INVESTIGADORES
OTERO Alejandro
congresos y reuniones científicas
Título:
The sauropod fauna of Bajada Colorada Formation (Berriasian-Valanginian) in the early lower Cretaceous of Neuquén province, Argentina
Autor/es:
PABLO A. GALLINA; SEBASTIÁN APESTEGUÍA; ALEJANDRO HALUZA; JUAN IGNACIO CANALE; ALEJANDRO OTERO
Lugar:
El Chocón
Reunión:
Jornada; 28 Jornadas Argentinas de Paleontología de Vertebrados; 2014
Resumen:
The terrestrial tetrapod record of the early lower Cretaceous (pre-Barremian) of South America is quite scarce, biased by both a reduced area of continental outcrops (restricted to the southeastern of the Neuquéen basin) and a systematic exploration onin it. Successive fieldworks carried out since 2010 in Bajada Colorada locality, not far from Piedra del Aguila town in Neuquéen pProvince, Argentina, allowed the recognition of a rich dinosaur fauna that include sauropod and theropod representatives. The sauropods include two well-represented skeletal remains of diplodocid and dicraeosaurid specimens and several teeth preliminary assigned to basal diplodocoid and basal macronarians. The diplodocid remains include three cervical, one dorsal and four caudal vertebrae and represent the first Diplodocidae in South America as well as the youngest record of the clade anywhere. On the other hand, the dicraeosaurid remains include not only vertebral element but several cranial remains, disarticulated but in closely association. The latter includecomprise the partially preserved skull roof and braincase, left postorbital, left squamosal, left jugal, left quadratojugal, the edentulous part of the left maxilla and the nearly complete lower jaw with NUMERO teeth in position. All these new record will substantially contribute to a better understanding of the early evolution and diversification of the cretaceous dinosaur faunas, and makes available aallowing comparisons with other lower cretaceous faunal association assemblages from other sides of the worldcontinents. In addition, these new findings augment the list of sauropod clades in our countrysouthern South America, thus turning thise area into an extremely rich portrait of sauropod evolution.