Sauropterygia: Plesiosauria) in Upper Levels of the Dorotea Formation, Late Cretaceous (Maastrichtian), Puerto Natales, Chilean Patagonia
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Andean Geology 36 (2): 342-350. July, 2009 Andean Geology formerly Revista Geológica de Chile www.scielo.cl/andgeol.htm PALEONTOLOGICAL NOTE First record of Elasmosaurid Plesiosaurs (Sauropterygia: Plesiosauria) in upper levels of the Dorotea Formation, Late Cretaceous (Maastrichtian), Puerto Natales, Chilean Patagonia Rodrigo A. Otero1, Mario E. Suárez2, Jacobus P. Le Roux3 1 Laboratorio de Zoología de Vertebrados, Departamento de Ciencias Ecológicas, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Chile. Las Palmeras 3425, Santiago, Chile. [email protected] 2 Museo Paleontológico de Caldera. Av. Wheelwright 001, Caldera, Chile. [email protected] 3 Departamento de Geología, Facultad de Ciencias Físicas y Matemáticas, Universidad de Chile, Casilla 13518, Correo 21, Santiago, Chile. [email protected] ABSTRACT. New remains of plesiosaurs (Diapsida; Sauropterygia) found in a transported block correlated with upper levels of the Dorotea Formation, Late Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) are described herein. They were collected on the southern slopes of Sierra Dorotea located northeast of Puerto Natales (51°41’20,4”S, 72°26’07,4”W), Magallanes Region, Chile. This is the first discovery of the family Elasmosauridae in high latitudes of South America, complementing the previously known paleodistribution of this group in the eastern Pacific Ocean and theAntarctic during the latest Cretaceous. Keywords: Plesiosaurs, Elasmosauridae, Maastrichtian, Dorotea Formation, Magallanes, Chile. RESUMEN. Primer Registro de Plesiosaurios Elasmosáuridos (Sauropterygia: Plesiosauria) en estratos su- periores de la Formación Dorotea, Cretácico Tardío (Maastrichtiano), Puerto Natales, Patagonia Chilena. Se describen nuevos restos de plesiosaurios (Diapsida; Sauropterygia) incluidos en un bloque rodado correlacionado con estratos superiores de la Formación Dorotea (Cretácico Tardío, Maastrichtiano), recolectados en la parte sur de la sierra homónima, ubicada al noreste de Puerto Natales (51°41’20,4”S, 72°26’07,4”W), Región de Magallanes, Chile. Se reconoce por primera vez la presencia de la familia Elasmosauridae en altas latitudes de Sudamérica, complementando así la paleodistribución previamente conocida de este grupo en el margen oriental del Océano Pacífico y de la Antártica durante la última parte del Cretácico Tardío. Palabras claves: Plesiosaurios, Elasmosauridae, Maastrichtiano, Formación Dorotea, Magallanes, Chile. 342-350.indd 342 15/7/09 16:22:13 Otero et al./ Andean Geology 36 (2): 342-350, 2009 343 1. Introduction New Zealand (Cruickshank and Fordyce, 2002), Ja- pan (Ogawa and Nakaya, 1998), California (Welles, Plesiosaurs (Diapsida: Sauropterygia) are 1943), Chile (Suárez and Fritis, 2002), Argentina Mesozoic reptiles adapted to the marine environ- (Cabrera, 1941; Gasparini and Goñi, 1985) and ment, with limbs modified as paddles and hydro- Antarctica (Gasparini et al., 1984; Gasparini and dynamic bodies with elongated necks. Since the Goñi, 1985; Chaterjee and Small, 1989), confirming XIX century, previous occurrences of plesiosaurs that these reptiles had a worldwide distribution and in Chile have been widely reported in the scientific a marked abundance in the Pacific at the end of the literature (Gay, 1848; Philippi, 1887; Steinmann et Cretaceous. al., 1895; Wetzel, 1930; Colbert, 1949; Casamique- The material is hosted at the National Museum la, 1969; Gasparini, 1979). Recent studies on this of Natural History (Museo Nacional de Historia group in this country and Argentina (Suárez, 2000; Natural) of Santiago under the acronym SGO.PV. Gasparini and Salgado, 2000; Suárez and Fritis, The few preserved bone fragments only allow them 2002; Gasparini et al., 2003a) indicate that most to be identified to family level. In addition, the of the regional material belongs to plesiosaurs of considerable hardness of the rock constituting the the Elasmosauridae family, the latter being the best host block hampers preparation of the remains, and represented group of marine reptiles in the Late Cre- due to the lack of more diagnostic characters, such taceous of southern South America and Antarctica preparation would not necessarily facilitate further (Gasparini et al., 2003b). identification. Previous finds of elasmosaurid plesiosaurs in the uppermost Cretaceous of central Chile, came 2. Source of material from the type localities of the Quiriquina Forma- tion near Concepción (Gay, 1848; Steinmann et The Elasmosauridae material for this study was al., 1895; Wetzel, 1930; Gasparini, 1979), and recovered in January 2007 during a field campaign from the localities of Loanco in the Maule Region, of the Paleobotany Group of the Antarctic Ring Topocalma in the O’Higgins Region, and Algarro- Bicentenary Project (Proyecto Bicentenario Ani- bo in the Valparaíso Region (Suárez et al., 2003). llo Antártico, PBCT-ARTG-04), directed by Dr. Only one genus was recognized (Suárez and Fritis, Teresa Torres. The remains were found by the first 2002), Aristonectes Cabrera, previously recovered author on the southern slopes of Sierra Dorotea in Argentina (Cabrera, 1941). Other reports from (51°41’20.4”S, 72°26’07.4”W), approximately 2 Chilean Patagonia include unfigured material from kilometers NE of Puerto Natales, Magallanes Re- the Magallanes Region (Gasparini, 1979). These are gion, Chile (Fig. 1), within a transported block of until now the southernmost records of plesiosaurs calcareous sandstone found at an elevation of 243 in South America. m a.s.l. The block has approximate dimensions of This paper presents new material of Plesiosauria 80x50x40 cm, and a weight of about 350 kg. The from the Late Cretaceous of Patagonia. It constitutes nearest outcrop of calcareous sandstone is in an the first confirmed report of elasmosaurid plesio- inaccessible cliff higher up on the slopes of Sierra saurs in the Maastrichtian of Magallanes, comple- Dorotea. Field observations allow us to interpret the menting previous records from central Chile with stratigraphic provenance of the block to be a horizon an early Maastrichtian age (Stinnesbeck, 1986). In with calcareous lenses and concretionary nodules at addition, it represents the first reliable evidence of an estimated elevation of 300 m a.s.l., located about the Elasmosauridae family in an intermediate region 50 m below the top of the cliff. This lithologic unit between central Chile and Antarctica, confirming is correlated with the upper levels of the Dorotea the presence of the group along the eastern margin Formation (Katz, 1963). of the Pacific Ocean during the Late Cretaceous. Other Cretaceous elasmosaurid plesiosaurs 3. Geologic setting have been reported from the Cenomanian-Turonian of Australia (Kear, 2003) and Venezuela (Colbert, The stratigraphic sequence of the study area is 1949). They are also present in the Santonian of composed, from bottom to top, of the following Japan (Sato et al., 2006) and Canada (Nicholls and units (Fig. 2): Meckert, 2002). The Maastrichtian records include 342-350.indd 343 14/7/09 13:58:58 344 FIRST RECORD O F ELASMOSAURID PLESIOSAURS (SAURO P TERYGIA : PLESIOSAURIA ) IN U pp ER LEVELS O F THE DOROTEA ... FIG. 1. ArcView based map of Puerto Natales-Seno Última Esperanza area, Magallanes, southernmost Chile. The black arrow indicates the location of Sierra Dorotea, about 2 km NE of Puerto Natales, where the material for this study was collected. The other Chilean localities with reports of elasmosaurid plesiosaurs are indicated on the map on the right. Cerro Toro Formation (Cecioni, 1957). Shales, Eocene age based on stratigraphic correlation and conglomerates and sandstones assigned to the microfossils (Malumián and Caramés, 1997). Santonian-Campanian, based on ammonoids and In the present study, the collected material of bivalves (Hoffstetter et al., 1957) and constrained by elasmosaurid plesiosaurs from the upper levels of U-Pb dating on detrital zircons from the underlying the Dorotea Formation (Katz, 1963) was associated Punta Barrosa Formation (Fildani et al., 2003). with a specimen of Gunnarites sp. (study in progress Tres Pasos Formation (Katz, 1963). Turbidites at the Sección de Paleontología y Estratigrafía, and sandstones with conglomerate lenses, assigned Servicio Nacional de Geología y Minería, to the Campanian-early Maastrichtian based on SERNAGEOMIN, Chile), and a specimen of ammonoids and bivalves (Katz, 1963). ‘Pterotrigonia’ cazadoriana (Wilckens) (identified Dorotea Formation (Katz, 1963). Sandstones with by E. Pérez d’A., personal communication, 2008). frequent conglomerate lenses, concretionary levels Additionally, transported material was collected and and claystones. Includes calcareous sandstones identified as monocotiledons (T. Torres, personal with abundant marine invertebrate and fragmentary communication, 2007). The genus Gunnarites, vertebrate fossils (this study). according to Macellari (1985), is typical of the Río Turbio Formation (Feruglio, 1938, sensu middle to late Campanian of Seymour Island, lato; amended by Hünicken, 1955). Mainly Antarctica, but in his opinion it could extend into marine sedimentary rocks of middle Eocene-late the Maastrichtian in Patagonia based on the record 342-350.indd 344 14/7/09 13:58:59 Otero et al./ Andean Geology 36 (2): 342-350, 2009 345 of this genus above beds containing Bolivinoides draco dorreeni Finlay, considered as indicative of the late Maastrichtian (Martínez-Pardo, 1965). However, according to Pérez and Reyes (1978), ‘P.’ cazadoriana could also indicate a late Campanian- Maastrichtian age. The presence