Ichnology of the Late Paleozoic Paganzo and Calingasta-Uspallata Basins of Western Argentina
Libro: Ichnology of Latin America - Selected Papers
Capítulo: Ichnology of the Late Paleozoic Paganzo and Calingasta-Uspallata
Basins of Western Argentina
Autores: Pablo Joaquín Alonso-Muruaga, Luis Alberto Buatois,
María Gabriela Mángano, Carlos Oscar Limarino
Abstract: Several trace fossil assemblages have been recorded in the upper
Paleozoic Paganzo and Calingasta-Uspallata basins of northwestern
Argentina. In the Paganzo Basin, ichnofossil assemblages are widespread,
being present in both the Lower and Upper sections of the Paganzo Group.
The Mermia, depauperate Cruziana and depauperate Mermia Ichnofacies are
common in the lower section. They occur in glacial-postglacial settings and in
transgressive settings not connected directly with ice masses. In the Upper
section, the Scoyenia Ichnofacies, as well as eolian-related trace fossil
assemblages, occur in connection to more arid continental facies. The
ichnological record of the Calingasta-Uspallata Basin is relatively scarce.
In this basin, the depauperate Cruziana Ichnofacies has been documented
in post-glacial deposits of the Hoyada Verde Formation, suggesting stressed
conditions related to a wave-dominated prograding deltaic system. Archetypal
and more diverse Cruziana Ichnofacies have not been recorded yet in these
basins, contrary to the situation observed in other Gondwanic settings. The
vertebrate trace fossil record of the late Paleozoic in Argentina is still poor.