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 |
Approximate paleocoordinates | 40°48′S30°00′W / 40.8°S 30.0°W |
Region | San Juan Province |
Country | Argentina |
Extent | Marayes-El Carrizal Basin |
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]
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]
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]
Theropods of the Quebrada del Barro Formation | ||||||
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Genus | Species | Material | Notes | Images | ||
Lucianovenator [8] | L. bonoi | Several specimens including vertebrae, hip fragments, and a partial tibia | A coelophysid theropod | |||
Sauropodomorphs of the Quebrada del Barro Formation | ||||||
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Taxon | Species | Material | Notes | Images | ||
I. prima | "cervical and dorsal vertebrae, scapula" | |||||
Leyesaurus [2] | L. marayensis | A massospondylid sauropodomorph. Known from uppermost layers which may belong to a different unit of Hettangian (Early Jurassic) age. [3] | ||||
Sauropodomorpha | sp. | Complete foot and tail vertebrae | Undiagnostic sauropodomorph remains originally referred to Riojasaurus [2] [10] | |||
Non-dinosaur avemetatarsalias of the Quebrada del Barro Formation | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Taxon | Species | Material | Notes | Images | ||
Dromomeron [11] | D. gigas | A partial femur | a lagerpetid | |||
Pachagnathus | P. benitoi | Snout fragment | A raeticodactylid pterosaur [12] | |||
Pterosauria | sp. | Partial ulna | an indeterminate pterosaur [3] | |||
Yelaphomte | Y. praderioi | Snout fragment | A raeticodactylid pterosaur [12] | |||
Pseudosuchias of the Quebrada del Barro Formation | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Taxon | Species | Material | Notes | Images | ||
"Rauisuchidae" | sp. | Skull fragments, osteoderms | an indeterminate "rauisuchid" smaller than Fasolasuchus [3] | |||
Crocodylomorpha | sp. | A specimen including a partial osteoderm and vertebrae fragments | Indeterminate, possibly a "sphenosuchid" [3] | |||
Crocodylomorpha | sp. | Two incomplete specimens including osteoderms, vertebrae, and other bones | a protosuchid, possibly synonymous with Hemiprotosuchus [3] | |||
Rhynchocephalians of the Quebrada del Barro Formation | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Genus | Species | Material | Notes | Images | ||
Sphenotitan [13] | S. leyesi | numerous specimens (~50% of all recovered fossils) [3] | an eilenodontine sphenodontian | |||
Other reptiles of the Quebrada del Barro Formation | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Taxon | Species | Material | Notes | Images | ||
Archosauriformes | sp. | Maxilla, caudal vertebra, metatarsal, indeterminate limb bone (tibia?) | Various indeterminate fragments likely belonging to pseudosuchians or dinosauromorphs [4] | |||
Waluchelys | W. cavitesta | 2 partial skeletons and carapaces | an australochelyid stem-turtle [14] [3] | |||
Synapsids of the Quebrada del Barro Formation | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Taxon | Species | Material | Notes | Images | ||
Tritheledontidae | sp. | 36 specimens, including a partial skeleton | an undescribed tritheledontid cynodont. May be two taxa based on two morphotypes: "long-snout" and "short-snout". [3] | |||
Eoraptor is a genus of small, lightly built, basal sauropodomorph dinosaur. One of the earliest-known dinosaurs and one of the earliest sauropodomorphs, it lived approximately 231 to 228 million years ago, during the Late Triassic in Western Gondwana, in the region that is now northwestern Argentina. The type and only species, Eoraptor lunensis, was first described in 1993, and is known from an almost complete and well-preserved skeleton and several fragmentary ones. Eoraptor had multiple tooth shapes, which suggests that it was omnivorous. Eoraptor was 1.5 feet (0.46 m) tall and 3 feet (0.91 m) long.
Sauropodomorpha is an extinct clade of long-necked, herbivorous, saurischian dinosaurs that includes the sauropods and their ancestral relatives. Sauropods generally grew to very large sizes, had long necks and tails, were quadrupedal, and became the largest animals to ever walk the Earth. The prosauropods, which preceded the sauropods, were smaller and were often able to walk on two legs. The sauropodomorphs were the dominant terrestrial herbivores throughout much of the Mesozoic Era, from their origins in the Late Triassic until their decline and extinction at the end of the Cretaceous.
Guaibasauridae is a family of basal sauropodomorph dinosaurs, known from fossil remains of late Triassic period formations in Brazil, Argentina and India.
The Los Colorados Formation is a sedimentary rock formation of the Ischigualasto-Villa Unión Basin, found in the provinces of San Juan and La Rioja in Argentina. The formation dates back to the Norian age of the Late Triassic.
Massospondylidae is a family of early massopod dinosaurs that existed in Asia, Africa, North America, South America and Antarctica during the Late Triassic to the Early Jurassic periods. Several dinosaurs have been classified as massospondylids over the years. The largest cladistic analysis of early sauropodomorphs, which was presented by Apaldetti and colleagues in November 2011, found Adeopapposaurus, Coloradisaurus, Glacialisaurus, Massospondylus, Leyesaurus and Lufengosaurus to be massospondylids. This result supports many previous analyses that tested fewer taxa. However, this analysis found the two recently described North American massopods, Sarahsaurus and Seitaad, and the South African Ignavusaurus to nest outside Massospondylidae, as opposed to some provisional proposals. Earlier in 2011, Pradhania, a sauropodomorph from India, was tested for the first time in a large cladistic analysis and was found to be a relatively basal massospondylid. Mussaurus and Xixiposaurus may also be included within Massospondylidae.
Anchisauria is an extinct clade of sauropodomorph dinosaurs that lived from the Late Triassic to the Late Cretaceous. The name Anchisauria was first used Haekel and defined by Galton and Upchurch in the second edition of The Dinosauria. It is a node-based taxon containing the most recent common ancestor of Anchisaurus polyzelus and Melanorosaurus readi, and all its descendants. Galton and Upchurch assigned a family of dinosaurs to the Anchisauria: the Melanorosauridae. The more common prosauropods Plateosaurus and Massospondylus were placed in the sister clade Plateosauria.
Massopoda is a clade of sauropodomorph dinosaurs which lived during the Late Triassic to Late Cretaceous epochs. It was named by paleontologist Adam M. Yates of the University of the Witwatersrand in 2007. Massopoda is a stem-based taxon, defined as all animals more closely related to Saltasaurus loricatus than to Plateosaurus engelhardti.
Jachaleria was a dicynodont herbivore that lived from the Ladinian to Norian stages of the Middle to Late Triassic, from approximately 240 to 220 million years ago. Jachaleria was one of the last representatives of the dicynodonts, occurring in Argentina and Brazil. It lacked teeth, much like Stahleckeria, but was closer in size to Dinodontosaurus.
Promastodonsaurus is an extinct genus of capitosauroid temnospondyls within the family Mastodonsauridae. Fossils of the genus were found in the Ischigualasto Formation of the Ischigualasto-Villa Unión Basin in northwestern Argentina.
Adeopapposaurus is a genus of plateosaurian dinosaur from the Early Jurassic Cañón del Colorado Formation of San Juan, Argentina. It was similar to Massospondylus. Four partial skeletons with two partial skulls are known.
Seitaad is a genus of sauropodomorph dinosaur which lived during the Early Jurassic period in what is now southern Utah, United States.
Sanjuansaurus is a genus of herrerasaurid dinosaur from the Late Triassic (Carnian) Ischigualasto Formation of the Ischigualasto-Villa Unión Basin in northwestern Argentina.
Leyesaurus is an extinct genus of massospondylid sauropodomorph dinosaur known from the San Juan Province, northwestern Argentina.
Ignotosaurus is an extinct genus of silesaurid dinosauriform known from the Late Triassic (Carnian) Cancha de Bochas Member of the Ischigualasto Formation in the Ischigualasto-Villa Unión Basin in northwestern Argentina. It was therefore contemporary with early dinosaurs such as Herrerasaurus, and lived in the same place.
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.
Ixalerpeton is a genus of lagerpetid avemetatarsalian containing one species, I. polesinensis. It lived in the Late Triassic of Brazil alongside the sauropodomorph dinosaur Buriolestes.
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.
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.