The Lago Colhué Huapí Formation is a Late Cretaceous geologic formation of the Chubut Group in the Golfo San Jorge Basin in Patagonia, Argentina. The formation, named after Lake Colhué Huapí, is overlain by the Salamanca Formation of the Río Chico Group and in some areas by the Laguna Palacios Formation.[1]
| Lago Colhué Huapí Formation | |
|---|---|
| Stratigraphic range: Campanian-Maastrichtian ~ | |
| Type | Geological formation |
| Unit of | Chubut Group |
| Underlies | Laguna Palacios Formation and Río Chico Group (Salamanca Formation) |
| Overlies | Bajo Barreal Formation |
| Lithology | |
| Primary | Tuff |
| Other | Sandstone |
| Location | |
| Coordinates | 45°36′S 68°30′W / 45.6°S 68.5°W |
| Approximate paleocoordinates | 48°12′S 55°12′W / 48.2°S 55.2°W |
| Region | Central Patagonia |
| Country | Argentina |
| Extent | Golfo San Jorge Basin |
| Type section | |
| Named for | Lake Colhué Huapí |
  Lago Colhué Huapí Formation (Argentina) | |
The strata of the Lago Colhué Huapé Formation were thought to pertain to the Bajo Barreal Formation, but are now recognized as a distinct stratigraphic unit in their own right.[1][2]
Vertebrate paleofauna
editTaxa recovered from the Lago Colhué Huapí Formation include the sauropods Aeolosaurus, and Argyrosaurus, as well as the hadrosaurid Secernosaurus and the probable elasmarian ornithopod Sektensaurus.[3][4][5] The dubious possible ceratopsian Notoceratops was also present. The apex predator was an unnamed megaraptorid.[1]
Dinosaurs
editOrnithischians
edit| Ornithopods reported from the Lago Colhué Huapí Formation | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Genus | Species | Locality | Stratigraphic position | Material | Notes | Images |
| Notoceratops | N. bonarelli | Upper. | An incomplete, toothless left dentary. | A dubious specimen that belongs to a ceratopsian family. | ||
| Secernosaurus | S. koerneri | Rio Chico | Upper | A partial skeleton. | A Saurolophinae hadrosaur. | 
|
| Sektensaurus | S. sanjuanboscoi | Ephemeral island. | Upper | An associated partial skeleton. | An elasmarian ornithopod. | |
Sauropods
edit| Sauropods reported from the Lago Colhué Huapí Formation | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Genus | Species | Locality | Stratigraphic position | Material | Notes | Images |
| Aeolosaurus | A. colhuehuapensis | Ephemeral island. | Upper | A partial skeleton | A titanosaur. | 
|
| Argyrosaurus | A. superbus | La Angostura, Río Chico. | Upper | A set of limb elements (left forelimb). | A titanosaur. |  |
| Elaltitan | E. lilloi | Río Senguerr bend | Lower | A partial skeleton. | A titanosaur. | |
Reptiles
edit| Reptiles reported from the Lago Colhué Huapí Formation | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Genus | Species | Locality | Stratigraphic position | Material | Notes | Images |
| Colhuehuapisuchus | C. lunai | Ephemeral island | Upper. | A mandible (Anterior portion of mandibles). | A peirosaurid notosuchian. | |
See also
editReferences
editBibliography
edit- Casal, Gabriel A.; Allard, José O.; Foix, Nicolás (2015), "Análisis estratigráfico y paleontológico del Cretácico Superior en la Cuenca del Golfo San Jorge: Nueva unidad litoestratigráfica para el Grupo Chubut", Revista de la Asociación Geológica Argentina, 72: 77–95, retrieved 2019-02-16[permanent dead link]
- Casal, G.; Martínez, R.D.; Luna, M.; Sciutto, J. C.; Lamanna, M. (2007), "Aeolosaurus colhuehuapensis sp. nov. (Sauropoda, Titanosauria) de la Formación Bajo Barreal, Cretácico Superior de Argentina" [Aeolosaurus colhuehuapensis sp. nov. (Sauropoda, Titanosauria) from the Bajo Barreal Formation, Upper Cretaceous of Argentina], Revista Brasileira de Paleontologia, 10 (1): 53–62, doi:10.4072/rbp.2007.1.05, retrieved 2019-02-23
- Clyde, W.C.; Wilf, P.; Slingerland, Iglesias A.; Barnum, T.; Bijl, P.K. (2014), "New age constraints for the Salamanca Formation and lower Río Chico Group in the western San Jorge Basin, Patagonia, Argentina: implications for Cretaceous—Paleogene extinction recovery and land mammal age correlations", Geological Society of America Bulletin, 126 (3–4): 289–306, Bibcode:2014GSAB..126..289C, doi:10.1130/B30915.1, hdl:11336/80135, retrieved 2019-02-23
- Cortés, José María (1986), Estratigrafía y tectónica de la región central de la Provincia de Chubut, República Argentina (PhD thesis) (PDF), Universidad de Buenos Aires, pp. 1–242, retrieved 2019-02-16
- Mannion, P.D.; Otero, A. (2012), "A reappraisal of the Late Cretaceous Argentinean sauropod dinosaur Argyrosaurus superbus, with a description of a new titanosaur genus", Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, 32 (3): 614–638, doi:10.1080/02724634.2012.660898, hdl:11336/197194, retrieved 2019-02-23
- Martínez, R.D.F.; Lamanna, M.C.; Novas, F.E.; Ridgely, R.C.; Casal, G.A.; Martínez, J.E. (2016), "A Basal Lithostrotian Titanosaur (Dinosauria: Sauropoda) with a Complete Skull: Implications for the Evolution and Paleobiology of Titanosauria", PLoS ONE, 11 (4): e0151661, Bibcode:2016PLoSO..1151661M, doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0151661, PMC 4846048, PMID 27115989
- 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