Mata Amarilla Formation

Mata Amarilla Formation
Type	Geological Formation
Underlies	La Anita Formation
Overlies	Pieda Clavada Formation

The Mata Amarilla formation is a stratigraphic division consisting of rocks deposited between the Albian and Santonian ages. The middle section was previously considered to be the Pari Aike Formation.

Age

The middle section of the Mata Amarilla Formation has widely been regarded as Maastrichtian in age, but recent dating of a lava tuff layer shows that it dates back to 96.2 ± 0.7 Ma, during the Cenomanian.^[1]

Paleobiota

Dinosaurs reported from the Mata Amarilla Formation
Genus	Species	Location	Stratigraphic position	Material	Notes	Images
Austrocheirus[2]	A. isasii		Middle Section		An indeterminate theropod.[3]
Loncosaurus	L. argentinus		Middle Section
Orkoraptor	O. burkei		Middle Section
Puertasaurus	P. reuili		Middle Section
Talenkauen	T. santacrucensis		Middle Section

References

1. Varela, A. N.; Poiré, D. G.; Martin, T.; Gerdes, A.; Goin, F. J.; Gelfo, J. N.; Hoffmann, S. (2012). "U-Pb zircon constraints on the age of the Cretaceous Mata Amarilla Formation, Southern Patagonia, Argentina: Its relationship with the evolution of the Austral Basin". Andean Geology. 39 (3): 359–379. doi:10.5027/andgeoV39n3-a01.
2. Ezcurra, M.D., Agnolin, F.L. & Novas, F.E. (2010). "An abelisauroid dinosaur with a non-atrophied manus from the Late Cretaceous Pari Aike Formation of southern Patagonia" (PDF). Zootaxa. 2450: 1–25.
3. Rauhut, O. W. M. (2012). "A reappraisal of a putative record of abelisauroid theropod dinosaur from the Middle Jurassic of England". Proceedings of the Geologists' Association. 123 (5): 779–786. doi:10.1016/j.pgeola.2012.05.008.