The Toqui Formation is a

geological formation A geological formation, or simply formation, is a body of rock having a consistent set of physical characteristics ( lithology) that distinguishes it from adjacent bodies of rock, and which occupies a particular position in the layers of rock exp ...

in the

Aysén Region The Aysén del General Carlos Ibáñez del Campo Region ( es, Región de Aysén, , '), often shortened to Aysén Region or Aisén,Examples of name usage1, official regional government site refers to the region as "Región de Aysén"., Chile's of ...

of southern

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

. It has been dated to the Tithonian stage of the

Late Jurassic The Late Jurassic is the third epoch of the Jurassic Period, and it spans the geologic time from 163.5 ± 1.0 to 145.0 ± 0.8 million years ago (Ma), which is preserved in Upper Jurassic strata.Owen 1987. In European lithostratigraphy, the name ...

uranium–lead dating Uranium–lead dating, abbreviated U–Pb dating, is one of the oldest and most refined of the radiometric dating schemes. It can be used to date rocks that formed and crystallised from about 1 million years to over 4.5 billion years ago with routi ...

zircon Zircon () is a mineral belonging to the group of nesosilicates and is a source of the metal zirconium. Its chemical name is zirconium(IV) silicate, and its corresponding chemical formula is Zr SiO4. An empirical formula showing some of t ...

s, providing an age of 147 ± 0.1 Ma. It consists of an sequence of clastic sedimentary sandstones and conglomerates, interbedded with volcanic tuffs and ignimbrite. The dinosaurs ''

Chilesaurus ''Chilesaurus'' is an extinct genus of herbivorous dinosaur. The type and only known species so far is ''Chilesaurus diegosuarezi''. ''Chilesaurus'' lived about 145 million years ago (Mya) in the Late Jurassic period of Chile. Showing a combinat ...

'' and indeterminate diplodocids and the

mesoeucrocodylia Mesoeucrocodylia is the clade that includes Eusuchia and crocodyliforms formerly placed in the paraphyletic group Mesosuchia. The group appeared during the Early Jurassic, and continues to the present day. Diagnosis It was long known that M ...

n ''

Burkesuchus ''Burkesuchus'' (meaning "Coleman Burke's crocodile") is an extinct genus of basal neosuchians from the Upper Jurassic (Tithonian)-aged Toqui Formation of southern Chile. The genus is currently represented by a single species ''B. mallingrandensi ...

'' are known from the formation. The formation was deposited in a fluvio-

deltaic A river delta is a landform shaped like a triangle, created by deposition of sediment that is carried by a river and enters slower-moving or stagnant water. This occurs where a river enters an ocean, sea, estuary, lake, reservoir, or (more rarel ...

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 ...

.Toqui Formation, Aysén
at Fossilworks.org

Paleobiota of the Toqui Formation

Crocodylomorphs

Dinosaurs

References

External links

* Geologic formations of Chile Jurassic paleontological sites Mesozoic paleontological sites of South America Fossiliferous stratigraphic units of South America Jurassic System of South America Late Jurassic South America Jurassic Chile Tithonian Stage Conglomerate formations Sandstone formations Tuff formations Deltaic deposits Fluvial deposits Formations Paleontology in Chile Geology of Aysén Region {{geologic-formation-stub

Paleobiota of the Toqui Formation

Crocodylomorphs

Dinosaurs

See also

References

External links