Río Neuquén Subgroup

The Río Neuquén Subgroup is a geological subgroup in the Neuquén Basin, Neuquén Province, Argentina, whose strata date back to the Late Cretaceous. The subgroup, formerly defined as a formation, is the middle unit of the Neuquén Group and contains the Plottier, Sierra Barrosa Formation,[1] Los Bastos Formation,[2] and Portezuelo Formations.[3][4][5] The subgroup overlies the Río Limay Subgroup and is overlain by the Río Colorado Subgroup.[6] Dinosaur remains are among the fossils that have been recovered from the formation.[7]

Río Neuquén Subgroup Stratigraphic range: Late Turonian-Late Coniacian ~91–86 Ma PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N ↓
Type	Subgroup
Unit of	Neuquén Group
Sub-units	Plottier, Sierra Barrosa, Los Bastos & Portezuelo Formations
Underlies	Río Colorado Subgroup
Overlies	Río Limay Subgroup
Thickness	Up to 155 m (509 ft)
Lithology
Primary	Sandstone
Other	Claystone, limestone, mudstone
Location
Coordinates	37.4°S 69.1°W / -37.4; -69.1
Approximate paleocoordinates	42.2°S 49.4°W / -42.2; -49.4
Region	Mendoza, Río Negro & Neuquén Provinces
Country	Argentina
Extent	Neuquén Basin
Type section
Named for	Neuquén River
Río Neuquén Subgroup (Argentina)

Fossil content

See also: Plottier Formation § Fossil content, and Portezuelo Formation § Fossil content

Dinosaurs
Genus	Species	Location	Stratigraphic position	Material	Notes	Images
Antarctosaurus[8]	A. giganteus[8]			"[Two] femora, pubis."[9]	Río Neuquén remains previously referred to A. giganteus are now attributed to an indeterminate sauropod.[8]
	A. wichmannianus[8]
Megaraptor[8]	M. namunhuaiquii[8]			"Partial forelimb, manus, and pes."[10]
Patagonykus[8]	P. puertai[8]			"Partial postcranial skeleton."[11]
Rinconsaurus[8]	R. cadamirus[8]
Titanosaurus[8]	Indeterminate[8]				Titanosaurus is now considered a nomen dubium.
Unenlagia[8]	U. comahuensis[8]			"Fragmentary postcrania."[12]

See also

• List of dinosaur-bearing rock formations

References

1. Garrido, 2011, p.237
2. Garrido, 2011, p.236
3. Balgord & Carapa, 2014, p.6
4. Balgord, 2017, p.455
5. Lebinson et al., 2018, p.252
6. Leanza et al., 2004, p.63
7. Weishampel, 2004, pp. 600-604
8. "Río Neuquén Formation." Weishampel, et al. (2004). Pg. 603.
9. "Table 13.1," in Weishampel, et al. (2004). Page 270.
10. "Table 10.1," in Weishampel, et al. (2004). Page 199.
11. "Table 11.1," in Weishampel, et al. (2004). Page 211.
12. "Table 10.1," in Weishampel, et al. (2004). Page 198.

Bibliography

• Balgord, Elizabeth A. 2017. Triassic to Neogene evolution of the south-central Andean arc determined by detrital zircon U-Pb and Hf analysis of Neuquén Basin strata, central Argentina (34°S–40°S). Lithosphere 9. 453–462. Accessed 2019-02-22.
• Balgord, Elizabeth A., and Barbara Carapa. 2014. Basin evolution of Upper Cretaceous–Lower Cenozoic strata in the Malargüe fold-and-thrust belt: northern Neuquen Basin, Argentina. Basin Research _. 1–24. Accessed 2019-02-22.
• Garrido, Alberto C. 2011. El Grupo Neuquén (Cretácico Tardío) en la Cuenca Neuquina, 231–244. XVIII Congreso Geológico Argentino. Accessed 2019-02-23.
• 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.
• Lebinson, Fernando; Martín Turienzo; Natalia Sánchez; Vanesa Araujo; María Celeste D'Annunzio, and Luis Dimieri. 2018. The structure of the northern Agrio fold and thrust belt (37°30’ S), Neuquén Basin, Argentina. Andean Geology 45. 249–273. Accessed 2019-02-22.
• Weishampel, David B.; Peter Dodson, and Halszka (eds.) Osmólska. 2004. The Dinosauria, 2nd edition, 1–880. Berkeley: University of California Press. Accessed 2019-02-21.ISBN 0-520-24209-2