Candeleros Formation

Candeleros Formation Stratigraphic range: early Cenomanian ~99–97 Ma PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N ↓
Candeleros Formation near Cerro El Vagon, Neuquen, Argentina
Type	Geological formation
Unit of	Neuquén Group  Río Limay Subgroup
Underlies	Huincul Formation
Overlies	Lohan Cura Formation
Thickness	300 m (980 ft)
Lithology
Primary	Eolian sandstone
Other	Conglomerate, siltstone, paleosol
Location
Coordinates	39°24′S 69°12′W / 39.4°S 69.2°W / -39.4; -69.2Coordinates: 39°24′S 69°12′W / 39.4°S 69.2°W / -39.4; -69.2
Approximate paleocoordinates	46°30′S 45°30′W / 46.5°S 45.5°W / -46.5; -45.5
Region	Mendoza, Neuquén & Río Negro Provinces
Country	Argentina
Extent	Neuquén Basin
Type section
Named for	Candeleros Hill
Named by	Wichmann
Year defined	1929
Candeleros Formation (Argentina)

The Candeleros Formation (formerly known as the Candeleros Member of the "Río Limay Formation") is a geologic formation that crops out in the Río Negro, Neuquén, and Mendoza provinces of northern Patagonia, Argentina. It is the oldest formation in the Neuquén Group and belongs to the Rio Limay Subgroup. Formerly that subgroup was treated as a formation, and the Candeleros Formation was known as the Candeleros Member.^[1]

Description[]

The type locality of the Candeleros Formation is Candeleros Hill in Neuquén Province, after which the formation was named by Wichmann in 1929.^[2] This formation unconformably overlies the Lohan Cura Formation, and it is in turn overlain by the Huincul Formation, also a unit of the Neuquén Group. The sediments of the latter are of lighter greenish and yellow colors and the boundary between the Candeleros and Huincul formations is easily recognizable.^[3]

The Candeleros Formation is almost 300 metres (980 ft) thick in some sections. Overall, the formation represents an ancient braided river system, made up mostly of sandstones and conglomerates. There are also isolated sections that represent eolian (wind-blown) deposition, as well as siltstones deposited under swamp conditions. Paleosols (soil deposits) are common in some sections as well.^[1][3]

Fossil content[]

Reconstruction of Giganotosaurus carolinii

Skeleton of Buitreraptor gonzalezorum

The Candeleros Formation has a very diverse fossil fauna, including:

• dipnoan fish (including )
• frogs
• Iguanodonts
• Rhynchocephalians (including Priosphenodon avelasi and Tika giacchinoi)
• primitive snakes (including Najash rionegrina)
• several turtles (including 2 species of Prochelidella)
• rebbachisaurid sauropods (Limaysaurus, Nopcsaspondylus and Rayososaurus)
• titanosaurian sauropods (including Andesaurus and a second unnamed huge titanosaur )
• abelisaurid theropods (Ekrixinatosaurus and unnamed form^[4])
• a carcharodontosaurid theropod (Giganotosaurus)
• a dromaeosaurid theropod (Buitreraptor gonzalezorum)
• an alvarezsauroid theropod (Alnashetri)
• a basal coelurosaurian (Bicentenaria)
• cladotherian mammals (including Cronopio dentiacutus)
• ichnofossils of , , , , , Abelichnus astigarragae and Picunichnus benedettoi^[5]

In 2021, fossil material of a giant titanosaur sauropod, distinct from Andesaurus and probably exceeding Patagotitan in size, was described from the formation by Otero et al. (2021).^[6]

See also[]

• List of fossil sites
• Bajo Barreal Formation, contemporaneous fossiliferous formation of the San Jorge Basin
• Cerro Fortaleza Formation, contemporaneous fossiliferous formation of the Austral Basin
• Alcântara Formation, contemporaneous fossiliferous formation of the , Brazil
• List of dinosaur bearing rock formations

References[]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Candeleros Formation.

Bibliography[]

• Otero, A.; J. L. Carballido; L. Salgado; J. I. Canudo, and A. C. Garrido. 2021. Report of a giant titanosaur sauropod from the Upper Cretaceous of Neuquén Province, Argentina. Cretaceous Research in press. Article 104754. doi:10.1016/j.cretres.2021.104754
• Canale, Juan I.; Ignacio Cerda; Fernando E. Novas, and Alejandro Haluza. 2016. Small-sized abelisaurid (Theropoda: Ceratosauria) remains from the Upper Cretaceous of northwest Patagonia, Argentina. Cretaceous Research 62. 18–28. doi:10.1016/j.cretres.2016.02.001
• Sánchez, María Lidia; Susana Heredia, and Jorge O. Calvo. 2006. Paleoambientes sedimentarios del Cretácico Superior de la Formación Plottier (Grupo Neuquén), Departamento Confluencia, Neuquén (Sedimentary paleoenvironments in the Upper Cretaceous Plottier Formation (Neuquen Group), Confluencia, Neuquén). Revista de la Asociación Geológica Argentina 61. 3–18. Accessed 2019-02-16.
• Leanza, H.A.; S. Apesteguia; F.E. Novas, and M.S. De la Fuente. 2004. Cretaceous terrestrial beds from the Neuquén Basin (Argentina) and their tetrapod assemblages. Cretaceous Research 25. 61–87. Accessed 2019-02-16.
• Leonardi, Giuseppe. 1994. Annotated Atlas of South America Tetrapod Footprints (Devonian to Holocene) with an appendix on Mexico and Central America, 1–248. Ministerio de Minas e Energia - Companhia de Pesquisa de Recursos Minerais, Geological Service of Brazil. Accessed 2019-03-25.
• Wichmann, R. 1929. Los Estratos con Dinosaurios y su techo en el este del Territorio del Neuquén ("The dinosaur-bearing strata and their upper limit in eastern Neuquén Territory"). Dirección General de Geología, Minería e Hidrogeología Publicación 32. 1–9.