The Dorotea Formation is a geological formation in the Río de Las Chinas Valley of the Magallanes Basin in Patagonian Chile whose strata date back to the Campanian to Maastrichtian of the Late Cretaceous.[1]

Dorotea Formation
Stratigraphic range: Late Campanian-Maastrichtian
~72–66 Ma
TypeGeological formation
UnderliesMan Aike Formation
OverliesTres Pasos Formation
Thickness100–350 m (330–1,150 ft)
Lithology
PrimarySandstone, claystone
OtherConglomerate
Location
Coordinates50°42′S 72°30′W / 50.7°S 72.5°W / -50.7; -72.5
Approximate paleocoordinates52°54′S 60°30′W / 52.9°S 60.5°W / -52.9; -60.5
RegionMagallanes Region
Country Chile
ExtentRío de Las Chinas Valley, Magallanes Basin
Type section
Named forSierra Dorotea
Named byKatz
Year defined1963
Dorotea Formation is located in Chile
Dorotea Formation
Dorotea Formation (Chile)

Description edit

The Dorotea Formation was first described by Katz in 1963. The formation comprises sandstones with frequent conglomerate lenses, concretionary levels and claystones. The Dorotea Formation includes calcareous sandstones with abundant marine invertebrate and fragmentary vertebrate fossils. Hervé et al. (2004) obtained a maximum radiometric age of 67.4 ± 1.5 Ma from detrital zircons contained in sandstones of the Dorotea Formation.[2]

The mudstones and sandstones of the formation were deposited in a fluvial environment. The formation conformably overlies the Tres Pasos Formation and is unconformably overlain by the Lutetian to Bartonian Man Aike Formation.[3] The thickness of the formation ranges from 100 metres (330 ft) in the Sierra Baguales in the north to 350 metres (1,150 ft) in the eponymous Sierra Dorotea in the south.[4]

Fossil content edit

The following fossils were reported from the formation:[5]

Amphibians edit

Amphibians of Dorotea Formation
Taxa Species Material Notes Images
Anura[6] Indeterminate. A frog.

Reptiles edit

Reptiles of Dorotea Formation
Taxa Species Material Notes Images
Aristonectinae[7] Indeterminate
Aristonectes Aristonectes sp.[7]
Yaminuechelys cf. Yaminuechelys sp.[6]
Panchelidae[6] Indeterminate
Elasmosauridae Indeterminate

Dinosaurs edit

Dinosaurs of Dorotea Formation
Taxa Species Material Notes Images
Enantiornithes[8] Indeterminate
Gonkoken[9] G. nanoi The holotype specimen, CPAP 3054. A hadrosaur.
 
Megaraptoridae [8] Indeterminate
Ornithischia[6] Indeterminate
Ornithurae[8] Indeterminate
Sauropoda[6] Indeterminate
Stegouros S. elengassen CPAP-3165 holotype. A parankylosaur
 
Unenlagiinae[8] Indeterminate
Theropoda[6][8] Indeterminate

Mammals edit

Mammals of Dorotea Formation
Taxa Species Material Notes Images
Magallanodon[10] M. baikashkenke[10] A Gondwanatheria.
Orretherium O. tzen[11] A mesungulatid mammal.
Mammalia[6] Indeterminate

Fish edit

Fish of Dorotea Formation
Taxa Species Material Notes Images
Ischyrhiza I. chilensis[4]
Carcharias C. sp.[4]
Serratolamna Indeterminate [4]

Invertebrates edit

Invertebrates of Dorotea Formation
Taxa Species Material Notes Images
Dorotheus Dorotheus guidensis[12]
Pterotrigonia P. cazadoriana[2]
Gunnarites G. sp.[2]
Pachydiscus P. aff. gollevilensis[2]

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ Dorotea Formation at Fossilworks.org
  2. ^ a b c d Otero et al., 2009
  3. ^ Goin et al., 2020, p.9
  4. ^ a b c d Otero et al., 2015, p.240
  5. ^ Río de las Chinas Valley at Fossilworks.org
  6. ^ a b c d e f g Alarcón Muñoz et al., 2020
  7. ^ a b Otero et al., 2015
  8. ^ a b c d e Davis, Sarah N.; Soto-Acuña, Sergio; Fernández, Roy A.; Amudeo, Jared; Leppe, Marcelo A.; Rubilar-Rogers, David; Vargas, Alexander O.; Clarke, Julia A. (December 2022). "New records of Theropoda from a Late Cretaceous (Campanian-Maastrichtian) locality in the Magallanes-Austral Basin, Patagonia, and insights into end Cretaceous theropod diversity". Journal of South American Earth Sciences. 122: 104163. doi:10.1016/j.jsames.2022.104163. S2CID 254850180.
  9. ^ Alarcón-Muñoz, Jhonatan; Vargas, Alexander O.; Püschel, Hans P.; Soto-Acuña, Sergio; Manríquez, Leslie; Leppe, Marcelo; Kaluza, Jonatan; Milla, Verónica; Gutstein, Carolina S.; Palma-Liberona, José; Stinnesbeck, Wolfgang; Frey, Eberhard; Pino, Juan Pablo; Bajor, Dániel; Núñez, Elaine (2023-06-16). "Relict duck-billed dinosaurs survived into the last age of the dinosaurs in subantarctic Chile". Science Advances. 9 (24): eadg2456. Bibcode:2023SciA....9G2456A. doi:10.1126/sciadv.adg2456. ISSN 2375-2548. PMC 10275600. PMID 37327335.
  10. ^ a b Goin et al., 2020
  11. ^ Martinelli, A. G.; Soto-Acuña, S.; Goin, F. J.; Kaluza, J.; Bostelmann, J. E.; Fonseca, P. H. M. F.; Reguero, M. A.; Leppe, M.; Vargas, A. O. (2021). "New cladotherian mammal from southern Chile and the evolution of mesungulatid meridiolestidans at the dusk of the Mesozoic era". Scientific Reports. 11 (7594): 7594. Bibcode:2021NatSR..11.7594M. doi:10.1038/s41598-021-87245-4. PMC 8027844. PMID 33828193.
  12. ^ Kuschel, 1959

Bibliography edit