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Tithonian age of dinosaur fossils in central Patagonian, Chile: U–Pb SHRIMP geochronology

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Abstract

Three Tithonian concordant U–Pb SHRIMP zircon ages of 148.7 ± 1.4, 147.9 ± 1.5 and 147.0 ± 1.0 from tuffs intercalated in a clastic sedimentary succession with exceptional dinosaur bones including the new taxon Chilesaurus diegosuarezi gen. et sp. nov. exposed in central Chilean Patagonia (ca. 46°30′S) are reported herein. The fossiliferous beds accumulated in a synvolcanic fan delta reaching a shallow marine basin as indicated by glauconite present in some of the beds, and coeval with the beginning of the transgression of the Aysén Basin.

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Acknowledgments

This work was financed by FONDECYT Projects No. 1121140 (and initiated with FONDECYT projects Nos. 1030162 and 1080516), the Universidad Andres Bello and the Servicio Nacional de Geología y Minería. We acknowledge the curiosity, good sight and capacity of Diego Suárez who at the age of 7 independently discovered the dinosaur fossils, and the assistance of Leonardo Zúñiga, Alvaro Saldivia and Heliberto Leichtle.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Carrera Geología, Facultad Ingeniería, Universidad Andres Bello, Sazie, 2315, Santiago, Chile

    Manuel Suárez

  2. Servicio Nacional de Geología y Minería, Avenida Santa María, 0104, Santiago, Chile

    Rita De La Cruz

  3. Research School of Earth Sciences, The Australian National University, Canberra, CT, 0200, Australia

    Mark Fanning

  4. Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales, Buenos Aires, Argentina

    Fernando Novas

  5. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (Conicet), Instituto de Investigación en Paleobiología y Geología, Universidad Nacional de Río Negro, Av. Gral. J.A. Roca 1242, 8332, General Roca, Río Negro, Argentina

    Leonardo Salgado

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  1. Manuel Suárez
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  2. Rita De La Cruz
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  4. Fernando Novas
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  5. Leonardo Salgado
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Correspondence to Manuel Suárez.

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Suárez, M., De La Cruz, R., Fanning, M. et al. Tithonian age of dinosaur fossils in central Patagonian, Chile: U–Pb SHRIMP geochronology. Int J Earth Sci (Geol Rundsch) 105, 2273–2284 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00531-015-1287-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00531-015-1287-7

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