern Argentina.

<i>Ignotosaurus</i> Extinct genus of reptiles

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<i>Sphenotitan</i> Extinct genus of reptiles

Sphenotitan is an extinct genus of rhynchocephalian reptile, known from the Late Triassic (Norian) Quebrada del Barro Formation of Argentina. It is the earliest known member of the herbivorous Elienodontinae, and the only one known from the Triassic. It was a large-sized sphenodontian, with an estimated skull length of over 10 centimetres (3.9 in). The skull is roughly triangular in shape, and had large upper temporal fenestrae. The region of the skull in front of the eye socket is short. The premaxillae forms beak, with a cutting edge similar to a chisel. The teeth of Sphenotitan, like other elienodontines, were large and wide, and designed for shredding vegetation, with blade-like palatal teeth on the roof of the mouth.

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Ingentia is a genus of early sauropodiform dinosaur, sometimes considered a basal sauropod, from the Late Triassic of Argentina. The type specimen of Ingentia, PVSJ 1086, was discovered in the Quebrada del Barro Formation of northwestern Argentina. It was described in 2018 by Cecilia Apaldetti, Ricardo Nestor Martínez, Ignacio Alejandro Cerda, Diego Pol and Oscar Alcober who named the type and only species Ingentia prima, meaning "first huge one", as the taxon was one of the first very large sauropodomorphs to evolve, along with its close relative Lessemsaurus. A second specimen, PVSJ 1087, was referred, containing five tail vertebrae, both ulnae and radii, a left calfbone and a right foot.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lessemsauridae</span> Extinct clade of dinosaurs

Lessemsauridae is a clade of early sauropodiform dinosaurs that lived in the Triassic and Jurassic of Argentina, South Africa and possibly Lesotho. A phylogenetic analysis performed by Apaldetti and colleagues in 2018 recovered a new clade of sauropodiforms uniting Lessemsaurus, Antetonitrus, and Ingentia which they named Lessemsauridae. It is a node-based taxon, defined as all descendants of the most recent common ancestor of Lessemsaurus sauropoides and Antetonitrus ingenipes. Depending on the definition of Sauropoda, Lessemsauridae is either one of the most basal sauropod taxa, or a sister taxon of Sauropoda. An additional member of the clade was named later in 2018, Ledumahadi. A 2021 study by Pol and colleagues also assigned the genera Kholumolumo and Meroktenos to the group.

Pachagnathus is an extinct genus of non-pterodactyloid pterosaur from the late Norian–early Rhaetian-aged Quebrada del Barro Formation of Argentina. It lived in the Late Triassic period, and is one of the only known definitive Triassic pterosaurs from the southern hemisphere. It is also one of the few known continental Triassic pterosaurs, indicating that the absence of early pterosaurs in both the southern hemisphere and terrestrial environments is likely a sampling bias, and not a true absence.

Yelaphomte is an extinct genus of non-pterodactyloid pterosaur from the late Norian–early Rhaetian-aged Quebrada del Barro Formation of Argentina. It lived in the Late Triassic period, and is one of the only known definitive Triassic pterosaurs from the southern hemisphere. It was a small and crested pterosaur, although its small size may be due to immaturity. It is also one of the few known continental Triassic pterosaurs, indicating that the absence of early pterosaurs in both the southern hemisphere and terrestrial environments is likely a sampling bias, and not a true absence.

References

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  11. Ricardo N. Martínez; Cecilia Apaldetti; Gustavo A. Correa; Diego Abelín (2016). "A Norian lagerpetid dinosauromorph from the Quebrada del Barro Formation, northwestern Argentina". Ameghiniana. 53 (1): 1–13. doi:10.5710/AMGH.21.06.2015.2894. S2CID   131613066.
  12. 1 2 Martínez, Ricardo N.; Andres, Brian; Apaldetti, Cecilia; Cerda, Ignacio A. (March 2022). "The dawn of the flying reptiles: first Triassic record in the southern hemisphere". Papers in Palaeontology. 8 (2). Bibcode:2022PPal....8E1424M. doi:10.1002/spp2.1424. ISSN   2056-2799. S2CID   247494547.
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  14. Sterli, Juliana; Martínez, Ricardo N.; Cerda, Ignacio A.; Apaldetti, Cecilia (2021). "Appearances can be deceptive: bizarre shell microanatomy and histology in a new Triassic turtle (Testudinata) from Argentina at the dawn of turtles". Papers in Palaeontology. 7 (2): 1097–1132. Bibcode:2021PPal....7.1097S. doi:10.1002/spp2.1334. ISSN   2056-2802. S2CID   225515560.

Bibliography