:Candeleros Formation
{{Short description|Geologic formation in Argentina}}
{{Infobox rockunit
| name = Candeleros Formation
| image = Fm Candeleros cerro Vagon.jpg
| caption = Candeleros Formation near Cerro El Vagon, Neuquen, Argentina
| type = Geological formation
| period = Cenomanian
| age = early Cenomanian
~{{fossil range|99|97}}
| prilithology = Eolian sandstone
| otherlithology = Conglomerate, siltstone, paleosol
| namedfor = Candeleros Hill
| namedby = Wichmann
| year_ts = 1929
| region = Mendoza, Neuquén & Río Negro Provinces
| country = Argentina
| coordinates = {{coord|39.4|S|69.2|W|display=inline,title}}
| paleocoordinates = {{coord|46.5|S|45.5|W|display=inline}}
| unitof = Neuquén Group
Río Limay Subgroup
| subunits =
| underlies = Huincul Formation
| overlies = Lohan Cura Formation
| thickness = {{convert|300|m|ft|abbr=on}}
| extent = Neuquén Basin
| area =
| map = {{Location map+ | Argentina
| relief = 1
| width = 250
| float = center
| places =
{{Location map~ | Argentina
| lat_deg = -39.4
| lon_deg = -69.2
| mark = Lightgreen pog.svg
| marksize = 12
}}
}}
| map_caption =
}}
The Candeleros Formation is a geologic formation that crops out in the Río Negro, Neuquén, and Mendoza provinces of northern Patagonia, Argentina. It is the oldest formation in the Neuquén Group and belongs to the Rio Limay Subgroup. Formerly that subgroup was treated as a formation, and the Candeleros Formation was known as the Candeleros Member.Sánchez et al., 2006
Description
The type locality of the Candeleros Formation is Candeleros Hill in Neuquén Province, after which the formation was named by Wichmann in 1929.Wichmann, 1929 This formation unconformably overlies the Lohan Cura Formation, and it is fused with the Huincul Formation, also a unit of the Neuquén Group. The sediments of the latter are of lighter greenish and yellow colors and the fused boundary between the Candeleros and Huincul formations is easily recognizable.Leanza et al., 2004
The Candeleros Formation is almost {{convert|300|m|ft}} thick in some sections. Overall, the formation represents a part of the ancient Kokorkom desert with braided river system, made up mostly of sandstones and conglomerates. There are also isolated sections that represent eolian (wind-blown) deposition, as well as siltstones deposited under swamp conditions. Paleosols (soil deposits) are common in some sections as well.
Fossil content
File:Hunting season in Argentina.jpg of Candeleros Formation]]
The Candeleros Formation has a very diverse fossil fauna, including fish, frogs, mammals, rhynchocephalians, snakes, turtles, notosuchians, pterosaurs, and abundant dinosaurs including rebbachisaurid and titanosaurian sauropods and diverse theropods, and the enigmatic armored Jakapil.
Ichnofossils found in the formation include those assigned to Sousaichnum monettae, Limayichnus major, Bressaniichnus patagonicus, Deferraiichnum mapuchense, and Picunichnus benedettoi.Leonardi, 1994, p. 79
{{paleobiota-key-compact}}
= Fish =
= Amphibians =
| class="wikitable sortable" align="center" width="75%" | ||||||
| Taxa | Species | Locality | Member | Material | Notes | Images |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AvitabatrachusBaez, Ana & Trueb, Linda & Calvo, Jorge. (2000). The earliest known pipoid frog from South America: A new genus from the Middle Cretaceous of Argentina. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 20. 490-500. 10.1671/0272-4634(2000)020%5B0490:TEKPFF%5D2.0.CO;2.
| A. uliana | El Gigante |Lower | Fragmentary skull and postcranial skeleton | A pipimorph frog | |
= Dinosaurs =
== Ornithischians ==
== Saurischians ==
; Sauropods
; Theropods
| class="wikitable sortable" align="center" width="75%" | ||||||
| Taxa | Species | Locality | Member | Material | Notes | Images |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| style="background:#FEF6E4;"''
| A. astigerrae | | | A footprint | | | ||||||
| Alnashetri
| A. cerropoliciensis | La Buitrera |Upper | A fragmentary skeleton including leg and foot bones | An alvarezsauroid | ||||||
| Bicentenaria
| B. argentina | Ezequiel Ramos Mexia Reservoir |Upper | Much of a skeleton | A coelurosaur | ||||||
| Buitreraptor
| B. gonzalezorum | La Buitrera |Upper | Several partial skeletons | A dromaeosaurid | ||||||
| Ekrixinatosaurus
| E. novasi | Bajo del Añelo | Upper | A partial skeleton | An abelisaurid | ||||||
| Giganotosaurus
| G. carolinii | Los Candeleros and Villa El Chocón | Upper/Lower | A partial skull and a disarticulated postcranial skeleton |
= Pterosaurs =
| class="wikitable sortable" align="center" width="75%" | ||||||
| Taxa | Species | Locality | Member | Material | Notes | Images |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Azhdarchidae{{Cite journal |last1=Agnolin |first1=Federico |last2=Rozadilla |first2=Sebastián |last3=Juárez-Valieri |first3=Rubén |last4=Meso |first4=Jorge |date=2023-10-25 |title=Oldest azhdarchid (Pterosauria) record from South America |url=http://revista.macn.gob.ar/ojs/index.php/RevMus/article/view/825 |journal=Revista del Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales |series=Nueva serie |language=es |volume=25 |issue=2 |pages=309–314 |issn=1853-0400}}
| Indeterminate | Ezequiel Ramos Mexía Reservoir | Upper | A partial cervical vertebra | An azhdarchid | |
= Other reptiles =
| class="wikitable sortable" align="center" width="75%" | ||||||
| Taxa | Species | Locality | Member | Material | Notes | Images |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| rowspan="3" |Araripesuchus
|A. buitreraensis | La Buitrera, Cerro Policía and El Pueblito. |Upper | Multiple skull specimens. | rowspan="3" | A small notosuchian crocodyliform | rowspan = "3"| File:Araripesuchus patagonicus SEND.jpg | ||||||
| A manzanensis
| |Upper | A partial skull and lower jaw | ||||||
| A. patagonicus
| El Chocón. |Lower | An anterior half of the skull with an articulated mandible, lacking the most anterior portion of the rostrum and also preserves part of the postcranium | ||||||
| Najash
| N. rionegrina | |Upper | | A basal snake | ||||||
| Priosphenodon
| P. avelasi | |Upper | | An eilenodontine rhynchocephalian | ||||||
| Tika
| T. giacchinoi | |Upper | | A sphenodontine rhynchocephalian | |
= Mammals =
| class="wikitable sortable" align="center" width="75%" | ||||||
| Taxa | Species | Locality | Member | Material | Notes | Images |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cronopio
| C. dentiacutus | La Buitrera | Upper | Skull bones and teeth | A small meridiolestidan mammal |
= Turtles =
See also
- List of fossil sites
- Bajo Barreal Formation, contemporaneous fossiliferous formation of the San Jorge Basin
- Cerro Fortaleza Formation, contemporaneous fossiliferous formation of the Austral Basin
- Alcântara Formation, contemporaneous fossiliferous formation of the São Luís-Grajaú Basin, Brazil
- List of dinosaur bearing rock formations
References
{{Reflist|3}}
{{commons category|Candeleros Formation}}
= Bibliography =
- {{cite journal |last1=Otero |first1=A. |last2=Carballido |first2=J. L. |last3=Salgado |first3=L. |last4=Canudo |first4=J. I. |last5=Garrido |first5=A. C. |year=2021 |title=Report of a giant titanosaur sauropod from the Upper Cretaceous of Neuquén Province, Argentina |journal=Cretaceous Research |volume=122 |pages=Article 104754|doi=10.1016/j.cretres.2021.104754 |bibcode=2021CrRes.12204754O |s2cid=233582290 }} {{doi|10.1016/j.cretres.2021.104754}}
- {{cite journal |last1=Canale |first1=Juan I. |last2=Cerda |first2=Ignacio |author3-link=Fernando Novas |last3=Novas |first3=Fernando E. |last4=Haluza |first4=Alejandro |year=2016 |title=Small-sized abelisaurid (Theropoda: Ceratosauria) remains from the Upper Cretaceous of northwest Patagonia, Argentina | journal=Cretaceous Research |volume=62 |pages=18–28|doi=10.1016/j.cretres.2016.02.001 |bibcode=2016CrRes..62...18C |hdl=11336/59930 |hdl-access=free }} {{doi|10.1016/j.cretres.2016.02.001}}
- {{cite journal |last1=Sánchez |first1=María Lidia |last2=Heredia |first2=Susana |last3=Calvo |first3=Jorge O. |year=2006 |title=Paleoambientes sedimentarios del Cretácico Superior de la Formación Plottier (Grupo Neuquén), Departamento Confluencia, Neuquén (Sedimentary paleoenvironments in the Upper Cretaceous Plottier Formation (Neuquen Group), Confluencia, Neuquén) |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/262615949 |journal=Revista de la Asociación Geológica Argentina |volume=61 |pages=3–18 |accessdate=2019-02-16}}
- {{cite journal |last1=Leanza |first1=H.A. |last2=Apesteguia |first2=S. |author3-link=Fernando Novas |last3=Novas |first3=F.E. |last4=De la Fuente |first4=M.S. |year=2004 |title=Cretaceous terrestrial beds from the Neuquén Basin (Argentina) and their tetrapod assemblages |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/257047651 |journal=Cretaceous Research |volume=25 |issue=1 |pages=61–87 |doi=10.1016/j.cretres.2003.10.005 |bibcode=2004CrRes..25...61L |accessdate=2019-02-16}}
- {{cite web |last=Leonardi |first=Giuseppe |year=1994 |title=Annotated Atlas of South America Tetrapod Footprints (Devonian to Holocene) with an appendix on Mexico and Central America |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/309643073 |publisher=Ministerio de Minas e Energia - Companhia de Pesquisa de Recursos Minerais, Geological Service of Brazil |pages=1–248 |accessdate=2019-03-25}}
- {{cite journal |last=Wichmann |first=R |year=1929 |title=Los Estratos con Dinosaurios y su techo en el este del Territorio del Neuquén ("The dinosaur-bearing strata and their upper limit in eastern Neuquén Territory") |journal=Dirección General de Geología, Minería e Hidrogeología Publicación |volume=32 |pages=1–9}}