Sergio D. Matheos

A Paleocene lowland macroflora from Patagonia reveals significantly greater richness than North American analogs

Few South American macrofloras of Paleocene age are known, and this limits our knowledge of diversity and composition between the end-Cretaceous event and the Eocene appearance of high floral diversity. We report new, unbiased collections of 2516 compression specimens from the Paleocene Salamanca Formation (ca. 61.7 Ma) from two localities in the Palacio de los Loros exposures in southern Chubut, Patagonia, Argentina. Our samples reveal considerably greater richness than was previously known from the Paleocene of Patagonia, including 36 species of angiosperm leaves as well as angiosperm fruits, flowers, and seeds; ferns; and conifer leaves, cones, and seeds. The floras, which are from siltstone and sandstone channel-fills deposited on low-relief floodplain landscapes in a humid, warm temperate climate, are climatically and paleoenvironmentally comparable to many quantitatively collected Paleocene floras from the Western Interior of North America. Adjusted for sample size, there are >50% more species at each Palacio de los Loros quarry than in any comparable U.S. Paleocene sample. These results indicate more vibrant terrestrial ecosystems in Patagonian than in North American floodplain environments ∼4 m.y. after the end-Cretaceous extinction, and they push back the time line 10 m.y. for the evolution of high floral diversity in South America. The cause of the dis parity is unknown but could involve reduced impact effects because of greater distance from the Chicxulub site, higher latest Cretaceous diversity, or faster recovery or immigration rates.

Sequence stratigraphy of a tidally dominated carbonate–siliciclastic ramp; the Tithonian–Early Berriasian of the Southern Neuquén Basin, Argentina

The Tithonian–Berriasian Vaca Muerta, Carrín Curá and Picún Leufú formations in the southern Neuquén Basin were deposited on a tidally dominated, mixed carbonate–siliciclastic ramp. Basinal, outer, middle, shallow and back ramp facies associations are recognized and a sequence stratigraphic analysis reveals that the ramp record consists of three shallowing‐upwards sequences (Ti1, Ti2 and Ti3) set within a lower‐order progradational cycle. A higher order of cyclicity is superimposed on to the middle (Ti2) sequence. The majority of the ramp facies belong to the transgressive and highstand systems tracts; however, at the base of Ti2, a lowstand systems tract is identified, characterized by a basal unconformity and an abrupt basinward shift of the shallow marine lithofacies. Transgressive systems tracts were characterized by slow sedimentation rates and rapid sea‐level rises that affected carbonate productivity. Highstand systems tracts show the greatest carbonate productivity and an increased progradation rate on account of a reduction in accommodation space generation. Palaeogeography played a major role in the development of the depositional systems. Partial isolation from the Pacific Ocean reflecting the growth of the Andean magmatic arc and geographic restriction due to tectonic inversion in the central part of the basin resulted in a meso‐macrotidal regime that produced a tidally dominated sedimentary record in the shallow and back ramp environments. Coeval anoxic conditions in the central part of the Neuquén Basin favoured distal ramp and basinal black shale deposition during episodes of relative sea‐level rise.

Early Paleogene climate at mid latitude in South America: Mineralogical and paleobotanical proxies from continental sequences in Golfo San Jorge basin (Patagonia, Argentina)

The Paleocene-Eocene boundary was a period of transient and intense global warming that had a deep effect on middle and high latitude plant groups. Nevertheless, only scarce early Paleogene paleoclimatic records are known from the South American continental sequences deposited at these latitudes. In this contribution clay mineralogy and paleobotanical analyses (fossil woods and phytoliths) were used as paleoclimate proxies from the lower and middle parts of the Rio Chico Group (Golfo San Jorge basin, Patagonia, Argentina). These new data may enable to understand the changing climatic conditions during part of the Paleocene-Eocene transition. In this setting, three clay mineral assemblages were identified: S1 assemblage (smectite) dominates the Penas Coloradas Formation; S2 assemblage (smectitegt;kaolinite) occurs in the stratigraphic transition to the Las Flores Formation; and S3 assemblage (kaolinitegt;smectite) dominates the Las Flores Formation. These trend of change in the detrital clay mineral composition is interpreted as resulting mainly from the changing paleoclimatic conditions that shifted from seasonal warm temperate to tropical affecting the same source area lithology. Moreover, the paleobotanical data suggest that the Early Paleogene vegetation in the Golfo San Jorge basin underwent significant composition and diversity changes, ranging from mixed temperate - subtropical forest to mixed subtropical - tropical, humid forest. The integrated analysis of the clay mineral composition and the palaeobotanical assemblages suggests that, in central Argentinean Patagonia, the Paleocene-Eocene climate changed from temperate warm, humid and highly seasonal precipitation conditions to subtropical-tropical, more continuous year-round rainfall conditions.

Fossil wood of the Mimosoideae from the early Paleocene of Patagonia, Argentina

Brea, M., Zamuner, A.B., Matheos, S.D., Iglesias, A. & Zucol, A.F., December, 2008. Fossil wood of the Mimosoideae from the early Paleocene of Patagonia, Argentina. Alcheringa 32, 427–441. ISSN 0311-5518. An anatomically preserved mature stem from the Salamanca Formation (early Paleocene) at Palacio de Los Loros, central Patagonia, Argentina, is described and assigned to Paracacioxylon frenguellii sp. nov. The material was preserved by siliceous permineralization and shows features of the secondary xylem typical of subfamily Mimosoideae. This species represents the oldest record of the genus and of the Leguminosae along the western border of Gondwana, and is the worlds second oldest record of Leguminosae wood. The species is characterized by ring-porous to semi-ring-porous vessels that are solitary, in multiples of 2–4 and clustered, simple perforation plates, alternate and vestured inter-vessel pitting, homocellular 1–6 seriate rays, tyloses, crystals and diffuse apotracheal, vasicentric paratracheal and confluent axial parenchyma. Paracacioxylon frenguellii has anatomical similarities to Acacia Miller. The presence of Paracacioxylon frenguellii associated with pulvinate leaves suggests that the legumes might have been a component of mesothermal forests developed along the western margin of the Golfo San Jorge Basin during the early Paleocene.

Paleoecology and paleoenvironments of Podocarp trees in the Ameghino Petrified forest (Golfo San Jorge Basin, Patagonia, Argentina): Constraints for Early Paleogene paleoclimate

During the Early Paleocene (Danian), Central Patagonia had a warm-temperate climate and was dominated by evergreen coniferous forests. Abundant permineralized conifer woods along with some dicot and palm leaf compressions were found in the Ameghino Petrified Forest, and provide evidence of this type of flora. All the permineralized wood and large trunks recovered were assigned to the species Podocarpoxylon mazzonii. An estimated tree height of 17-29m was calculated on the basis of diameter measurements. Based on 14 ring sequences, with a total of 169 rings, the mean ring width and Mean Sensitivity (MS) were 1.23 and 0.19mm respectively. The growth rings are moderately wide, extremely uniform and complacent, indicating that the environment was favourable and constant, and lacked significant stress factors limiting tree growth. Following the quantitative analysis for conifers outlined by Falcon-Lang, the growth ring anatomy of the Podocarpoxylon mazzonii suggests that these trees had an evergreen habit. The combination of the fossil flora, growth ring, and sedimentological analyses suggest that this mostly evergreen coniferous forest developed under warm-temperate conditions and without limiting factors.