New evidence of saurischian dinosaurs from the upper member of the Huincul Formation (Cenomanian) of Neuquén Province, Patagonia, Argentina

BELLARDINI, FLAVIO; FILIPPI, LEONARDO

Puerto Madryn

Encuentro; Reunión de Comunicaciones de la Asociación Paleontológica Argentina (RCAPA 2018); 2018

APA

In the central Neuquén Basin, the Huincul Formation outcrops are widely extended in the south and north-west of Neuquén Dorsal, and are characterized by fluvial successions of mildly cemented yellowish and reddish sandstones. The vertebrate fossil record from the lower section of the Huincul Formation is very abundant, especially considering the saurischian dinosaur, being formalized different taxa of theropod (Mapusaurus, Taurovenator, Aoniraptor, Skorpiovenator, Ilokelesia, Gualicho) and sauropod (Choconsaurus, Argentinosaurus, Cathartesaura, Limaysaurus, and rebbachisaurid MMCH-Pv-49 from «Cañadon de las Campanas»). However, from the upper section dinosaur specimens are not known and the fossil record is very poor, being limited to isolated and indeterminate fragments. In this contribution we present several new dinosaur findings that come from coarse purple-reddish sandstones of the upper member of the Huincul Formation outcrops in the El Orejano locality, in the central Neuquén Province. The materials were founded isolated and are composed by: an high neumatized partial dorsal neural arch tentatively referred to Rebbachisauridae (MAU-Pv-EO-633), an incomplete rebbachisaurid posterior dorsal vertebra (MAU-Pv-EO-634) with a tall and ?petal-shaped? neural spine, an incomplete carcharodontosaurid manual ungueal phalanx (MAU-Pv-EO-635), and a proximal portion of an rigth? abelisaurid tibia (MAU-Pv-EO-636). These new records improve our knowledge about the dinosaur faunal composition of the continental ecosystem that was installed in the central Neuquen Basin during the Cenomanian-Turonian transition.