New Mexico Geological Society Annual Spring Meeting — Abstracts

The Upper Triassic (late Carnian) santa Rosa Formation consists of three members in Santa Fe County (in ascending order) Tecolotito, Los Esteros and Tres Lagunas members contain stratigraphically distinct vertebrate fossil assemblages (faunas). The Los Esteros fauna includes Arganodus dorotheae, cf. Turseodus sp., indeterminate redfieldiid, Buettneria perfecta, Apachesaurus gregorii, Trilophosaurus sp., Angistorhinus sp., Rutiodon sp., Desmatosuchus haplocerus, Stagonolepis wellesi, two new aetosaurs, Chatterjeea elegans, indeterminate poposaurid/rauisuchid, Parrischia mccreai, cf. Spinosuchus sp., indeterminate theropod, new ornithischian, cf. Ischigualastia sp. and an indeterminate cynodont. The Tres Lagunas fauna includes Apachesaurus gregorii, a Pseudopalatus-like phytosaur and a new aetosaur. The presence of the phytosaur Rutiodon and the aetosaurs Stagonolepis and Desmatosuchus indicates that the Los Esteros fauna is Adamanian
(late Carnian: late Tuvalian) in age. The presence of these taxa in the overlying Garita Creek Formation indicates that the Tres Lagunas fauna is also of Adamanian age. There is no evidence as to the age of the Tecolotito Member, and it could be of Otischalkian and/or Adamanian age.