Botucatu Formation Explained

Botucatu Formation
Type:	Geological formation
Age:	Aptian
Period:	Aptian
Prilithology:	Sandstone
Namedfor:	Botucatu
Region:	Rio Grande do Sul
Country:
Coordinates:	-29.7°N -52.4°W
Paleocoordinates:	-30.6°N -19.5°W
Unitof:	São Bento Group
Underlies:	Serra Geral Formation
Overlies:	Rio do Rasto Formation
Extent:	Paraná & Pelotas Basins
Map:	Mapa Geologia Bacia do Paraná simples.png

The Botucatu Formation is an Aptian geologic formation of the Paraná and Pelotas Basins in southern Brazil and northern Uruguay. The formation is composed of quartzitic sandstones, deposited in an eolian environment.^[1] Fossil theropod tracks have been reported from the formation.^[2]

Description

The sandstone is fine-textured and well sorted, containing no pebbles; its colour is occasionally white, yellowish, and reddish, but more commonly it is pinkish. Nearly always it is silicified and therefore compact and hard. The formation was deposited in an arid desert environment, characterized by sabkhas and wadis.^[3]

Fossil content

Among the following fossils were reported from the Botucatu Formation:^[4]

• Coelurosauria indet.
• Lacertilia indet.
• Mammalia indet.
• Ornithopoda indet.
• Theropoda indet.
• ?Tritylodontoidea indet.

Ichnofossils

• Brasilichnium elusivum^[3]
• Farlowichnus rapidus^[5]

See also

• List of dinosaur-bearing rock formations
  • List of stratigraphic units with theropod tracks
• List of fossiliferous stratigraphic units in Uruguay
• Itapecuru Formation, contemporaneous fossiliferous formation of the São Luis and Parnaíba Basins
• Bahia Group, contemporaneous fossiliferous formation of the Recôncavo Basin
• Quiricó Formation, contemporaneous fossiliferous formation of the São Francisco Basin
• La Cruz Formation, contemporaneous fossiliferous formation of the Marayes-El Carrizal Basin, Argentina
• Rayoso Formation, contemporaneous fossiliferous formation of the Neuquén Basin, Argentina
• Cerro Barcino Formation, contemporaneous fossiliferous formation of the Cañadón Asfalto Basin, Argentina
• Río Belgrano Formation, contemporaneous fossiliferous formation of the Austral Basin, Argentina

References

Bibliography

Further reading

• Leonardi, G. 1989. Inventory and statistics of the South American dinosaurian ichnofauna and its paleobiological interpretation. In D. D. Gillette & M. G. Lockley (ed.), Dinosaur Tracks and Traces 165–178.
• Leonardi, G. 1980. On the discovery of an abundant ichno-fauna (vertebrates and invertebrates) in the Botucatu Formation s.s. in Araraquara, São Paulo, Brazil. Anais da Academia Brasileira de Ciências 52(3):559-567 link.
• Leonardi, G., Carvalho, I.S., and Fernandes, M.A. 2007. The desert ichnofauna from Botucatu Formation (Upper Jurassic–Lower Cretaceous), Brazil. In: Carvalho, I.S., Cassab, R.C.T., Schwanke, C., Carvalho, M.A., Fernandes, A.C.S., Rodrigues, M.A.C., Carvalho, M.S.S., Arai, M., and Oliveira, M.E.Q. (eds.). Paleontologia: Cenários da Vida, I. Interciência, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. p, 372–383. link.

Notes and References

1. Petrolli & Pimentel, 2014, p.1
2. Weishampel, et al. (2004). "Dinosaur distribution." Pp. 517-607.
3. Leonardi, 1994, p.50
4. http://www.fossilworks.org/cgi-bin/bridge.pl?a=collectionSearch&collection_no=56560 São Bento quarry, Araraquara
5. Leonardi . Giuseppe . Fernandes . Marcelo Adorna . Carvalho . Ismar de Souza . Schutzer . Julia Beatrice . Silva . Rafael Costa da . 2023-09-30 . Farlowichnus rapidus new ichnogen., new ichnosp.: A speedy and small theropod in the Early Cretaceous Botucatu paleodesert (Paraná Basin), Brazil . Cretaceous Research . 153 . 105720 . 10.1016/j.cretres.2023.105720 . 0195-6671.