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Reptilian coprolites in the Eocene of central Patagonia, Argentina

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 May 2016

J. Marcelo Krause  and
Carlos I. Piña
J. Marcelo Krause
Affiliation:
CONICET, Museo Paleontológico Egidio Feruglio, Avenida Fontana 140, Trelew 9100, Chubut, Argentina,
Carlos I. Piña
Affiliation:
Centro de Investigaciones Científicas y Transferencia de Tecnología a la Producción-CONICET, Dr. Materi y España. Diamante 3105, Entre Ríos, Argentina, Facultad de Ciencias y Tecnología UAdER/Facultad de Ciencias de la Alimentación UNER
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Abstract

Biogenic structures, herein interpreted as coprolites, were recorded in the ?upper Paleocene–Eocene Las Flores Formation, southeast Argentina. The coprolite origin is supported by several features, such as recurrent extrusive external morphology, longitudinal wrinkles, flattening of the ventral side, concentric and radial cracks, cryptocrystalline groundmass, and a phosphatic composition. A detailed comparative study with modern fecal masses, based on morphology, surface texture, micromorphology, mineralogical and chemical composition, suggest a crocodylian as the most probable producer, an interpretation also supported by the Patagonian paleontological record. This discovery, the first record on coprolites from Central Patagonia, provides new paleoenvironmental and paleoecological information for the studied successions.

Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Paleontology , Volume 86 , Issue 3 , May 2012 , pp. 527 - 538
Copyright
Copyright © The Paleontological Society 

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