Arroyo Calafate (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 Irene Formation, Maastrichtian (72.1 - 66.0 Ma)

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

• At the base of Cerro Calafate has measured a column of about 230 m in thickness on the drive here considered (Fig. 2). The 110 m below represent a succession of sandy banks clear yellowish brown color to white and dark pelitic packages fining upwards cycles are stacked to form a sequence with a clear trend growing grain and stratum. Sandy banks (coarse to fine sand) show increasing thickness from 2 m at the base to more than 9 m, whereas intercalated mudstones show an opposite trend with thickness ranging from 15 m at the base to 1 m. At the top of lower shaly packets (the thickest) are preserved carbonaceous shale intervals, thinly laminated. 120 m above correspond to a succession of amalgamated conglomeratic sandy banks where preservation is extremely rare shaly intervals.

Size class: microfossils

Preservation: soft parts, original sporopollenin

Collection methods: chemical, hydrochloric, hydroflouric

• Museum repositories: Provincial Regional Museum "Padre Manuel Jesús Molina" (MPM-MP) in the Río Gallego city, Santa Cruz, Argentina.

Primary reference: L. Povilauskas, V. Barreda, and S. Marenssi. 2008. Polen y esporas de la Formación La Irene (Maastrichtiano), sudoeste de la provincia de Santa Cruz, Argentina: primeros resultados. Geobios 41:819-831 [C. Jaramillo/J. Moreno/J. Moreno]more details

Purpose of describing collection: paleoecologic analysis

PaleoDB collection 149974: authorized by Carlos Jaramillo, entered by Jessica Moreno on 30.08.2013

Creative Commons license: CC BY (attribution)

Taxonomic list

Nyssapollenites
  -
Lycopodiopsida
 Lycopodiales -
Retitriletes austroclavatidites Döring et al. 1963 clubmoss
 Selaginellales - Selaginellaceae
Perotrilites majus Evans 1970 spikemoss
 Selaginellales -
Ceratosporites equalis Cookson and Dettmann 1958 clubmoss
Pteridopsida
  -
Granulatisporites sp. Potonié and Kremp 1954
Cyathidites sp. Couper 1953
Cyathidites minor Couper 1953
Matonisporites sp. Couper 1958
Polypodiopsida
  - Gleicheniaceae
 Schizaeales - Polypodiidae
  -
Verrucosisporites sp. Potonie and Kremp 1954
  - Polypodiaceae
Laevigatosporites ovatus Wilson and Webster 1946
  - Osmundaceae
Baculatisporites sp. Thomson and Pflug 1953
Cycadopites
  -
Cycadopites nitidus de Jersey 1964
Ginkgoopsida
 Ephedrales -
Equisetosporites sp. Daugherty 1941
Dicotyledoneae
 Ericales - Ericaceae
Ericipites scabratus Harris 1965 heather
Angiospermae
 Proteales - Proteaceae
Proteacidites sp. Cookson and Couper 1953
 Proteales -
Retidiporites camachoii Archangelsky 1973
Peninsulapollis gillii Dettmann and Jarzen 1988
 Mesangiosperms - Arecaceae
Spinizonocolpites hialinus Archangelsky and Zamaloa 1986 palm
Arecipites sp. Nichols et al. 1973 palm
Arecipites minutiscabratus Mc Intyre 1968 palm
Longapertites sp. van Hoeken-Klinkenberg 1964 palm
 Mesangiosperms - Liliaceae
 Chloranthales - Chloranthaceae
 Coniferales - Podocarpaceae
Microcachryidites antarcticus Couper 1953 podocarp
Phyllocladidites mawsonii Cookson 1947 podocarp
Trisaccites microsaccatum Couper 1953 podocarp
Gamerroites psilasaccus Archangelsky 1988 podocarp
Podocarpidites elegans Romero 1977 podocarp
Podocarpidites cf. ellipticus Cookson 1947 podocarp
Magnoliopsida
  -
Rousea patagonica Archangelsky 1973
Senipites sp. Srivastava 1969
Rhoipites sp. Wodehouse 1933
Rhoipites minusculus Archangelsky 1973
Rouseisporites reticulatus
  -
Bryopsida
  -
Dinophyceae
 Gonyaulacales -