Earth:Lago Colhué Huapí Formation

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Lago Colhué Huapí Formation
Stratigraphic range: Campanian-Maastrichtian
~80–66 Ma
Template:Period fossil range
TypeGeological formation
Unit ofChubut Group
UnderliesLaguna Palacios Formation and Río Chico Group (Salamanca Formation)
OverliesBajo Barreal Formation
Lithology
PrimaryTuff
OtherSandstone
Location
Coordinates [ ⚑ ] : 45°36′S 68°30′W / 45.6°S 68.5°W / -45.6; -68.5
Paleocoordinates [ ⚑ ] 48°12′S 55°12′W / 48.2°S 55.2°W / -48.2; -55.2
RegionCentral Patagonia
CountryArgentina
ExtentGolfo San Jorge Basin
Type section
Named forLake Colhué Huapí
Lago Colhué Huapí Formation is located in Argentina
Lago Colhué Huapí Formation
Lago Colhué Huapí Formation (Argentina)

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]

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] The upper part of the Lago Colhué Huapí Formation has been dated to the upper Maastrichtian age of the late Cretaceous period.[3][4] A basalt flow in the formation has been dated to 67.31 ± 0.55 million years ago, reinforcing the Late Maastrichtian age.[5]

Vertebrate paleofauna

Taxa 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. The dubious ornithischian Notoceratops was also present.[6][7][8][1]

Dinosaurs

Color key
Taxon Reclassified taxon Taxon falsely reported as present Dubious taxon or junior synonym Ichnotaxon Ootaxon Morphotaxon
Notes
Uncertain or tentative taxa are in small text; crossed out taxa are discredited.

Ornithischians

Ornithopods from the Lago Colhué Huapí Formation
Genus Species Locality Stratigraphic position Material Notes Images
Notoceratops N. bonarellii Upper An incomplete, toothless left dentary A dubious genasaurian ornithischian[9]
Secernosaurus
Secernosaurus S. koerneri Rio Chico Upper A partial skeleton A saurolophine hadrosaur
Sektensaurus S. sanjuanboscoi An ephemeral island Upper An associated partial skeleton An elasmarian ornithopod

Sauropods

Sauropods from the Lago Colhué Huapí Formation
Genus Species Locality Stratigraphic position Material Notes Images
Aeolosaurus A. colhuehuapensis An ephemeral island Upper A partial skeleton A titanosaur
Aeolosaurus
Argyrosaurus
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
Lithostrotia indet.[10] Indeterminate Middle A partial skeleton A titanosaur

Theropods

Theropods from the Lago Colhué Huapí Formation
Genus Species Locality Stratigraphic position Material Notes Images
Joaquinraptor[11] J. casali Valle Joaquín Upper A partial skeleton including skull bones, vertebrae, the pectoral girdle, and forelimb and hindlimb bones A megaraptorid theropod
Joaquinraptor
Theropoda indet.[12] Indeterminate An ephemeral island, Mocha Peninsula Upper A manual ungual (hand claw) and possible metatarsal III A possible megaraptoran theropod

Other reptiles

Reptiles from the Lago Colhué Huapí Formation
Genus Species Locality Stratigraphic position Material Notes Images
Colhuehuapisuchus C. lunai An ephemeral island Upper. A mandible (Anterior portion of mandibles) A peirosaurid notosuchian

Fish

Fishes from the Lago Colhué Huapí Formation
Genus Species Locality Stratigraphic position Material Notes Images
Metaceratodus[13] M. kaopen Upper A ceratodontid lungfish


Plants

Plants of the Lago Colhué Huapí Formation
Genus Species Location Stratigraphic position Material Notes Images
Azolla[14] A. colhuehuapensis An aquatic fern
Spinizonocolpites[15] S. riochiquensis A palm tree

See also

  • List of dinosaur-bearing rock formations
  • List of stratigraphic units with few dinosaur genera

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 Casal, Allard & Foix 2015.
  2. Clyde et al. 2014.
  3. Vallati, De Sosa Tomas & Casal 2020.
  4. Vallati, Patricia; Casal, Gabriel; Foix, Nicolás; Allard, José; Tomas, Andrea De Sosa; Calo, Marcos (August 2016). "First Report of a Maastrichtian Palynoflora from the Golfo San Jorge Basin, Central Patagonia, Argentina" (in en). Ameghiniana 53 (4): 495–505. doi:10.5710/AMGH.28.12.2015.2948. ISSN 0002-7014. 
  5. Clyde, William (2014). "New age constraints for the Salamanca Formation and lower Rio Chico Group in the western San Jorge Basin, Patagonia, Argentina: Implications for Cretaceous-Paleogene extinction recovery and land mammal age correlations". https://www.researchgate.net/publication/263033543_New_age_constraints_for_the_Salamanca_Formation_and_lower_Rio_Chico_Group_in_the_western_San_Jorge_Basin_Patagonia_Argentina_Implications_for_Cretaceous-Paleogene_extinction_recovery_and_land_mammal_a. 
  6. Martínez et al. 2016.
  7. Casal 2007.
  8. Mannion & Otero 2012.
  9. Fonseca, A.O.; Reid, I.J.; Venner, A.; Duncan, R.J.; Garcia, M.S.; Müller, R.T. (2024). "A comprehensive phylogenetic analysis on early ornithischian evolution". Journal of Systematic Palaeontology 22 (1). doi:10.1080/14772019.2024.2346577. Bibcode2024JSPal..2246577F. 
  10. Ibiricu, Lucio M.; Casal, Gabriel A.; Martínez, Rubén D.; Luna, Marcelo; Svoboda, Ezequiel González; Cerda, Ignacio A. (May 2017). "New materials of lithostrotian titanosaurs (Dinosauria: Sauropoda) from the Upper Cretaceous of central Patagonia" (in en). Cretaceous Research 73: 25–39. doi:10.1016/j.cretres.2016.12.015. 
  11. Ibiricu, Lucio M.; Lamanna, Matthew C.; Alvarez, Bruno N.; Cerda, Ignacio A.; Caglianone, Julieta L.; Cardozo, Noelia V.; Luna, Marcelo; Martínez, Rubén D. (2025). "Latest Cretaceous megaraptorid theropod dinosaur sheds light on megaraptoran evolution and palaeobiology". Nature Communications 16. doi:10.1038/s41467-025-63793-5. 
  12. Casal, Gabriel A.; Martínez, Rubén D.; Luna, Marcelo; Ibiricu, Lucio M. (May 7, 2016). "Ordenamiento y caracterización faunística del Cretácico Superior del Grupo Chubut, Cuenca del Golfo San Jorge, Argentina". Revista Brasileira de Paleontologia 19 (1): 53–70. doi:10.4072/rbp.2016.1.05. http://www.sbpbrasil.org/assets/uploads/files/rbp19-1/05_Casal%20et%20al_pg53a70_wb.pdf. 
  13. Casal, G. A.; Panzeri, K. M.; Alvarez, B. N.; Cardozo, N. V.; Caglianone, J. L.; Luna, M.; Ibiricu, L. M. (2025). "First record of a lungfish (Sarcopterygii: Dipnoi) in the Upper Cretaceous of the Chubut Group, Golfo San Jorge Basin, Argentina. Paleoenvironmental and paleoclimatic considerations". Cretaceous Research 176: 106192. doi:10.1016/j.cretres.2025.106192. Bibcode2025CrRes.17606192C. 
  14. Patricia Vallati; Andrea De Sosa Tomas; Gabriel Casal; Marcos Calo (2017). "Salviniales from the Late Cretaceous of the Golfo San Jorge Basin". Cretaceous Research 74: 45–55. doi:10.1016/j.cretres.2017.02.004. Bibcode2017CrRes..74...45V. https://zenodo.org/record/895369. 
  15. Patricia Vallati; Andrea De Sosa Tomas; Gabriel Casal (2020). "A Maastrichtian terrestrial palaeoenvironment close to the K/Pg boundary in the Golfo San Jorge basin, Patagonia, Argentina". Journal of South American Earth Sciences 97. doi:10.1016/j.jsames.2019.102401. Bibcode2020JSAES..9702401V. 

Bibliography

  • Casal, Gabriel A.; Allard, José O.; Foix, Nicolás (March 2015). "Análisis estratigráfico y paleontológico del cretácico superior en la cuenca del golfo San Jorge: nueva unidad litoestratigráfica para el grupo Chubut" (in es). Revista de la Asociación Geológica Argentina 72 (1): 77–95. https://www.scielo.org.ar/scielo.php?script=sci_abstract&pid=S0004-48222015000100006. 
  • Casal, Gabriel (30 April 2007). "Aeolosaurus colhuehuapensis sp. nov. (Sauropoda, Titanosauria) de la Formación Bajo Barreal, Cretácico superior de Argentina" (in es). Revista Brasileira de Paleontologia 10 (1): 53–62. doi:10.4072/rbp.2007.1.05. Bibcode2007RvBrP..10...53C. 
  • 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, doi:10.1130/B30915.1, Bibcode2014GSAB..126..289C 
  • Cortés, José María (1986). Estratigrafía y tectónica de la región central de la Provincia de Chubut, República Argentina [Stratigraphy and tectonics of the central region of Chubut Province, Argentina] (Thesis) (in español). Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. hdl:20.500.12110/tesis_n1975_Cortes.
  • Ibiricu, Lucio M.; Casal, Gabriel A.; Alvarez, Bruno N.; De Sosa Tomas, Andrea; Lamanna, Matthew C.; Cruzado-Caballero, Penelope (October 2021). "New hadrosaurid (Dinosauria: Ornithopoda) fossils from the uppermost Cretaceous of central Patagonia and the influence of paleoenvironment on South American hadrosaur distribution". Journal of South American Earth Sciences 110. doi:10.1016/j.jsames.2021.103369. Bibcode2021JSAES.11003369I. 
  • 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, Bibcode2012JVPal..32..614M 
  • 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), doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0151661, PMID 27115989, Bibcode2016PLoSO..1151661M 
  • Weishampel, David B.; Dodson, Peter; Osmólska, Halszka (2004), The Dinosauria (2nd ed.), Berkeley: University of California Press, pp. 1–880, ISBN 0-520-24209-2, https://books.google.com/books?id=vtZFDb_iw40C, retrieved 2019-02-21 
  • Vallati, Patricia; De Sosa Tomas, Andrea; Casal, Gabriel (January 2020). "A Maastrichtian terrestrial palaeoenvironment close to the K/Pg boundary in the Golfo San Jorge basin, Patagonia, Argentina". Journal of South American Earth Sciences 97. doi:10.1016/j.jsames.2019.102401. Bibcode2020JSAES..9702401V.