[dinosaur] Gigantic sauropod femur from Xinrong (China) + Cerro Barcino Formation + Siberian dinosaur site

Ben Creisler
[email protected]

Some recent papers not yet mentioned...

DONG Liyang; XUE Peilin; ZHANG Cai; LIU Yingchao; LI Yu (2019)
Discovery of gigantic sauropod femur fossils and the burial environment in
Xinrong area, Shanxi Province.
Geological Survey of China 2019(1): 61-66
https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www.en.cnki.com.cn_Article-5Fen_CJFDTotal-2DDZDC201901009.htm&d=DwIFaQ&c=clK7kQUTWtAVEOVIgvi0NU5BOUHhpN0H8p7CSfnc_gI&r=Ry_mO4IFaUmGof_Yl9MyZgecRCKHn5g4z1CYJgFW9SI&m=n1uIqQsf7zlMPk2sf8KCe5Q_mL5MP4rKoT50OO35emc&s=UfPBGJ_iV4wtVDqCmreErINb8oKIjyAL-sShnbwu2l8&e= 
https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__cnki.gxstd.com-3A82_KCMS_detail_detail.aspx-3Ffilename-3DDZDC201901009-26dbcode-3DCJFD-26dbname-3DCJFD2019&d=DwIFaQ&c=clK7kQUTWtAVEOVIgvi0NU5BOUHhpN0H8p7CSfnc_gI&r=Ry_mO4IFaUmGof_Yl9MyZgecRCKHn5g4z1CYJgFW9SI&m=n1uIqQsf7zlMPk2sf8KCe5Q_mL5MP4rKoT50OO35emc&s=n55Nt944pPP7_h1S7xFbC14rZLjI6CJftLdlfacRlJk&e= 


Recently the gigantic sauropod femur fossils have been first discovered in
Zhumapu Formation of Upper Cretaceous in Xinrong area of Shanxi Province.
Through the observation of preservation occurrence,remaining length and
proximal end of the femur,the authors estimated the real length of the
femur and the body length of this sauropod. It turns out that the real
length of this femur is probably 1. 9 m and the body length of the sauropod
may reach more than 30. 0 m. Furthermore,based on the analysis of
sedimentary facies and paleocurrent directions, the authors discussed the
burial environment of the femur fossils. The results show that Zhumapu
Formation belongs to the meandering river deposit with grand scale,high
degree of curvature and strong hydrodynamic force.This sauropod has been
buried in the meandering river after a short-medium distance
transportation. Discovery of the gigantic sauropod in this area has not
only expanded the distribution range of gigantic sauropods in Late
Cretaceous in North China, but also is of great significance to Cretaceous
paleoclimate and paleoenvironment research in Zuoyun-Xinrong areas.

==

J. Marcelo Krause, Jahandar Ramezani, Aldo M. Umazano, Diego Pol, José L.
Carballido, Juliana Sterli, Pablo Puerta, N. Rubén Cúneo & Eduardo S.
Bellosi (2019)
High-resolution chronostratigraphy of the Cerro Barcino Formation
(Patagonia): Paleobiologic implications for the mid-Cretaceous
dinosaur-rich fauna of South America.
Gondwana Research (advance online publication)
doi: https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__doi.org_10.1016_j.gr.2019.10.005&d=DwIFaQ&c=clK7kQUTWtAVEOVIgvi0NU5BOUHhpN0H8p7CSfnc_gI&r=Ry_mO4IFaUmGof_Yl9MyZgecRCKHn5g4z1CYJgFW9SI&m=n1uIqQsf7zlMPk2sf8KCe5Q_mL5MP4rKoT50OO35emc&s=CBH1j0XatvviZ2VrW3TfoyeGry0z8JMvPttQXALX4sQ&e= 
https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.sciencedirect.com_science_article_abs_pii_S1342937X19302886&d=DwIFaQ&c=clK7kQUTWtAVEOVIgvi0NU5BOUHhpN0H8p7CSfnc_gI&r=Ry_mO4IFaUmGof_Yl9MyZgecRCKHn5g4z1CYJgFW9SI&m=n1uIqQsf7zlMPk2sf8KCe5Q_mL5MP4rKoT50OO35emc&s=ovWDXM1uHslTRcpN5raZiPH2J0aGXzcyxDULvjbz2KY&e= 

Highlights

The Cerro Barcino vertebrates fall within a ~118–110 Ma time interval in
the latest Early Cretaceous, which makes them the oldest documented
component of the “mid-Cretaceous” faunal assemblage of Gondwana.
The paleobiologic analyses of the Cerro Barcino vertebrate fauna suggests a
~10 m.y. period of faunistic stability characterized by only minor
evolutionary novelties or faunal turnovers.
High-precision U-Pb geochronology on tuffaceous beds in the Chubut Group,
constrain the deposition of the Puesto La Paloma and Cerro Castaño members,
respectively, to the Aptian and the Albian stages of Early Cretaceous, with
the overlying Las Plumas member extending into the Cenomanian.

Abstract

The Cretaceous Cerro Barcino Formation (Chubut Group) of Central Patagonia,
Argentina has yielded a remarkable fossil vertebrate fauna, which form
important components of the South American "mid-Cretaceous" fauna,
including titanosauriform sauropod dinosaurs, theropod dinosaurs,
crocodyliforms, turtles, and lepidosauromorphs. However, a lack of robust
chronostratigraphic framework for its fossil occurrences has so far
hampered a full realization of their paleobiologic significance. This
contribution presents new stratigraphic, sedimentologic, and U-Pb isotopic
age data from 11 localities throughout the Patagonian Somuncurá-Canadón
Asfalto Basin and analyzes the evolutionary characteristics of the Cerro
Barcino fauna within the biostratigraphic context of the Cretaceous of
Gondwana.

Four new high-precision 206Pb/238U zircon dates by the CA-ID-TIMS method
range from 118.497 ± 0.063 Ma to 98.466 ± 0.048 Ma (2σ internal errors) and
limits the Puesto La Paloma, Cerro Castaño and Las Plumas members of the
Cerro Barcino Formation largely to the Aptian, Albian and Cenomanian stages
of the Cretaceous, respectively. Accordingly, the majority of the Cerro
Barcino vertebrates fall within a ~118–110 Ma time interval in the latest
Early Cretaceous, which makes them the oldest documented component of the
"mid-Cretaceous" faunal assemblage of Gondwana. Paleobiologic analyses of
the latter assemblage suggests a ~10 m.y. period of faunistic stability
characterized by only minor evolutionary novelties or faunal turnovers.

============

S. V. Leshchinskiy, A. V. Faingerts & S. V. Ivantsov (2019)
Bol’shoi Ilek as the Ilek Formation Stratotype of the Lower Cretaceous and
a New Dinosaur and Mammoth Fauna Site in the Southeastern Western Siberia.
Doklady Earth Sciences 488(2): 1157–1160
DOI: https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__doi.org_10.1134_S1028334X19100155&d=DwIFaQ&c=clK7kQUTWtAVEOVIgvi0NU5BOUHhpN0H8p7CSfnc_gI&r=Ry_mO4IFaUmGof_Yl9MyZgecRCKHn5g4z1CYJgFW9SI&m=n1uIqQsf7zlMPk2sf8KCe5Q_mL5MP4rKoT50OO35emc&s=NzjauYvy9L5RWZeKPbzeSQMNoZcmQm8mSlXYXg6p1Y4&e= 
https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__link.springer.com_article_10.1134_S1028334X19100155&d=DwIFaQ&c=clK7kQUTWtAVEOVIgvi0NU5BOUHhpN0H8p7CSfnc_gI&r=Ry_mO4IFaUmGof_Yl9MyZgecRCKHn5g4z1CYJgFW9SI&m=n1uIqQsf7zlMPk2sf8KCe5Q_mL5MP4rKoT50OO35emc&s=k4IeD2uqnI1GFGNJSY5l49cFYCVP7t_Mq-oolKO_IxE&e= 


This paper clarifies the structure of the Bol’shoi Ilek section (height up
to 83 m), which is composed by the deposits of Cretaceous and Quaternary
systems, in the southeastern part of Western Siberia. The major volume of
the section comprises the Lower Cretaceous rocks of the delta complex,
reaching a thickness of 80 m and characterizing the Ilek Formation
stratotype. The remains of fishes, lizards, turtles, crocodiliforms,
dinosaurs, and mammals typical for the Barremian–Early Albian were found
for the first time when screen-washing the sand fraction. The Mesozoic
rocks are superposed by Quaternary eolian–deluvial and eluvial deposits
with a thickness of 3–13.5 m or more. This sequence consists of three
layers with mammoth fauna remains, the middle of which is dated at 14C ~ 22
500 years ago. In addition, according to the investigation data, Bol’shoi
Ilek is a huge landslide with an area of more than 1 km2. All these facts
make it possible to draw an analogy with the even-aged section of the
Shestakovo high bank which also partially exposes the giant landslide. Such
landslides are triggered by earthquakes with a magnitude of more than nine
points, which is indicative of a powerful seismic event that occurred in
the southeastern part of the study region at the very end of the
Pleistocene.