Bajada Colorada Formation
| Bajada Colorada Formation | |
|---|---|
| Stratigraphic range: Late Berriasian-Early Valanginian ~ | |
| Type | Geological formation |
| Unit of | Mendoza Group |
| Underlies | Agrio Formation |
| Overlies | Quintuco & Picún Leufú Formations |
| Lithology | |
| Primary | Sandstone, conglomerate |
| Other | Siltstone, claystone |
| Location | |
| Coordinates | Lua error in Module:Coordinates at line 489: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value). |
| Approximate paleocoordinates | Lua error: callParserFunction: function "#coordinates" was not found. |
| Region | Neuquén Province |
| Country | Argentina |
| Extent | Neuquén Basin |
| Type section | |
| Named by | Roll |
| Year defined | 1939 |
Bajada Colorada Formation (Argentina) | |
The Bajada Colorada Formation is a geologic formation of the southern Neuquén Province in the Neuquén Basin of northern Patagonia, Argentina. The formation belongs to the Mendoza Group and is Late Berriasian to Early Valanginian in age. The formation is renowned for preserving fossil remains of Bajadasaurus pronuspinax, a genus of dicraeosaurid dinosaurs named after the formation.
Description
[edit | edit source]The Bajada Colorada Formation, first defined by Roll in 1939, pertains to the Mendoza Group.[1] It overlies the Quintuco and Picún Leufú Formations and is overlain by the Agrio Formation. The contact with the Agrio Formation is discordant and the unconformity has been dated to 134 Ma.[2] The formation is laterally equivalent with the Mulichinco Formation.[3] The formation comprises red and greenish-brown, fine to coarse grained conglomerates and thick-bedded sandstones with well-developed bands of light brown siltstones and reddish, pinkish grey and purple-reddish claystones.[4] The formation was deposited in a fluvial environment, and the paleoenviroment resembled a braided river system with well-preserved channels and paleosols.[5]
X-ray diffraction studies of sediments belonging to the Bajada Colorada Formation have revealed the presence of smectite, chlorite, illite and kaolinite.[1]
Fossil content
[edit | edit source]The formation has provided fossils of:[6]
Color key
|
Notes Uncertain or tentative taxa are in small text; |
Dinosaurs
[edit | edit source]Ornithischians
[edit | edit source]| Ornithischians of the Bajada Colorada Formation | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Genus | Species | Location | Stratigraphic position | Material | Notes | Images |
| Ankylosauria Indet.[7] | Indeterminate | |||||
Sauropods
[edit | edit source]| Sauropods of the Bajada Colorada Formation | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Genus | Species | Location | Stratigraphic position | Material | Notes | Images |
| Bajadasaurus[8] | B. pronuspinax | A dicraeosaurid sauropod | ||||
| Leinkupal[9] | L. laticauda | A diplodocine diplodocid | ||||
| Ninjatitan[10] | N. zapatai | A titanosaurian sauropod | ||||
Theropods
[edit | edit source]| Theropods of the Bajada Colorada Formation | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Genus | Species | Location | Stratigraphic position | Material | Notes | Images |
| Abelisauridae Indet.[11] | Indeterminate | |||||
| Abelisauroidea Indet. | Indeterminate | |||||
| Deinonychosauria Indet. | Indeterminate | |||||
| Tetanurae Indet. | Indeterminate | |||||
See also
[edit | edit source]- List of dinosaur-bearing rock formations
- Baños del Flaco Formation, contemporaneous formation of the Mendoza Group in Chile
- Chon Aike Formation, contemporaneous formation of central Patagonia
References
[edit | edit source]- ^ a b Moyano Bohórquez, 2004
- ^ Leanza, 2005, p.151
- ^ Howell et al., 2005, p.4
- ^ Leanza et al., 2011, p.120
- ^ Gallina et al., 2014, p.2
- ^ Bajada Colorada locality at Fossilworks.org
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Bibliography
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