Rupelo Formation

The Rupelo Formation is an Early Cretaceous (Berriasian) geologic formation in the Burgos Province of Castile and León in northern Spain. The formation crops out near the municipality Mambrillas de Lara in the northwesternmost part of the Cameros Basin in the Sierra de la Demanda.[1]

Rupelo Formation Stratigraphic range: Berriasian ~145–140 Ma PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N ↓
La Pedraja tracksite in Mambrillas de Lara
Type	Geological formation
Unit of	Tierra de Lara Group
Underlies	Valdeprado Formation
Overlies	Oncala Group  Huérteles Formation
Area	~1 km^2 (0.39 sq mi)
Thickness	~2 m (6.6 ft)
Lithology
Primary	Mudstone
Other	Marl
Location
Coordinates	42.1°N 3.5°W / 42.1; -3.5
Approximate paleocoordinates	33.7°N 5.9°E / 33.7; 5.9
Region	Mambrillas de Lara, Burgos, Castile and León
Country	Spain
Extent	Restricted to northwesternmost Cameros Basin; Sierra de la Demanda
Type section
Named for	Rupelo
Rupelo Formation (Spain) Show map of Spain Rupelo Formation (Castile and León) Show map of Castile and León

Fossil sauropod tracks have been reported from the formation.[2] The formation was deposited under lacustrine conditions in a shallow carbonate lake, with some exposure events in the sedimentary sequence. Imprints of dinosaurs were made in carbonate mud, after they were infilled with marl. Dinosaur tracks have been assigned to sauropods, theropods and ornithopods.[3]

The municipality of Mambrillas de Lara has created a dinosaur park.

Correlation

Early Cretaceous stratigraphy of Iberia

Ma	Age	Paleomap \ Basins	Cantabrian	Olanyà	Cameros	Maestrazgo	Oliete	Galve	Morella	South Iberian	Pre-betic	Lusitanian
100	Cenomanian		La Cabana	Sopeira	Utrillas		Mosquerela					Caranguejeira
			Altamira		Utrillas
			Eguino
125	Albian		Ullaga - Balmaseda	Lluçà						Traiguera
			Monte Grande		Escucha		Escucha			Jijona
			Itxina - Miono
	Aptian		Valmaseda - Tellamendi		Ol Gp. - Castrillo	Benassal		Benassal				Olhos
				Font	En Gp. - Leza	Morella/Oliete	Oliete	Villaroya	Morella	Capas Rojas		Almargem
			Patrocinio - Ernaga	Senyús	En Gp. - Jubela	Forcall				Villaroya	Upper Bedoulian	Figueira
	Barremian		Vega de Pas	Cabó	Abejar	Xert	Alacón	Xert		Huérguina		Assises
				Prada		Artoles				Collado	Moutonianum	Papo Seco
				Rúbies	Tera Gp. - Golmayo	Alacón/Blesa	Blesa	Camarillas	Mirambel
150	Hauterivian				Ur Gp. - Pinilla	Llacova		Castellar	Tera Gp. - Pinilla	Villares		Porto da Calada
							hiatus
						Huerva			Gaita
	Valanginian		Villaro		Ur Gp. - Larriba				Ped Gp. - Hortigüela
					Ped Gp. - Hortigüela				Ped Gp. - Piedrahita
					Peñacoba			Galve		Miravetes
	Berriasian		Cab Gp. - Arcera		Valdeprado	hiatus		Alfambra
					TdL Gp. - Rupelo			Arzobispo	hiatus	Tollo
					On Gp. - Huérteles Sierra Matute
	Tithonian		Lastres		Tera Gp. - Magaña		Higuereles			Tera Gp. - Magaña		Lourinhã
									Arzobispo
					Ágreda
Legend		Major fossiliferous, oofossiliferous, ichnofossiliferous, coproliferous, minor formation
Sources

See also

• List of dinosaur-bearing rock formations
  • List of stratigraphic units with sauropodomorph tracks
    • Sauropod tracks

References

1. González Acebrón et al., 2010, p.89
2. Weishampel, et al., 2004, pp. 517-607
3. Rupelo Formation at Fossilworks.org

Bibliography

• González Acebrón, L.; J. Arribas, and R. Mas. 2010. Sand provenance and implications for paleodrainage in a rifted basin: the Tera Group (N. Spain). Journal of Iberian Geology 36. 87–106. Accessed 2019-10-10.
• Weishampel, David B.; Peter Dodson, and Halszka Osmólska (eds.). 2004. The Dinosauria, 2nd edition, 1–880. Berkeley: University of California Press. Accessed 2019-02-21.ISBN 0-520-24209-2

Further reading

• Platt, N.H., and C.A. Meyer. 1991. Dinosaur footprints from the Lower Cretaceous of northern Spain: their sedimentological and palaeoecological context. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 86. 321-333.