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Santacrucian

South American land mammal age (SALMA)

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Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionAug 17, 2026
Entity authorityQ7420000 ↗
Source-derived summary

The Santacrucian age is a period of geologic time (17.5 – 16.3 Ma) within the Early Miocene epoch of the Neogene, used more specifically with SALMA classification in South America. It follows the Colhuehuapian and precedes the Friasian age.

Etymology

The age is named after the Santa Cruz Formation in the Austral/Magallanes Basin of southern Patagonia, Argentina and Chile.

Formations

Fossils

References

Bibliography

Santa Cruz Formation

Agnolin, Federico L (2009), Sistemática y Filogenia de las Aves Fororracoideas (Gruiformes, Cariamae) (PDF), Fundación de Historia Natural Felix de Azara, pp. 1–79, retrieved 2019-02-28

Arnal, M.; Vucetich, M.G. (2015), "Revision of the fossil rodent Acaremys Ameghino, 1887 (Hystricognathi, Octodontoidea, Acaremyidae) from the Miocene of Patagonia (Argentina) and the description of a new acaremyid", Historical Biology: An International Journal of Paleobiology, 27 (1): 42–59, Bibcode:2015HBio...27...42A, doi:10.1080/08912963.2013.863881, hdl:11336/13646, retrieved 2019-02-13

Bostelmann, J. Enrique; Le Roux, Jacobus P.; Vásquez, Ana; Gutiérrez, Néstor M.; Oyarzún, José Luis; Carreño, Catalina; Torres, Teresa; Otero, Rodrigo; Llanos, C. Mark Fanning, Francisco Hervé, Andrea (2013), "Burdigalian deposits of the Santa Cruz Formation in the Sierra Baguales, Austral (Magallanes) Basin: Age, depositional environment and vertebrate fossils" (PDF), Andean Geology, 40: 458–489, retrieved 2019-02-28{{citation}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)

Brea, Mariana; Zucol, Alejandro F.; Bargo, M. Susana; Fernicola, Juan Carlos; Vizcaíno, Sergio F. (2017), "First Miocene record of Akaniaceae in Patagonia (Argentina): a fossil wood from the early Miocene Santa Cruz formation and its palaeobiogeographical implications", Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society, 183 (3): 334–347, doi:10.1093/botlinnean/bow014, hdl:11336/65078, retrieved 2019-02-28

Buffetaut, Éric (2016), "A reassessment of the giant birds Liornis floweri Ameghino, 1895 and Callornis giganteus Ameghino, 1895, from the Santacrucian (late Early Miocene) of Argentina", Palæovertebrata, 40 (2) e3, doi:10.18563/pv.40.2.e3, retrieved 2019-02-28

Cenizo, Marcos Martín; Agnolín, Federico Lisandro (2010), "The southernmost records of Anhingidae and a new basal species of Anatidae (Aves) from the lower–middle Miocene of Patagonia, Argentina", Alcheringa: An Australasian Journal of Palaeontology, 34 (4): 493–514, Bibcode:2010Alch...34..493C, doi:10.1080/03115511003793504, retrieved 2019-02-28

Chandler, Robert M (2012), "A new species of tinamou (Aves: Tinamiformes, Tinamidae) from the Early-Middle Miocene of Argentina" (PDF), PalArch's Journal of Vertebrate Palaeontology, 9 (2): 1–8, archived from the original (PDF) on 2017-03-18, retrieved 2019-02-28

Ercoli, Marcos D.; Prevosti, Francisco J. (2011), "Estimación de masa de las especies de Sparassodonta (Mammalia, Metatheria) de edad Santacrucense (Mioceno Temprano) a partir del tamaño del centroide de los elementos apendiculares: inferencias paleoecológicas", Ameghiniana, 48 (4): 462–479, Bibcode:2011Amegh..48..462E, doi:10.5710/AMGH.v48i4(347), archived from the original on 2013-12-12, retrieved 2019-02-28

González, Laureano Raúl; Scillato Yané, Gustavo Juan (2008), "Una nueva especie de Stegotherium Ameghino (Xenarthra, Dasypodidae, Stegotheriini) del Mioceno de la provincia de Santa Cruz (Argentina)", Ameghiniana, 45: 641–648, retrieved 2019-02-28

Mayr, Gerald; Noriega, Jorge I. (2015), "A well-preserved partial skeleton of the poorly known early Miocene seriema Noriegavis santacrucensis" (PDF), Acta Palaeontologica Polonica, 60 (3): 589–598, Bibcode:2015AcPaP..60..589M, doi:10.4202/app.00011.2013, retrieved 2019-02-28

Muñoz, Nahuel A.; Toledo, Néstor; Candela, Adriana M.; Vizcaíno, Sergio F. (2019), "Functional morphology of the forelimb of Early Miocene caviomorph rodents from Patagonia", Lethaia, 52 (1): 91–106, Bibcode:2019Letha..52...91M, doi:10.1111/let.12292, retrieved 2019-02-28

Noriega, Jorge I.; Mayr, Gerald (2017), "The systematic affinities of the putative seriema Noriegavis santacrucensis (Noriega et al., 2009) from the Miocene of Argentina", Contribuciones del Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales, 7: 133–139

Noriega, Jorge I.; Vizcaíno, Sergio F.; Bargo, Susana (2009), "First Record and a New Species of Seriema (Aves: Ralliformes: Cariamidae) from Santacrucian (Early-Middle Miocene) Beds of Patagonia", Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, 29 (2): 620–626, Bibcode:2009JVPal..29..620N, doi:10.1671/039.029.0216, hdl:11336/80002, retrieved 2019-02-28

Sinclair, W.; Farr, M. (1932), "Aves of the Santa Cruz beds", Reports of the Princeton University Expeditions to Patagonia (1896–1899), 7: 157–191

Verzi, Diego H.; Olivares, A. Itatí; Morgan, Cecilia C. (2017), "Systematics and evolutionary significance of the small Abrocomidae from the early Miocene of southern South America", Historical Biology: An International Journal of Paleobiology, 29 (3): 411–422, Bibcode:2017HBio...29..411V, doi:10.1080/08912963.2016.1168410, hdl:11336/56470, retrieved 2019-02-12

Vizcaíno, Sergio F.; Kay, Richard F.; Bargo, Susana (2012), Early Miocene Paleobiology in Patagonia: High-Latitude Paleocommunities of the Santa Cruz Formation, Cambridge University Press, pp. 1–370, ISBN 978-0-521-19461-7, retrieved 2017-10-21

Aisol Formation

Forasiepi, Analía M.; Cerdeño, Esperanza; Bond, Mariano; Schmidt, Gabriela I.; Naipauer, Maximiliano; Straehl, Fiona R.; Martinelli, Agustín G.; Garrido, Alberto C.; Schmitz and James L. Crowley, Mark D. (2015), "New toxodontid (Notoungulata) from the Early Miocene of Mendoza, Argentina", Paläontologische Zeitschrift, 89 (3): 611–634, Bibcode:2015PalZ...89..611F, doi:10.1007/s12542-014-0233-5, hdl:11336/20443, retrieved 2019-02-13

Forasiepi, Analía M.; Martinelli, Agustín G.; De la Fuente, Marcelo S.; Dieguez, Sergio; Bond, Mariano (2011), Paleontology and stratigraphy of the Aisol Formation (Neogene), San Rafael, Mendoza (PDF), Cenozoic Geology of the Central Andes of Argentina, SCS Publisher, Salta, pp. 135–154, retrieved 2017-10-01

Cantaure Formation

Mendi, David; Rodríguez, Eliana (2005), Integración geológica de la Península de Paraguaná, Estado Falcón (MSc thesis), Universidad Central de Venezuela, pp. 1–184, retrieved 2017-10-26

Castillo Formation

Johnson, Kenneth G.; Sánchez Villagra, Marcelo R.; Aguilera, Órangel A. (2009), "The Oligocene-Miocene transition on coral reefs in the Falcón Basin (NW Venezuela)", PALAIOS, 24 (1): 59–69, Bibcode:2009Palai..24...59J, CiteSeerX 10.1.1.617.9079, doi:10.2110/palo.2008.p08-004r, retrieved 2017-08-15 {{citation}}: Cite uses deprecated parameter |citeseerx= (help)CS1 maint: miscellaneous url (link)

Rincón, Ascanio D.; Solórzano, Andrés; McDonald, H. Gregory; Núñez Flores, Mónica (2017), "Baraguatherium takumara, gen. et sp. nov., the earliest mylodontoid sloth (early Miocene) from northern South America", Journal of Mammalian Evolution, 24 (2): 179–191, doi:10.1007/s10914-016-9328-y, retrieved 2019-02-12

Rincón, Ascanio D.; Solórzano, Andrés; Benammi, Mouloud; Vignaud, Patrick; McDonald, H. Gregory (2014), "Chronology and geology of an Early Miocene mammalian assemblage in North of South America, from Cerro La Cruz (Castillo Formation), Lara State, Venezuela: implications in the 'changing course of Orinoco River' hypothesis" (PDF), Andean Geology, 41: 507–528, retrieved 2018-09-07

Solórzano, Andrés; Rincón, Ascanio D.; Cidade, Giovanne M.; Núñez Flores, Mónica; Sánchez, Leonardo (2018), "Lower Miocene alligatoroids (Crocodylia) from the Castillo Formation, northwest of Venezuela" (PDF), Palaeobiodiversity and Palaeoenvironments, 99 (2): 1–19, Bibcode:2019PdPe...99..241S, doi:10.1007/s12549-018-0332-5, retrieved 2018-09-07

Urbani, Franco; Mendi, David (2010), "Notas sobre la discordancia del margen sur de la cuenca Oligo-Miocena de Falcón estados Lara, Falcón y Yaracuy, Venezuela", Boletín de la Academia de Ciencias Físicas, Matemáticas y Naturales, LXX: 9–25, retrieved 2017-08-15

Cerro Boleadores Formation

Dal Molín, C.N.; Colombo, F. (2003), "Sedimentación neógena en la Cuenca del Río Zeballos y del Río Jeinemeni (47° Latitud Sur) Antepaís patagónico Argentina" (PDF), Geogaceta, 34: 139–142, retrieved 2018-09-10

Chaguaramas Formation

Horovitz, Inés; Sánchez Villagra, Marcelo R. (2012), El Registro Fósil del Cenozoico (PDF), Venezuela Paleontológica: Evolución de la diversidad en el pasado, pp.

Editorial summary

Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Santacrucian” is south American land mammal age (SALMA). The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Santacrucian, South and American, not as a finished interpretation.

Editorial reviewA sound reference starting point where classification, measurement and the date of the underlying evidence remain visible. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—2009, 2019, 2015, 1887—that can be checked directly. The selected authority fields contribute no independent date. For this dossier, Santacrucian, South and American is the immediate research focus.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

The phrase “south American land mammal age (SALMA)” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.

Evidence profile

Stable identifiers, scientific names and standards terminology offer the best bridge between this overview and specialist evidence. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 17, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q7420000. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 2009, 2019, 2015 and 1887.

Critical limits

A general summary may omit uncertainty, sample limits or methodological disagreement that is explicit in the technical record. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Check terminology, classification and the date of the cited evidence. Scientific names and technical consensus can change while older records retain historical value.

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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from “Santacrucian” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.