NEW VERTEBRATE TRACKS FROM THE NEOGENE RÍO NEGRO FORMATION (RÍO NEGRO PROVINCE, ARGENTINA)

CITTON, P.; CARATELLI, M.; CÓNSOLE GONELLA, C.; DE VALAIS, S.; MONTES, R. M.; ARCHUBY, F. M.; DÍAZ-MARTÍNEZ, I.

AMEGHINIANA

ASOCIACION PALEONTOLOGICA ARGENTINA

Lugar: Buenos Aires; Año: 2022

0002-7014

New tetrapod footprints were recently 36 found close to Pozo Salado, on the37 Atlantic shoreline west of Punta Mejillón area (Río Negro Province, Argentina).38 Footprints are preserved on the top-surface of a fine-grained sandstone included in a39 stratigraphic section belonging to the Neogene Río Negro Formation. The tracksite40 displays abundant footprints but relatively low ichno-diversity. Both footprint41 morphologies and extra-morphologies suggest that the surface and subsurface remained42 compliant to producers of different size-classes during a relatively long time of43 exposure and trampling. Footprints sufficiently detailed to allow an ichnotaxonomic44 allocation were classified as Gruipeda maxima and Gruipeda cf. maxima, cf.45 Porcellusignum isp., and indeterminate Eutardigrada tracks, related to46 gruiform/ciconiiform birds, hydrochoerid rodents and ground sloths, respectively. The47 new finding, more than 100 km SW of the typical track-bearing localities of the Atlantic48 coast, enriches the vertebrate track record from the Río Negro Formation and adds a49 further, not yet reported, ichnospecies.