Bajada Colorada Formation
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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
The Bajada Colorada Formation, first defined by Roll in 1939, pertains to the Mendoza Group. 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. The formation is laterally equivalent with the Mulichinco Formation. 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. The formation was deposited in a fluvial environment, and the paleoenviroment resembled a braided river system with well-preserved channels and paleosols.
X-ray diffraction studies of sediments belonging to the Bajada Colorada Formation have revealed the presence of smectite, chlorite, illite and kaolinite.
Fossil content
The formation has provided fossils of:
| 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. | |||||
| Taxon | Reclassified taxon | Taxon falsely reported as present | Dubious taxon or junior synonym | Ichnotaxon | Ootaxon | Morphotaxon |
Dinosaurs
Ornithischians
| Ornithischians of the Bajada Colorada Formation | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Genus | Species | Location | Stratigraphic position | Material | Notes | Images |
| Ankylosauria Indet. | Indeterminate | |||||
| Stegosauria Indet. | Indeterminate |
Sauropods
| Sauropods of the Bajada Colorada Formation | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Genus | Species | Location | Stratigraphic position | Material | Notes | Images |
| Bajadasaurus | B. pronuspinax | A dicraeosaurid sauropod | ||||
| Leinkupal | L. laticauda | A diplodocine diplodocid | ||||
| Ninjatitan | N. zapatai | A titanosaurian sauropod |
Theropods
| Theropods of the Bajada Colorada Formation | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Genus | Species | Location | Stratigraphic position | Material | Notes | Images |
| Abelisauridae Indet. | Indeterminate | |||||
| Abelisauroidea Indet. | Indeterminate | |||||
| Deinonychosauria Indet. | Indeterminate | |||||
| Tetanurae Indet. | Indeterminate |
See also
- 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
Bibliography
- Gallina, Pablo A.; Apesteguía, Sebastián; Haluza, Alejandro; Canale, Juan I. (2014), "A Diplodocid Sauropod Survivor from the Early Cretaceous of South America", PLoS ONE, 9 (5) e97128, Bibcode:, doi:, hdl:, PMC , PMID
- Howell, John A.; Schwartz, Ernesto; Spalletti, Luis A.; Veiga, Gonzalo D. (2005), , Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 252 (1): 1–14, Bibcode:, doi:, hdl:
- Leanza, Héctor A.; Sattler, Federico; Martínez, Ricardo S.; Carbone, Osvaldo (2011), , XVIII Congreso Geológico Argentino, pp. 113–129
- Leanza, Héctor A (2005), , Anales de la Academia Nacional de Ciencias Exactas, Físicas y Naturales, 57: 147–155
- Moyano Bohórquez, Fernando (2004), , Universidad Nacional de La Plata, pp. 1–250