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Marine Vertebrate Faunas from the Quiriquina

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Marine Vertebrate Faunas from the Quiriquina U N I V E R S I D A D D E C O N C E P C I Ó N DEPARTAMENTO DE CIENCIAS DE LA TIERRA 10° CONGRESO GEOLÓGICO CHILENO 2003 APORTES AL CONOCIMIENTO DE LOS VERTEBRADOS MARINOS DE LA FORMACIÓN QUIRIQUINA SUÁREZ, M.E.1, QUINZIO, L.A.2, FRITIS, O.3 Y BONILLA, R.2 1 Sección Paleontología, Museo Nacional de Historia Natural, Casilla 787, Santiago, Chile 2 Departamento Ciencias de la Tierra, Universidad de Concepción, casilla 160-C, Concepción Chile, [email protected], [email protected] 3Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Oceanográficas, Universidad de Concepción. INTRODUCCIÓN La existencia de vertebrados marinos en los fósiles en las rocas sedimentarias marinas del Cretácico de la Formación Quiriquina (Campaniano?-Maastrichtiano) fue tempranamente reportada en la literatura por Gay (1848), Philippi (1887), Wetzel(1930) y Oliver-Schneider (1936). Estos autores indican la presencia de plesiosaurios y dientes de peces provenientes de la Isla Quiriquina y zonas aledañas a Concepción. Debido a que la mayor parte del material tipo sobre el cual se basaron las determinaciones de estos autores encuentra perdido, ha sido necesario re-evaluar la fauna sobre la base de nuevo material fósil. Recientes trabajos de campo en varias localidades de la Formación Quiriquina y revisiones de la colección del Museo Geológico Prof. Lajos Biró, de la Universidad de Concepción (UDEC), y colecciones del Museo Nacional de Historia Natural (MNHN), han permitido clarificar dudas taxonómicas y recopilar nuevos e importantes datos acerca de la diversidad taxonómica de esta formación. Este trabajo comprende una revisión actualizada de la fauna de vertebrados de la Formación Quiriquina con breves comentarios acerca de sus componentes. GEOLOGÍA Y LOCALIDADES Las rocas sedimentarias marinas de la Formación Quiriquina afloran en varias localidades costaneras situadas entre Valparaíso y la Península de Arauco, pero tienen su mejor desarrollo en el sector aledaño a Concepción (Fig.1). Estas sedimentitas son de carácter detrítico y fueron depositados en un ambiente de aguas someras, bajo efectos de una costa rocosa, durante el Cretácico tardío. Biró-Bagóczky (1982) fue el primero en proponer la denominación formal de “Formación Quiriquina” y designó como localidad tipo Bahía Las Tablas, en el sector NW de Isla Quiriquina (Fig. 1, loc 7) y como localidad paratipo a Cocholgue, al Norte de Tomé (Fig. 1, loc.5). Basándose en los invertebrados fósiles, ese autor propuso una edad Campaniano-Maastrichtiano para la Formación, aunque Stinnesbeck (1986) la restringió al Maastrichtiano. El material de vertebrados fósiles comentado en este trabajo proviene de 10 localidades, las cuales son indicadas en la figura 1 y en la tabla 1. PALEONTOLOGÍA AVES El registro de este grupo es muy escaso y se limita a material recolectado en San Vicente; comprende un tarsometatarso de Gaviidae Neogaeornis wetzeli, Lambrecht (1929). El hallazgo fue comentado por Wetzel (1930) y recientemente por Rubilar-Rogers (2003). Todas las contribuciones fueron proporcionados directamente por los autores y su contenido es de su exclusiva responsabilidad. PECES CHONDRICHTHYES Dientes fósiles de peces elasmobranquios provenientes de esta formación fueron primeramente reconocidos por Philippi(1887), Wetzel(1930) y Oliver-Schneider (1936). Recientes estudios del primer autor de este trabajo han permitido reconocer una selacofauna compuesta por Centrophoroides sp., Squatina sp., Carcharias sp. y Paraorthacodus sp. La fauna también incluye algunas formas aparentemente endémicas como Dasyatidae nov. gen. & sp., Ischyrhiza chilensis, Sclerorhynchidae nov. gen. & sp. y Orectolobiformes nov. gen & sp. Los peces holocéfalos comprenden placas dentales atribuidas a los géneros Chimaera, Edaphodon y Callorhynchus (Fig. 2, A) (Suárez, 2001). OSTEICHTHYES En la Formación Quiriquina se han reconocido peces actinopterygios pertenecientes a las familias Aspidorhynchidae y Enchodontidae. Los primeros mediante restos de un predentario y rostro asignados al género Belonostomus (Brito & Suárez in press) y los segundos consisten en una porción de dentario diagnosticada como Enchodus sp. (Fig. 2, B).(Suárez, 2001). Vértebras de peces teleósteos indeterminados han sido recuperados en abundancia desde todas las localidades cretácicas comentadas. REPTILIA Los reptiles marinos mejor representados en la Formación Quiriquina son los plesiosaurios. Estos fueron tempranamente reportados en la literatura a través de restos muy fragmentarios, sobre los cuales se fundaron cuatro especies actualmente consideradas nomina vana: Plesiosaurus chilensis Gervais (in Gay 1848), Pliosaurus chilensis Deecke, 1896 (en Steinmann et al., 1896), Cimoliasaurus andium Deecke, 1896 (en Steinmann et al., 1896) y Cimoliasaurus sp. Deecke, 1896 (en Steinmann et al., 1896). Aún cuando el material fósil tipo original de las especies mencionadas se encuentra perdido, el examen de las figuras aportadas por estos autores muestra que la mayor parte de ellas pertenecieron a plesiosaurios de la familia Elasmosauridae. Trabajos de campo y revisiones bibliográficas y físicas de las colecciones del MNHN y de UDEC, han permitido establecer la presencia de esta familia de plesiosaurios en a lo menos nueve localidades de la Formación Quiriquina (Tabla 1). El material consiste mayoritariamente en restos parciales de cinturas pectorales y pélvicas, miembros, vértebras aisladas y dientes (Fig. 2, C-D-E). Recientemente ha sido recuperado el primer cráneo de plesiosaurio proveniente de esta formación, el cual ha sido designado como Aristonectes sp. Suárez & Fritis (en prensa). Material adicional de elasmosáuridos incluye restos parciales de un individuo proveniente de Pelluhue y un esqueleto postcraneal articulado de elasmosáurido (SGO-PV-260) depositado en el MNHN y proveniente de Tomé. Este ejemplar fue comentado previamente por Gasparini (1979) y se encuentra en etapa de estudio. Otros dos grupos de reptiles marinos con un registro fósil notablemente más limitado que el de los plesiosaurios lo constituyen los mosasaurios y las tortugas. Los restos del primer grupo incluyen la mandíbula inferior de un Mosasauridae indeterminado y algunos dientes (Fig. 2, F), recuperados desde la localidades de Talcahuano y Faro Carranza (Suárez, 2000; Suárez & Quinzio in prep.). El último grupo comprende la mandíbula inferior de un Toxochelidae designado como Osteopygis sp. (Gasparini & Biró-Bagóczky 1986) obtenido en la localidad de Lirquén. Material de reciente colección, proviene de la localidad de Algarrobo, incluye un húmero incompleto y algunos fragmentos de placas de caparazón de un quelonio indeterminado (Fig.2, G) CONCLUSIONES La fauna de vertebrados de la Formación Quiriquina se compone de aves, reptiles marinos, peces condrictios y peces óseos (Tabla 1). Los plesiosaurios elasmosáuridos, condrictios rajiformes Ischyrhiza chilensis y lamniformes Carcharias sp. son los vertebrados mejor representados en esta formación. La fauna además incluye tres taxones nuevos de peces condrictios: Orectolobiformes, Fam. Incertae sedis nov. gen. & sp., Dasyatidae nov. gen & sp. y Sclerorhynchidae nov. gen. & sp. PALEOBIOGEOGRAFÍA El registro fósil de la Formación Quiriquina incluye algunos grupos con amplia dispersión geográfica durante el Cretácico tardío (e.g. plesiosaurios Elasmosauridae, actinopterigios Enchodontidae y tiburones Odontaspididae). También se registra elasmosáurido Aristonectes, un taxón exclusivo de Sudamérica y algunos condrictios, posiblemente emparentados con formas antárticas y neozelandesas. La presencia de rajiformes Sclerorhynchidae Ischyrhiza con espinas rostrales de gran tamaño y del Aspidorhynchidae Belonostomus cf. longirostris recuerda faunas del Cretácico Superior de Norteamérica y sugiere un remanente de inmigrantes proveniente desde esa latitud (Paulo Brito. com. pers). El endemismo de la fauna de la Formación Quiriquina, testimoniado por tres nuevos taxones de peces, fue previamente observado en sus invertebrados (Stinnesbeck, 1986 y Bandel & Stinnesbeck, 2000). Además de reconocer un alto grado de endemismo en los gastrópodos, estos últimos autores han llamado la atención sobre el caracter indopacífico de la fauna de ammonites. PALEOECOLOGÍA La fauna de la Formación Quiriquina comprende algunos vertebrados de hábitos predominantemente costaneros y, probablemente, bentónicos como tiburones orectolobiformes y batomorfos Sclerorhynchidae y Dasyatidae. Al igual que sus equivalentes vivientes, holocéfalos y tiburones del género Centrophoroides pudieron haber habitado aguas relativamente más profundas que las indicadas por el paleoecosistema de Quiriquina. Estos peces pudieron haberse aventurado en aguas más someras y productivas, que les brindaban una buena oferta trófica. El dominio de aguas poco profundas es soportado por la rica fauna de invertebrados, principalmente moluscos y además por restos de crustáceos Callianasidae, muy comunes en las localidades de la Formación Quiriquina. Al igual como sucede con sus equivalentes ecológicos actuales, estos crustáceos pudieron haber sido un componente importante en la dieta de los extintos peces-sierra Sclerorhynchidae, mientras que los moluscos fueron consumidos preferencialmente por condrictios durófagos, tales como los Callorhynchidae y, probablemente también, por mosasaurios. La gran abundancia de peces y ammonoideos propiciaba condiciones ecológicas favorables para sostener a los dominantes reptiles marinos Elasmosauridae y también a peces predadores Enchodontidae y Aspidorhynchidae. AGRADECIMIENTOS Al señor Gerardo Flores
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