La Boca Formation
The La Boca Formation is a geological formation in Tamaulipas state, northeast Mexico. It was trougth to date back to the Early Jurassic, concretely the Pliensbachian stage epoch.[3][4] Although, the latest studies had proven that the local Vulcanism, related to the aperture of the Atlantic Ocean and the several Rift Events, that continue until the Bajocian where developed until the Latest Pliensbachian, with tha fossil taxa deposited on the rocks above.[5] Due to successions of Aalenian depositional sistems on the upper layers of the Huizachal Canyon, has been delimited the formation to the Toarcian stage, being the regional equivalent of the Moroccan Azilal Formation.[2][1]
La Boca Formation Stratigraphic range: Upper Pliensbachian-Lower Bajocian, 183–165 Ma [1][2] | |
---|---|
Type | Geological formation |
Unit of | Huizachal Group |
Sub-units |
|
Underlies | La Joya Formation |
Overlies | Huizachal Formation |
Thickness | <10 m |
Lithology | |
Primary | Red sandstones, mudstones, and siltstones |
Other | Pyroclastic volcanic rocks |
Location | |
Region | Tamaulipas |
Country | Mexico |
Fossil record
Unclassified Diapsida
Genus | Species | Location | Stratigraphic position | Abundance | Notes | Images |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Tamaulipasaurus[6] |
T. morenoi |
Dinosaur National Monument South, Huizachal Canyon |
Lower Part |
Skull and several fragmentary remains |
A strange burrowing Diapsid: "Burrowing diapsid representing a heretofore unknown clade"[6] |
|
Synapsida
Genus | Species | Location | Stratigraphic position | Abundance | Notes | Images |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
B. tamaulipensis[7] |
Jim's Joy, Huizachal Canyon |
Lower Part |
Teeth |
A basal Mammaliaform[7] |
||
B. mexicanum[8] |
Huizachal Canyon |
Lower Part |
IGM 3492, Skull |
|||
Huasteconodon[7] |
H. wiblei[7] |
Huizachal Canyon |
Lower Part |
Teeth |
||
Victoriaconodon[7] |
V. inaequalis[7] |
Rene's Roost, Huizachal Canyon |
Lower Part |
Teeth |
||
Unnamed Mammaliaforms (IGM 6622,IGM 6855, and IGM 6856)[7] |
Indeterminate |
|
Lower Part |
IGM 6855, partial right dentary; IGM 6856, left dentary; IGM 6622, partial right dentary |
||
Sphenodontia
Genus | Species | Location | Stratigraphic position | Abundance | Notes | Images |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
C. huizachalensis |
Huizachal Canyon |
Lower Part |
Jaws & teeth of various specimens |
|||
S. jimmysjoyi[11] |
Jim's Joy, Huizachal Canyon |
Lower Part |
IGM 6076, right lower jaw |
A venomous Sphenodont[11] |
||
Z. ejidoensis |
Tierra Buena, W Huizachal Canyon |
Lower Part |
Jaws |
A dwarf Sphenodont |
||
Pterosauria
Genus | Species | Location | Stratigraphic position | Abundance | Notes | Images |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
"D." weintraubi |
Huizachal Canyon |
Lower Part |
Fragmentary skeleton of a large rhamphorhynchoid that includes a remarkably preserved pes. |
A Pterosaur of uncertain phylogenetic placement, being originally proposed as a member of the genus Dimorphodon, although, has some great differences with the original holotype, and Dimorphodon is a lower Liassic Genus. Most recent analises place it on different positions on Novialoidea.[14] |
||
Crocodrylomorpha
Genus | Species | Location | Stratigraphic position | Abundance | Notes | Images |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Unnamed Crocodyliforms[8][15] |
Indeterminate |
Huizachal Canyon |
Lower Part |
Skull fragment |
Non compared |
|
? Metasuchia indeterminate |
Huizachal Canyon |
Lower Part |
IGM 3498 & additional specimens. Partial skulls and postcranial skeletons |
Non compared |
||
Dinosauria
Genus | Species | Location | Stratigraphic position | Abundance | Notes | Images |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
"Syntarsus" mexicanum [17] |
Casa de Fidencio, Huizachal Canyon |
Lower Part |
(IGM 6624) partial twelfth dorsal vertebra, partial thirteenth dorsal vertebra, partial synsacrum, incomplete fused pelvis |
An indeterminate Coelophysoidean. |
||
Ceratosauria Indeterminate |
Casa de Fidencio, Huizachal Canyon |
Lower Part |
IGM 6625, craneal fragmentary elements |
A possible basal ceratosaur related with the African Berberosaurus. |
||
Neotheropoda Indeterminate |
Huizachal Canyon |
Lower Part |
Isolated teeth |
Several morphotypes, maybe related with Coelophysoidea, Dilophosauridae or Tetanurae.[16] |
||
cf. Heterodontosaurus sp. |
Huizachal Canyon |
Lower Part |
Teeth |
An Ornithischian of the family Heterodontosauridae. |
||
?Sauropodomorpha indeterminate |
Rene's Roost, Huizachal Canyon |
Lower Part |
Large bone fragments |
A possible Basal Sauropodomorph. |
||
See also
- Jurassic Mexico
- List of dinosaur-bearing rock formations
- List of pterosaur-bearing stratigraphic units
References
- Rubio-Cisneros, I. I., & Lawton, T. F. (2011). Detrital zircon U-Pb ages of sandstones in continental red beds at Valle de Huizachal, Tamaulipas, NE Mexico: Record of Early-Middle Jurassic arc volcanism and transition to crustal extension. Geosphere, 7(1), 159-170.
- Martini, M., & Ortega-Gutiérrez, F. (2018). Tectono-stratigraphic evolution of eastern Mexico during the break-up of Pangea: A review. Earth-Science Reviews, 183, 38-55.
- Mesozoic Sedimentary and Tectonic History of North-central Mexico, Issue 340, pg 206; edited by Claudio Bartolini, James Lee Wilson, Timothy Frost Lawton.
- Weishampel, David B; et al. (2004). "Dinosaur distribution (Middle Jurassic, North America)." In: Weishampel, David B.; Dodson, Peter; and Osmólska, Halszka (eds.): The Dinosauria, 2nd, Berkeley: University of California Press. Pp. 537–538. ISBN 0-520-24209-2.
- Boschman, L., Van Hinsbergen, D. J., Langereis, C. G., Molina-Garza, R. S., & Kimbrough, D. L. (2017, December). Paleomagnetic Constraints on the Tectonic History of the Mesozoic Ophiolite and Arc Terranes of Western Mexico. In AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts.
- Clark, J. M. (1994). A new burrowing diapsid from the Jurassic La Boca Formation of Tamaulipas, Mexico. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, 14(2), 180-195.
- Montellano, M., Hopson, J. A., & Clark, J. M. (2008). Late Early Jurassic mammaliaforms from Huizachal Canyon, Tamaulipas, México. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, 28(4), 1130-1143.
- Fraser, Nicholas; Sues, Hans-Dieter, eds. (1994). In the Shadow of the Dinosaurs: Early Mesozoic Tetrapods. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-45242-2.
- Reynoso, V. H. (1996). A Middle Jurassic Sphenodon-like sphenodontian (Diapsida: Lepidosauria) from Huizachal Canyon, Tamaulipas, Mexico. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, 16(2), 210-221.
- Reynoso, V. H. (2003). Growth patterns and ontogenetic variation of the teeth and jaws of the Middle Jurassic sphenodontian Cynosphenodon huizachalensis (Reptilia: Rhynchocephalia). Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences, 40(4), 609-619.
- Reynoso, V.H. 2005. Possible evidence of a venom apparatus in a Middle Jurassic sphenodontian from the Huizachal red beds of Tamaulipas, Mexico. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 25: 646–653. doi:10.1671/0272-4634(2005)025[0646:PEOAVA]2.0.CO;2
- V.-H. Reynoso and J. M. Clark. 1998. A dwarf sphenodontian from the Jurassic La Boca Formation of Tamaulipas, Mexico. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 18:333-339
- Clark, J. M., Hopson, J. A., Fastovsky, D. E., & Montellano, M. (1998). Foot posture in a primitive pterosaur. Nature, 391(6670), 886-889.
- Britt, B. B., Dalla Vecchia, F. M., Chure, D. J., Engelmann, G. F., Whiting, M. F., & Scheetz, R. D. (2018). Caelestiventus hanseni gen. et sp. nov. extends the desert-dwelling pterosaur record back 65 million years. Nature ecology & evolution, 2(9), 1386-1392.
- V.-H. Reynoso. 2006. Research on fossil amphibians and reptiles in Mexico, from 1869 to early 2004 (including marine forms but excluding pterosaurs, dinosaurs, and obviously, birds). In F. J. Vega, T. G. Nyborg, M. Del Carmen Perrilliat, M. Montellano-Ballesteros, S. R. S. Cevallos-Ferriz, S. A. Quiroz-Barroso (eds.), Studies on Mexican Paleontology 24:209-231
- R. C. Munter and J. M. Clark. 2006. Theropod dinosaurs from the Early Jurassic of Huizachal Canyon, Mexico. In M. T. Carrano, T. J. Gaudin, R. W. Blob, J. R. Wible (eds.), Amniote paleobiology: perspectives on the evolution of mammals, birds, and reptiles. University of Chicago Press, Chicago 53-7
- González, De Stefano and Hernandez, 2002. [unknown title] in González and Stéfano (eds.). Fósiles de México- Coahuila: Una ventana a través del tiempo. Gobierno del Estado de Coahuila. 214-215.
- Clark, James; Montellano, Marisol; Hopson, James A.; Hernandez, Rene; Fastovsky, David A. (1994). "An Early or Middle Jurassic tetrapod assemblage from the La Boca Formation, northeastern Mexico". In Fraser, N.C.; Sues H.-D. (eds.). In The Shadow of the Dinosaurs: Early Mesozoic Tetrapods. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 295–302. ISBN 0-521-45899-4.