The Huincul Formation is a geologic formation of Late Cretaceous ( Cenomanian to Early Turonian ) age of the Neuquén Basin that outcrops in the Mendoza , Río Negro and Neuquén Provinces of northern Patagonia , Argentina . It is the second formation in the Río Limay Subgroup , the oldest subgroup within the Neuquén Group . Formerly that subgroup was treated as a formation, and the Huincul Formation was known as the Huincul Member .
16-675: The type locality of the Huincul Formation is near the town of Plaza Huincul in Neuquén Province after which the formation was named by Wichmann in 1929. This formation conformably overlies the Candeleros Formation , and it is in turn overlain by the Lisandro Formation . The Huincul Formation is thought to represent an arid environment with ephemeral or seasonal streams . In some areas, it
32-465: A local amateur fossil hunter by the name of Rubén Darío Carolini stumbled across a tibia from a large theropod whilst out in a dune buggy . A team of specialists led by Rodolfo Coria were sent to excavate the fossil, and returned with an unusually complete skeleton (approximately 70%) including a partial skull. They had found a huge new Carcharodontosaurid , its size likely equalling but potentially exceeding that of Tyrannosaurus Rex , and in 1994,
48-635: A train station on 20 November 1921. A reminder of this is still in place today as a big arch showing the entrance to YPF camp. On 1 February 1967 Plaza Huincul became a municipality (city). The municipality gave its name to the Huincul Formation , a fossiliferous stratigraphic unit dating back to the Cenomanian stage of the Late Cretaceous . Argentinosaurus , the largest dinosaur identified from non-fragmentary remains thus far,
64-520: Is up to 250 metres (820 ft) thick. It is mainly composed of green and yellow sandstones and can easily be differentiated from the overlying Lisandro Formation, which is red in color. The Candeleros Formation, underlying the Huincul, is composed of darker sediments, making all three formations easily distinguishable. Dinosaur fossils are frequently found in the Huincul Formation. The titanosaurian sauropod Argentinosaurus huinculensis , one of
80-443: The 12-13-metre carnivore was named Giganotosaurus by Coria. Between 1997 and 2001, Coria and Canadian palaeontologist Phil Currie excavated what they thought to be a new specimen of Giganotosaurus in the Huincul Formation, but they noticed some abnormalities in the bone structure. These differences, almost entirely in the skull, defined the new bones as belonging to a close relative of Giganotosaurus . Thus, in 2006, Mapusaurus
96-472: The Roads number 17 (Province) and number 22 (National). Road 17 connects Plaza Huincul with Osorno , Chile and even Bariloche . Plaza Huincul is situated around 161 km from international border between Argentina and Chile. Plaza Huincul features a desert climate . Temperatures vary throughout the year with an average of 13.1 °C. The hottest month is January with an average of 29 degrees Celsius, where
112-849: The area, mainly from the University of Comahue and the Plaza Huincul Museum. He made several discoveries of very important fossil remains, among which the carcharodontosaurid theropod dinosaur Giganotosaurus stands out, found in 1993. Carolini was one of the main promoters of the creation of the Ernesto Bachmann Paleontological Museum in Villa El Chocón , Neuquén , and served as its director from its foundation in 1995 until 2008. He died in Cipolletti , Río Negro on 9 September 2023, at
128-576: The coldest month is July with an average of 0 degrees Celsius. Plaza Huincul sees low precipitation with an overall value of 157mm per year and around 13mm every month. Rub%C3%A9n Carolini Rubén Darío Carolini (29 April 1944 – 9 September 2023) was an Argentine paleontologist. He was the discoverer of the Giganotosaurus . Carolini was born in Oncativo , Córdoba , on 29 April 1944, where he lived during his childhood and youth. At
144-582: The end of the 1960s he began working as a mechanic on the construction site of the El Chocón dam in the Neuquén and later continued working at Hidronor S.A., the public company that managed the hydroelectric plant of that dam. Parallel to his work as a mechanic, he dedicated himself as an amateur to the search for fossils in the Cretaceous sites around Chocón, always in contact with palaeontologists in
160-461: The largest known land animals, is named after the formation. Another noteworthy Huincul dinosaur is the carcharodontosaurid theropod Mapusaurus roseae , which is regarded as one of the largest known terrestrial predators . Apart from sauropods and theropods, rare fossils of iguanodonts and other ornithopods have been recorded in the formation. Ichnofossils (footprints) of abelisaurid theropods and hadrosaurs are also known. Apart from
176-418: The middle of the desert and grew due to an oil discovery in the area in 1918. It is said that the largest fossils in the world are found there; such as Argentinosaurus , Giganotosaurus , and Mapusaurus . Plaza Huincul has an oil & gas refinery that belongs to YPF, an Argentinian oil company and it shares various common factors with the city of Cutral Có (mostly with its paleontological tourism). One of
SECTION 10
#1732791464097192-450: The most important roads in the province go through Plaza Huincul: National Road Number 22. Its economy is mainly around oil & gas services. There is a growing number of farms that raise sheep and goats The area around what is Plaza Huincul today was first seen in 1876 during the "Desert Campaign". In 1876, a Chilean man by the surname of Campos and his wife Carmen Funes (known as "Pastoverde", translating into green grass) are said to be
208-555: The ones who first settled into Plaza Huincul and welcomed travelers in case they needed a break; for example, the Pehuenches and Mapuches tribes. They later permanently lived in Plaza Huincul. Plaza Huincul stands for Plaza of the hills. The town grew rapidly when on 13 September 1918, YPF took employees to Plaza Huincul to work on the first oil rig for YPF (Yacimientos Petroliferos Fiscales). Plaza Huincul then inaugurated
224-464: The taxa named here, fossils of unnamed squamates and neosuchian crocodyliforms have been discovered in the formation. Plaza Huincul Plaza Huincul is a small city in Neuquen province, with a population of around 13,000 people, located in southwestern Argentina . It is approximately 1,288 km (800 mi) south-west from the capital, Buenos Aires. Plaza Huincul is located in
240-424: Was discovered in 1987 near Plaza Huincul. Guillermo Heredia, the farmer who found the first specimen on his farm, mistook the uncovered fibula of the sauropod for a petrified tree trunk. It is estimated that Argentinosaurus had a length of 35 metres (115 ft) and paleontologists have estimated that it may have weighed as much as 75 to 100 tonnes. The next major Huincul Formation discovery came in 1993, when
256-436: Was finally described and named. Mapusaurus also helped support Currie's theory that some large theropod dinosaurs evolved to hunt in groups. Plaza Huincul is in Neuquen province, which is in the western area of Argentina . Plaza Huincul lies upon the coordinates of: 38°55′00″S and 69°09′00″W. Plaza Huincul has an estimated area of 30,000 km and lies in a relatively flat and low-lying area. The city has been built along
#96903