North Cerro Patagua (NCP): Serravallian - Tortonian, Argentina

List of taxa
Where & when
Geology
Taphonomy & methods
Metadata & references
Taxonomic list
Mammalia - Cingulata - Chlamyphoridae
Chlamyphoridae indet. Pocock 1924
GHUNLPam 5428, GHUNLPam 8041/4–10, 8041/12–13, GHUNLPam 8047/6–13, GHUNLPam 8881/1–3, GHUNLPam 9541/2–4, and GHUNLPam 18,694/1–2
Mammalia - Cingulata - Dasypodidae
Vetelia perforata Scillato-Yané 1977
GHUNLPam 8041/1 and GHUNLPam 9541/5, isolated fixed osteoderms.
Chasicotatus ameghinoi Scillato-Yané 1977
GHUNLPam 8041/2, 8041/3, 8041/ 11, GHUNLPam 8047/1, 8047/2, 8047/3, and 8047/4, isolated osteoderms.
Proeuphractus sp. Ameghino 1886
GHUNLPam 8083/1
Mammalia - Cingulata - Glyptodontidae
Glyptodontidae indet. (Burmeister 1879)
GHUNLPam 9541/1
Mammalia - Cingulata - Pampatheriidae
Kraglievichia sp. Castellanos 1927
GHUNLPam 8048, GHUNLPam 8083/2
Mammalia - Nothrotheriidae
Mcdonaldocnus sp. Gaudin et al. 2022
GHUNLPam 3928 , isolated molariform (mf1?).
Mammalia - Notoungulata
Hemihegetotherium torresi Cabrera and Kraglievich 1931
GHUNLPam 8045, right mandibular fragment with p4–m1.
Paedotherium sp. Burmeister 1888
GHUNLPam 5425/1–2, 5425/3, right p4; 5425/4, GHUNLPam 5425/5, GHUNLPam 6773, GHUNLPam 8137, GHUNLPam 8138, GHUNLPam 8139, GHUNLPam 8140, GHUNLPam 12,775, GHUNLPam 8036, GHUNLPam 8037, GHUNLPam 8038, GHUNLPam 8039, GHUNLPam 8042/1, 8042/2–5, GHUNLPam 8042/6, GHUNLPam 8882, GHUNLPam 8883, GHUNLPam 8884, GHUNLPam 8885, GHUNLPam 8886, GHUNLPam 9314/1, GHUNLPam 9533, GHUNLPam 9534, GHUNLPam 9535, GHUNLPam 9536, GHUNLPam 9537, GHUNLPam 9538, GHUNLPam 9539, GHUNLPam 22911.
Mammalia - Notoungulata - Interatheriidae
Protypotherium sp. Ameghino 1882
GHUNLPam 9314/4, anterior palatal fragment with alveoli of P2–4; GHUNLPam 9540, left upper premolar (P3?).
Mammalia - Notoungulata - Mesotheriidae
Typotheriopsis chasicoensis Cabrera and Kraglievich 1931
GHUNLPam 5198, right mandibular fragment with m1–3; GHUNLPam 5427, right mandibular fragment with m2; GHUNLPam 6965, left mandibular fragment with remains of m1–3 (only m2 relatively complete); GHUNLPam 8136, lingual fragment of right M3. From NCP: GHUNLPam 5429, right mandibular fragment with incomplete m1/2; GHUNLPam 18693, left maxillary fragment with broken M2–3.
Mammalia - Rodentia - Chinchillidae
Lagostomus sp. Brookes 1828
GHUNLPam 5419, isolated upper molariform (M1 or M2?); GHUNLPam 5430, isolated upper molariform (M1 or M2?). From NCP: GHUNLPam 8880, isolated lower molariform (m1 or m2?).
Mammalia - Rodentia - Caviidae
Prodolichotis sp. Kraglievich 1932
GHUNLPam 5418, GHUNLPam 8040, GHUNLPam 8043, GHUNLPam 8887, GHUNLPam 9527, GHUNLPam 9528, GHUNLPam 9529, GHUNLPam 9531.
Cardiomys sp. Ameghino 1885
GHUNLPam 9526, fragment of left p4.
Cardiomys leufuensis Pérez et al. 2018
GHUNLPam 5426, right mandibular fragment with p4–m2
Mammalia - Rodentia
Chasichimys bonaerense Pascual 1967
GHUNLPam 8035, left mandibular fragment with m2 and roots of the m1.
Reptilia - Boidae
Boinae indet. Gray 1825
GHUNLPam 8888/1, isolated trunk vertebra.
Reptilia - Testudines - Testudinidae
Chelonoidis sp. (Fitzinger 1835)
original and current combination Geochelone (Chelonoidis)
GHUNLPam 8041/14, incomplete scute.
see common names

Geography
Country:Argentina State/province:La Pampa County:Argentina
Coordinates: 37.1° South, 65.8° West (view map)
Paleocoordinates:37.4° South, 62.7° West
Basis of coordinate:stated in text
Time
Period:Neogene Epoch:Miocene
Key time interval:Serravallian - Tortonian
Age range of interval:13.82000 - 7.24600 m.y. ago
Age estimate:12.3 ± 1.8 Ma (U/Pb)14.1 to 10.5 Ma (U/Pb)
Stratigraphy
Formation:Cerro Azul
Stratigraphy comments: Sedimentological and stratigraphic descriptions of the Cerro Azul Formation at Cerro Patagua locality (Fig. 1A; Utrac ́an Department, 37◦08′30“S, 65◦46′09′′W) were originally performed by Visconti (2007) and Folguera and Zárate (2018) (Fig. 1B–D). Folguera and Zárate (2009) interpreted these deposits as synorogenic and defined this basin as a distal Late Miocene Andean foreland.
Lithology and environment
Primary lithology: not reported
Lithology description: The succession is made up of gradually decreasing packages, with clear contact to each other (Fig. 1D). The contact between banks is erosive, evidenced by clasts of the immediately lower edaphic level, and implies a hiatus that involves the time of formation of the underlying paleosol. At the base of each package, there are very fine sandstones or siltstones. In some cases, the deposits present poorly defined subparallel lamination and are cemented by calcium carbonate. Towards the top, the granulometry is gradually finer, reddish claystones or siltstones dominate with edapholites, root marks, and traces of insects (Melchor and Llambías, 2004). In this area, the primary sedimentation is eolian, specifically loess deposits; the lamination was formed by very low energy streams, which indicate that reworking was local. In this way, sediments would have been short time in transport and would have moved small distances. Levels interpreted as paleosols suggest the existence of periods of geomorphological and tectonic stability and an episodic sedimentation process during the Late Miocene, attributable to alternating changes in environmental conditions. In this way, the paleosols are discontinuities and its uppersection shows erosion evidence in some cases. According to their geomorphological position, the Cerro Azul Formation deposits cropping out at Cerro Patagua correspond to basal levels of the unit.
Environment:terrestrial indet.
Geology comments: Based on lithologic characteristics, stratigraphic relationships, pattern of the depositdistribution, examination of stratigraphic sections, and chronology inferred from fossil contents and obtained numerical ages, a correlation scheme for Neogene units in the centralextra-Andean Argentina is proposed herein.
Taphonomy
Modes of preservation:body
Size of fossils:macrofossils
Collection methods and comments
Reason for describing collection:general faunal/floral analysis
Metadata
Database number:231228
Authorizer:J. Carrillo Enterer:K. Pino
Modifier:K. Pino Research group:vertebrate
Created:2023-08-08 04:32:41 Last modified:2023-08-08 04:50:45
Access level:the public Released:2023-08-08 04:32:41
Creative Commons license:CC BY
Reference information

Primary reference:
85599. C. I. Montalvo, A. Folguera, E. Cerdeño, D. H. Verzi, M. E. Pérez, R. Sostillo, and R. L. Tomassini. 2023. The oldest Andean synorogenic fossiliferous deposits of the Miocene Cerro Azul Formation, central Argentina. Journal of South American Earth Sciences 123(104235) [J. Carrillo/K. Pino]