Cerro Fortaleza Formation
| 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′S 72°06′W / 49.9°S 72.1°W |
| Approximate paleocoordinates | 51°54′S 61°48′W / 51.9°S 61.8°W |
| Region | Santa Cruz Province, southern Patagonia |
| Country | Argentina |
| Extent | Austral Basin |
Cerro Fortaleza Formation (Argentina) | |
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.
Description
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 and Maastrichtian in age, respectively,[4][3] making the Cerro Fortaleza Formation aged between them.
Paleobiota
The giant titanosaurs Puertasaurus and Dreadnoughtus, the megaraptoran Orkoraptor, the berthasaurid Austrocheirus isasii, and the ornithopod Talenkauen have been recovered from the formation alongside turtles and crocodiles.[5][6][7]
Dinosaurs
Color key
|
Notes Uncertain or tentative taxa are in small text; |
Ornithischians
| Ornithischians of the Cerro Fortaleza Formation | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Taxa | Species | Locality | Stratigraphic unit | Material | Notes | Images |
| Ankylosauria | indet. | Small-sized isolated osteoderms. | ||||
| Iguanodontoidea | indet. | One incomplete maxillary tooth crown. | ||||
| Ornithopoda | indet. | Two isolated caudal centra. | ||||
| Talenkauen | T. santacrucensis | Corro Los Hornos near Lake Viedma. | Upper | A partial articulated skeleton with exception of the rear part of the skull, the tail, and the hands. | An elasmarian ornithopod. | |
Sauropods
| Sauropods of the Cerro Fortaleza Formation | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Taxa | Species | Locality | Stratigraphic unit | Material | Notes | Images |
| Clasmodosaurus | C. spatula | Lago Viedma | Two incomplete teeth. | A titanosaur | ||
| Indeterminate | 32 isolated teeth. | |||||
| Dreadnoughtus | D. schrani | Rio La Leona Valley, | Upper | Four incomplete proximal caudals and incomplete left astragalus. | A titanosaur. | |
| Puertasaurus | P. reuili | Cerros Los Hornos, La Leona. | Upper | A holotype based on four disarticulated vertebrae, specifically one cervical, one dorsal, and two caudal vertebrae. | A titanosaur. | |
Theropods
| Theropods of the Cerro Fortaleza Formation | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Taxa | Species | Locality | Stratigraphic unit | Material | Notes | Images |
| Abelisauridae | indet. | An incomplete ziphodont tooth. | ||||
| Austrocheirus | A. isasii | Hoyada Arroyo Seco. | Upper | An incomplete right ulna | An ceratosaurian theropod. | |
| Orkoraptor | O. burkei | Cerro Los Hornos. | Upper | Several isolated teeth, including two anteriormost, probably premaxillary teeth, left manual phalanx I-1, right, nearly complete fibula, and right ungual. | A megaraptoran | |
Fish
| Fish of the Cerro Fortaleza Formation | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Taxa | Species | Locality | Stratigraphic unit | Material | Notes | Images |
| Atlantoceratodus | A. iheringi | Cerro Los Hornos and Hoyada Arroyo Seco. | Four lower tooth plates, one lower tooth plate attached to a partial mandibular bone and four upper tooth plates. | A lungfish. | ||
See also
References
- ^ Sickmann, Zachary T.; Schwartz, Theresa M.; Graham, Stephan A. (2018). "Refining stratigraphy and tectonic history using detrital zircon maximum depositional age: An example from the Cerro Fortaleza Formation, Austral Basin, southern Patagonia". Basin Research. 30 (4): 708–729. Bibcode:2018BasR...30..708S. doi:10.1111/bre.12272.
- ^ Lacovara, Kenneth J.; Lamanna, Matthew C.; Ibiricu, Lucio M.; Poole, Jason C.; Schroeter, Elena R.; Ullmann, Paul V.; Voegele, Kristyn K.; Boles, Zachary M.; Carter, Aja M.; Fowler, Emma K.; Egerton, Victoria M.; Moyer, Alison E.; Coughenour, Christopher L.; Schein, Jason P.; Harris, Jerald D.; Martínez, Rubén D.; Novas, Fernando E. (4 September 2014). "A Gigantic, Exceptionally Complete Titanosaurian Sauropod Dinosaur from Southern Patagonia, Argentina". Scientific Reports. 4 (1): 6196. Bibcode:2014NatSR...4.6196L. doi:10.1038/srep06196. PMC 5385829. PMID 25186586.
- ^ a b Varela et al. 2012.
- ^ a b Marenssi, Casadio & Santillana 2003, p. 406.
- ^ Novas, Fernando E.; Ezcurra, Martín D.; Lecuona, Agustina (June 2008). "Orkoraptor burkei nov. gen. et sp., a large theropod from the Maastrichtian Pari Aike Formation, Southern Patagonia, Argentina". Cretaceous Research. 29 (3): 468–480. Bibcode:2008CrRes..29..468N. doi:10.1016/j.cretres.2008.01.001.
- ^ Agnolín, Federico L.; Álvarez Herrera, Gerardo; Rolando, Mauro Aranciaga; Motta, Matías; Rozadilla, Sebastián; Verdiquio, Lucía; D'Angelo, Julia S.; Moyano-Paz, Damián; Varela, Augusto N.; Sterli, Juliana; Bogan, Sergio; Miner, Santiago; Moreno Rodríguez, Ana; Muñoz, Gonzalo; Isasi, Marcelo P.; Novas, Fernando E. (February 2024). "Fossil vertebrates from the Cerro Fortaleza Formation (Upper Cretaceous), Santa Cruz Province, Argentina". Cretaceous Research. 154: 105735. Bibcode:2024CrRes.15405735A. doi:10.1016/j.cretres.2023.105735.
- ^ Paulina-Carabajal, Ariana; Barrios, Francisco T.; Méndez, Ariel H.; Cerda, Ignacio A.; Lee, Yuong-Nam (8 September 2021). "A Late Cretaceous dinosaur and crocodyliform faunal association–based on isolate teeth and osteoderms–at Cerro Fortaleza Formation (Campanian-Maastrichtian) type locality, Santa Cruz, Argentina". PLOS ONE. 16 (9): e0256233. Bibcode:2021PLoSO..1656233P. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0256233. PMC 8425559. PMID 34495977.
Bibliography
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Cerro Fortaleza Formation.
- Marenssi, Sergio A.; Casadio, Silvio; Santillana, Sergio N. (30 September 2003). "Estratigrafía y sedimentología de las unidades del Cretácico superior-Paleógeno aflorantes en la margen sureste del lago Viedma, provincia de Santa Cruz, Argentina" [Stratigraphy and sedimentology of the Upper Cretaceous-Paleogene units outcropping on the southeastern margin of Lake Viedma, Santa Cruz Province, Argentina]. Revista de la Asociación Geológica Argentina (in Spanish). 58 (3): 403–416.
- Varela, Augusto N.; Poiré, Daniel G.; Martin, Thomas; Gerdes, Axel; Goin, Francisco J.; Gelfo, Javier N.; Hoffmann, Simone (27 September 2012). "U-Pb zircon constraints on the age of the Cretaceous Mata Amarilla Formation, Southern Patagonia, Argentina: its relationship with the evolution of the Austral Basin" (PDF). Andean Geology. 39 (3). doi:10.5027/andgeoV39n3-a01.