La Cruz Formation, Argentina
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The La Cruz Formation is an
Aptian The Aptian is an age in the geologic timescale or a stage in the stratigraphic column. It is a subdivision of the Early or Lower Cretaceous Epoch or Series and encompasses the time from 121.4 ± 1.0 Ma to 113.0 ± 1.0 Ma (million years ago), a ...
geologic
formation Formation may refer to: Linguistics * Back-formation, the process of creating a new lexeme by removing or affixes * Word formation, the creation of a new word by adding affixes Mathematics and science * Cave formation or speleothem, a secondar ...
in
Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...
.
Pterosaur Pterosaurs (; from Greek ''pteron'' and ''sauros'', meaning "wing lizard") is an extinct clade of flying reptiles in the order, Pterosauria. They existed during most of the Mesozoic: from the Late Triassic to the end of the Cretaceous (228 to ...
fossils of ''
Pterodaustro guinazui ''Pterodaustro'' is a genus of ctenochasmatid pterodactyloid pterosaur from South America. Its fossil remains dated back to the Early Cretaceous period, about 105 million years ago. The most distinctive characteristic that separates ''Pterodaus ...
'' and '' Puntanipterus globosus'' and
fish Fish are aquatic, craniate, gill-bearing animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish as well as various extinct related groups. Approximately 95% of li ...
fossils of '' Austrolepidotes cuyanus'', Pleuropholidae indet and '' Neosemionotus puntanus'' have been recovered from the formation.Hualtarán
at
Fossilworks Fossilworks is a portal which provides query, download, and analysis tools to facilitate access to the Paleobiology Database The Paleobiology Database is an online resource for information on the distribution and classification of fossil animals ...
.org The formation, the uppermost unit of the El Gigante Group, overlies the El Toscal Formation, and is overlain by the
Lagarcito Formation The Lagarcito Formation is an Albian geologic formation in Argentina. Pterosaur fossils have been recovered from the formation. The formation overlies the La Cruz Formation and is overlain by the San Roque Formation. The sandstones and mudstones ...
. The unit comprises
sandstone Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks. Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates) ...
s and conglomerates, deposited in an
alluvial plain An alluvial plain is a largely flat landform created by the deposition of sediment over a long period of time by one or more rivers coming from highland regions, from which alluvial soil forms. A floodplain is part of the process, being the sma ...
to
fluvial In geography and geology, fluvial processes are associated with rivers and streams and the deposits and landforms created by them. When the stream or rivers are associated with glaciers, ice sheets, or ice caps, the term glaciofluvial or fluviog ...
environment Environment most often refers to: __NOTOC__ * Natural environment, all living and non-living things occurring naturally * Biophysical environment, the physical and biological factors along with their chemical interactions that affect an organism or ...
.Gardini et al., 2009, p.554


See also

*
List of pterosaur-bearing stratigraphic units This is a list of stratigraphic units, where pterosaur fossils have been recovered from. Units listed are all either formation rank or higher (e.g. group). See also * Pterosaur * List of fossil sites This list of fossil sites is a worldw ...


References


Bibliography

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Further reading

{{commonscat, La Cruz Formation * J. F. Bonaparte and T. M. Sánchez. 1975. Restos de un pterosaurio, ''Puntanipterus globosus'' de la Formación La Cruz, Provincia de San Luis, Argentina emains of a pterosaur, ''Puntanipterus globosus'' from the La Cruz Formation, San Luis Province, Argentina Actas del Primer Congreso Argentino de Paleontologia y Bioestratigrafia, Tucumán 2:105-113 Geologic formations of Argentina Lower Cretaceous Series of South America Cretaceous Argentina Aptian Stage Sandstone formations Conglomerate formations Alluvial deposits Fluvial deposits Fossiliferous stratigraphic units of South America Paleontology in Argentina Geology of San Luis Province