Lecho Formation
| Lecho Formation | |
|---|---|
| Stratigraphic range: Early Maastrichtian ~ | |
| Type | Geological formation |
| Unit of | Salta Group |
| Underlies | Yacoraite Formation |
| Overlies | Los Blanquitos Formation |
| Lithology | |
| Primary | Sandstone |
| Location | |
| Coordinates | 26°06′S 65°24′W / 26.1°S 65.4°W |
| Approximate paleocoordinates | 28°36′S 52°00′W / 28.6°S 52.0°W |
| Region | Jujuy, Salta |
| Country |  Argentina |
| Extent | Salta Basin |
  Lecho Formation (Argentina) | |
The Lecho Formation is a geological formation in the Salta Basin of the provinces Jujuy and Salta of northwestern Argentina. Its strata date back to the Early Maastrichtian, and is a unit of the Salta Group. The fine-grained bioturbated sandstones of the formation were deposited in a fluvial to lacustrine coastal plain environment.
Dinosaur remains are among the fossils that have been recovered from the formation.[1]
According to Frankfurt and Chiappe (1999), the Lecho Formation is composed of reddish sandstones. The Lecho is part of the Upper/Late Cretaceous Balbuena Subgroup (Salta Group), which is a near-border stratigraphic unit of the Andean sedimentary basin. Fossils from this formation include the titanosaur Saltasaurus along with a variety of avian and non-avian theropods.
Fossil content
| Dinosaurs reported from the Lecho Formation | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Genus | Species | Location | Stratigraphic position | Material | Notes | Images |
|
E. bonapartei |
Scapula, partial coracoid, humerus, partial radius, partial ulna[2] |
Enantiornithes |
  | |||
|
E. leali[3] |
"Postcranial elements."[4] |
|||||
|
L. bretincola[3] |
"Tarsometatarsus and tibiotarsus."[4] |
Enantiornithes | ||||
|
M. minor |
Partial humerus[2] |
Enantiornithes | ||||
|
M. saltariensis |
Humerus[2] | |||||
|
M. vincei |
Humeri[2] | |||||
|
M. whetstonei |
Partial humerus[2] | |||||
|
N. leali[3] |
Isolated elements from the head and foot, as well as a verebral arch.[5] A putative oviraptorosaurian cervical vertebra [6] is likely to belong to this taxon.[7] |
|||||
|
S. loricatus[3] |
"Partial skeletons of at least [six] individuals, including jaws and armor."[8] |
|||||
|
S. australis[3] |
"Tarsometatarsus and phalanges."[9] |
Avisaurid enantiornithes | ||||
|
Y. brevipedalis[3] |
"Tarsometatarsi."[9] |
Enantiornithes | ||||
See also
References
- ^ Weishampel, David B; et al. (2004). "Dinosaur distribution (Late Cretaceous, South America)." In: Weishampel, David B.; Dodson, Peter; and Osmólska, Halszka (eds.): The Dinosauria, 2nd, Berkeley: University of California Press. Pp. 600-604. ISBN 0-520-24209-2.
- ^ a b c d e Walker and Dyke (2009). "Euenantiornithine birds from the Late Cretaceous of El Brete (Argentina)." Irish Journal of Earth Sciences, 27: 15-62.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l "63.7 Provincia de Salta, Argentina; 3. Lower Kirtland Formation," in Weishampel, et al. (2004). Page 603.
- ^ a b "Table 11.1," in Weishampel, et al. (2004). Page 213.
- ^ "Table 3.1," in Weishampel, et al. (2004). Page 49.
- ^ Frankfurt, N.G., and L.M. Chiappe (1999). "A Possible Oviraptorosaur From The Late Cretaceous of Northwestern Argentina," Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, 19(1): 101-105.
- ^ Agnolin, F.L., and Martinelli, A.G. (2007) "Did oviraptorosaurs (Dinosauria; Theropoda) inhabit Argentina?" Cretaceous Research, 28: 785-790.
- ^ "Table 13.1," in Weishampel, et al. (2004). Page 270.
- ^ a b "Table 11.1," in Weishampel, et al. (2004). Page 214.