Huincul Formation

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The Huincul Formation is a geologic formation that outcrops in Río Negro and Neuquén provinces of Argentina. It is the second formation in the Río Limay Subgroup, the oldest subgroup within the Neuquén Group.

The type locality of the Huincul Formation is near the town of Plaza Huincul in Neuquén province (Wichmann 1929). This formation conformably overlies the Candeleros Formation, and it is in turn overlain by the Cerro Lisandro Formation.

Contents 1 Age 2 Composition 3 Paleontology 4 References

[edit] Age

Era: Mesozoic
Period: Late Cretaceous
Faunal stage: late Cenomanian
Absolute Age: ~97 to ~94 mya

[edit] Composition

In some areas, the Huincul Formation is up to 250 meters thick. It is mainly composed of green and yellow sandstones and can easily be differentiated from the overlying Cerro Lisandro Formation, which is red in color. The Candeleros Formation, underlying the Huincul, is composed of darker sediments, making all three formations easily distinguishable (Leanza et al. 2004). The Huincul is thought to represent an arid environment with ephemeral or seasonal streams (Coria & Currie 2006).

[edit] Paleontology

Fossil bones are rarely found in the Huincul Formation. However, remains of the largest land animal known, Argentinosaurus huinculensis, were found in the Huincul Formation and the species is named after it. One of the largest predators known, Mapusaurus, has also been recovered from a bonebed this formation. Animal fossils found in the Huincul Formation include:

• several titanosaurian sauropods (including Argentinosaurus)
• a carcharodontosaurid theropod (Mapusaurus)
• abelisauroid theropods (including Ilokelesia)
• several ornithopods

[edit] References

• Coria, R.A. & Currie, P.J. 2006. A new carcharodontosaurid (Dinosauria, Theropoda) from the Upper Cretaceous of Argentina. Geodiversitas 28(1): 71-118.
• Leanza, H.A,, Apesteguia, S., Novas, F.E. & de la Fuente, M.S. 2004. Cretaceous terrestrial beds from the Neuquén Basin (Argentina) and their tetrapod assemblages. Cretaceous Research. 25(1): 61-87.
• Wichmann, R. 1929. Los Estratos con Dinosaurios y su techo en el este del Territorio del Neuquén. Dirección General de Geología, Minería e Hidrogeología Publicación 32: 1-9.