A Triassic flora from Quebrada Doña Inés Chica, Atacama, Chile

Authors

  • Rafael Herbst Instituto Superior de Correlación Geológica (INSUGEO-CONICET). Las Piedras 201 7º/B, 4000 San Miguel de Tucumán, Argentina
  • Alejandro Troncoso Universidad de Talca. Pje. Miguel Muñoz 1083, Talagante, Chile

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.4013/gaea.2012.82.03

Abstract

A megaflora preserved by impressions in three distinct levels from the Quebrada del Salitre Formation, Upper Triassic, from the locality Quebrada de Doña Inés Chica (26° 07’ S - 69° 20’ W), 3rd Region, Chile, is described. The taphoflora is composed by Neocalamites sp. cf. N. carrerei Halle, Cladophlebis cf. mesozoica Kurtz ex Frenguelli, Dictyophyllum (D.) tenuifolium (Stipanicic & Menéndez) Bonetti & Herbst, Gleichenites cachivaritensis Herbst, Dicroidium odontopteroides (Morris) Gothan, Dicroidium lancifolium (Morris) Gothan, Pterophyllum sp. a, Pterophyllum sp. b, Sphenobaiera cf. steinmannii (Solms-Laubach) Anderson & Anderson, Sphenobaiera. cf. schenckii (Feistmantel) Florin, Linguifolium gracile Anderson & Anderson, Linguifolium tenison-woodsii (Jack & Etheridge) Retallack, Heidiphyllum cf. elongatum (Morris) Retallack, cf. Rochipteris sp., Matatiella suarezii nov. sp., Umkomasia sp. and an undetermined fructification. The fructifications Matatiella and ?Switzianthus are recorded for the first time in the Triassic of Chile. A paleoenvironmental analysis, based on foliar characters and preservation of the fossils, together with sedimentological data, allows proposing a subtropical seasonal, meso- to xeromorphic climate and the existence of several paleocommunities for the Upper Triassic in the Atacama region and the deposition of Quebrada del Salitre Formation.

Keywords: megaflora, impressions, paleoclimate, Upper Triassic, Northern Chile.

Author Biographies

Rafael Herbst, Instituto Superior de Correlación Geológica (INSUGEO-CONICET). Las Piedras 201 7º/B, 4000 San Miguel de Tucumán, Argentina

Alejandro Troncoso, Universidad de Talca. Pje. Miguel Muñoz 1083, Talagante, Chile

Published

2021-06-09

Issue

Section

Artigos