Calafate Creek (CCC-B) (Cretaceous of Argentina)

Where: Santa Cruz, Argentina (50.4° S, 72.2° W: paleocoordinates 52.3° S, 62.0° W)

• coordinate stated in text

When: La Anita Formation, Maastrichtian (72.1 - 66.0 Ma)

• This locality represents the uppermost facies of the upper unit of the La Anita Formation. CCC-B from a siltstone level

Environment/lithology: fluvial-deltaic; lithified, sandy sandstone and lithified, argillaceous, sandy shale

• The La Anita Formation was interpreted as a delta system with vertical variation on the relative roles of processes affecting it; thus, a wave-dominated lower unit and a fluvio-dominated upper unit were defined by Moyano Paz et al. (2018).
• La Anita Formation is characterized by fine- to medium-grained yellowish sandstone bodies with trough-cross stratification, tabular fine dark laminated organic-rich claystones, and channelized sandstone bodies with trough-cross stratification and abundant carbonaceous material.

Size class: microfossils

• The assemblage recovered from sample CCC-B is dominated by gymnosperms (69.2%), followed by ferns (17.9%) and angiosperms (12.8%). The most important groups in this assemblage are: Podocarpaceae (67.6%), represented mainly by the genus Podocarpidites, and Arecaceae (11.5%), represented by Arecipites minutiscabratus. Podocarpidites marwickii, P. rugulosus, Podocarpidites sp., ?Rhoipites sp., Lewalanipollenites sp., Proteacidites spp. and Dichastopollenites sp., are exclusive from this level

Preservation: adpression, soft parts, original sporopollenin

Collection methods: quarrying, chemical, hydrochloric, hydroflouric,

• The specimens are stored at the paleobotanical collection of the Museo Regional Provincial “Padre Jesús Molina”, Rio Gallegos, Santa Cruz Province (acronym MPM-Pb).

•Samples were processed following standard palynological techniques, and mounted in a glycerol mounting medium. The observations were made under a Leica DM2500 light microscope and the photographs were taken with a Leica DFC295 digital camera. Specimen locations refer to England Finder coordinates. In order to obtain the relative abundance of plant groups, counts of at least 300 individuals were conducted. Broken individuals were not counted, and tetrads and polyads were counted as one individual.

Primary reference: P. E. Santamarina, V. D. Barreda, D. Moyano Paz, C. Tettamanti, A. Iglesias, D. G. Poiré, and A. N. Varela. 2020. Palynoflora from the La Anita Formation (Maastrichtian), Austral-Magallanes Basin, Argentina. Revista del Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales 22(1):47-56 [E. Vlachos/F. Aspromonte]more details

Purpose of describing collection: paleoecologic analysis

PaleoDB collection 234761: authorized by Evangelos Vlachos, entered by Franco Aspromonte on 16.05.2024

Creative Commons license: CC BY (attribution)

Taxonomic list

Equisetopsida
 Pinidae - Pinidae
Araucariacites australis Cookson 1947
MPM-Pb-18964
 Coniferales - Podocarpaceae
Podocarpidites cf. ellipticus Cookson 1947 podocarp
MPM-Pb-18964
Podocarpidites marwickii Couper 1953 podocarp
MPM-Pb-18964
Podocarpidites rugulosus Romero 1977 podocarp
MPM-Pb-18964
Microcachryidites antarcticus Couper 1953 podocarp
MPM-Pb-18964
Magnoliopsida
  -
? Rhoipites sp. Wodehouse 1933
MPM-Pb-18964
Angiospermae
 Mesangiosperms - Arecaceae
Arecipites minutiscabratus Mc Intyre 1968 palm
MPM-Pb-18964
 Chloranthales - Chloranthaceae
Clavatipollenites hughesii Kemp 1968
MPM-Pb-18964
 Proteales - Proteaceae
Lewalanipollis sp. Dettmann and Jarzen 1996
MPM-Pb-18964
Proteacidites "sp. 1" Cookson and Couper 1953
MPM-Pb-18964
Proteacidites "sp. 2" Cookson and Couper 1953
MPM-Pb-18964
 Proteales -
Peninsulapollis sp. Dettmann and Jarzen 1988
MPM-Pb-18964
 Nymphaeales - Nymphaeaceae
Dichastopollenites sp. May 1975 water lily
MPM-Pb-18964
Polypodiopsida
  - Polypodiaceae
Laevigatosporites ovatus Wilson and Webster 1946
MPM-Pb-18964
  - Dicksoniaceae
Cyatheacidites annulatus Cookson 1947
MPM-Pb-18964
  -
Biretisporites crassilabratus Archangelsky 1972
MPM-Pb-18964
  - Osmundaceae
Rugulatisporites sp. Pflug and Thomson 1953
MPM-Pb-18964
 Schizaeales - Polypodiidae
Appendicisporites sp. Weyland and Greifeld 1953
MPM-Pb-18964
Cicatricosisporites cf. minutaestriatus Pocock 1964
MPM-Pb-18964
Cicatricosisporites hallei Delcourt and Sprumont 1955
MPM-Pb-18964
  - Gleicheniaceae
Gleicheniidites senonicus Ross 1949
MPM-Pb-18964
Pteridopsida
  -
Cyathidites minor Couper 1953
MPM-Pb-18964
Interulobites
  -
Interulobites sp. Phillips 1971
MPM-Pb-18964
Ginkgoopsida
 Ephedrales -
Ephedripites notensis Cookson 1957
MPM-Pb-18964