Tag: Argentina

Congrats to Ichnoplanet masters students!

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We have had a busy summer, and we want to start by congratulating Jack Milligan, Kaitlin Lindblad, Federico Wenger, and Kathrine Thue for successfully defending their M.Sc. theses!

Jack studied the depositional context of bioeroded dinosaur bones from the upper Cretaceous of Saskatchewan; Kaitlin studied the biogeography, environment and paleoecology of crocodylians from the northern plains; Federico studied the ichnodiversity and bioturbation of Devonian shallow marine deposits in Argentina, and Kathrine studied the sedimentology and ichnology of Silurian-Devonian deposits in Asturias, Spain.

Once again, congrats to these new masters of ichnology!

Written by Jack Milligan

Ichnoplanet collaboration with the Museo Paleontológico Egidio Feruglio in Trelew, Argentina!

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Jack Milligan recently visited Patagonia to study turtle fossils from the Paleocene Salamanca Formation in Chubut, Argentina, analyzing trace fossils on turtle shells. This study is ongoing, but early observations indicate that the tracemakers behind the trace fossils seen on Chelid and Pan-chelid turtle carapaces and plastrons include alligatoroids, beetles, leeches, and barnacles.

The image shows an example of a trace fossil left on a turtle fossil by a beetle, the morphology similar to Osteocallis isp.

Through this research, the trace fossils can be used to understand the taphonomic pathway of these turtles, and how the trace fossils can be used to inform paleoenvironmental conditions at different stages of taphonomy. In addition to the trace fossils, several paleopathologies were identified, many of which could have resulted from trophic interactions between the turtles and other animals.

Thanks to Dr. Juliana Sterli and Dr. Marcelo Krause for hosting this research at the MEF, this will be a very cool project!

Written by Jack Milligan

Dr. Mángano named Corresponding Member of the Academy of Sciences of Argentina

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Congratulations to our own Dr. Gabriela Mángano on becoming a Corresponding Member of the National Academy of Exact, Physical, and Natural Sciences of Argentina. The goal of the Academy of Sciences of Argentina is to promote the development and dissemination of exact, physical, and natural sciences in Argentina, including their technological applications to further the scientific progress of Argentina and its collaborators abroad. We’re happy to have Gabriela represent our research group as part of this collective group of researchers from Argentina and around the world.

You can learn more about the ANCEFN at their website.

Written by Jack Milligan

Three Ichnoplanet students at the University of Saskatchewan receive awards from the International Association of Sedimentologists!

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Dr. Maximiliano Paz has received the International Association of Sedimentologists (IAS) Postdoctoral Research Grant. He is currently studying the sedimentology and ichnology of the Cambrian-Ordovician Los Cabos Series. These funds will be used to cover one month of fieldwork expenses to log 4000 m of the succession in the rocky cliffs of western Asturias, Spain.

Jack Milligan has received the IAS Judith McKenzie Fieldwork Award. He is studying the sequence stratigraphy and taphonomy of dinosaur bones including describing osteic bioerosion trace fossils from the latest Cretaceous Frenchman Formation. This funding will cover fieldwork expenses to measure coastal floodplain and fluvial outcrops along the Frenchman River Valley of southwestern Saskatchewan.

Federico Wenger also received the IAS Judith McKenzie Fieldwork Award. He will be studying the sequence stratigraphy and ichnology including the degree of bioturbation, ichnodisparity, and ichnodiversity to understand the different environmental zones of the Devonian Talacasto Formation, in the geological province of Precordillera, western Argentina. This funding will help finance the trip to the study area.

Congratulations to Maximiliano, Jack, and Federico, and best of luck with your fieldwork, and thank you to the International Association of Sedimentologists for helping fund Ichnoplanet research at USask!

Written by Jack Milligan