Los Blanquitos Formation Explained

Los Blanquitos Formation
Type:	Geological formation
Period:	Campanian - Maastrichtian
Age:	Late Campanian - Early Maastrichtian ~
Prilithology:	Sandstone
Region:	Salta Province
Country:	Argentina
Coordinates:	-24.3°N -65.3°W
Paleocoordinates:	-27.6°N -47.5°W
Unitof:	Salta Group
Underlies:	Lecho Formation
Overlies:	Las Curtiembres Formation
Extent:	Salta Basin

The Los Blanquitos Formation is a geological formation in Salta Province, Argentina whose strata date back to the late Campanian to early Maastichtian age of the Late Cretaceous Period. Dinosaur remains are among the fossils that have been recovered from the formation.^[1] The formation consists of friable, micaceous, grayish-red sandstones with quartz pebbles containing small carbonate veins. In the base of this layer the remains of a titanosaurid dinosaur were discovered. Above the layer with bones appears a lens of thick, greenish-gray, calcareous, very hard sandstone with pebbles and gravel. The bones were covered by a "halo" of the same rock but of greenish or grayish color, especially visible because the normal sediment is red. The bed thickness is 1.5m (04.9feet).^[2]

Vertebrate paleofauna

• Guemesia ochoai - an abelisaurid theropod dinosaur, known from a nearly complete braincase^[3]
• Unquillosaurus ceiballi - a theropod dinosaur (possibly carcharodontosaurian or Maniraptoran), known from a pubis^{[2] [4] [5]}
• ?Titanosaurus sp. - a sauropod dinosaur^[2]

See also

• List of dinosaur-bearing rock formations

Further reading

• J.F. Bonaparte and G. Bossi. 1967. Sobre la presencia de dinosaurios en la Formación Pirgua del Grupo Salta y su significado cronologico [On the presence of dinosaurs in the Pirgua Formation of the Salta Group and its chronologic significance]. Acta Geologica Lilloana 9:25-44
• Powell, J.E. 2003. Revision of South American titanosaurid dinosaurs: palaeobiological, palaeobiogeographical and phylogenetic aspects. Records of the Queen Victoria Museum Launceston 111:1-173
• Powell, J.E. 1979. Sobre una asociacion de dinosaurios y otras evidencias de vertebrados del Cretacico superior de la region de La Candelaria, Prov. de Salta, Argentina. Ameghiniana 16: pp. 191–204

Notes and References

1. 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. .
2. http://www.fossilworks.org/cgi-bin/bridge.pl?a=collectionSearch&collection_no=13209 Arroyo El Morterito
3. Agnolín FL, Cerroni MA, Scanferla A, Goswami A, Paulina-Carabajal A, Halliday T, Cuff AR, Reuil S . 2022 . First definitive abelisaurid theropod from the Late Cretaceous of Northwestern Argentina . Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology . 41 . 4 . e2002348 . 10.1080/02724634.2021.2002348 . 246766133 .
4. "Table 10.1," in Weishampel, et al. (2004). Page 199.
5. Carrano. Matthew T.. Benson. Roger B. J.. Sampson. Scott D.. 2012-06-01. The phylogeny of Tetanurae (Dinosauria: Theropoda). Journal of Systematic Palaeontology. 10. 2. 211–300. 10.1080/14772019.2011.630927. 2012JSPal..10..211C . 85354215 . 1477-2019.