Middle Maastrichtian vertebrates (fishes, amphibians, dinosaurs and other reptiles, mammals) from Pajcha Pata (Bolivia). Biostratigraphic, palaeoecologic and palaeobiogeographic implications

The Pajcha Pata fossil locality in south central Bolivia, in the upper part of the Lower Member of the El Molino Formation, is the first late Cretaceous fauna in South America which has yielded, in addition to some invertebrates and plants, all kinds of vertebrates except birds, but including dinosaurs and mammals. Its middle Maastrichtian age, indicated by geochronologic data, is consistent with the fauna, including the marine ichthyofauna. The vertebrate fossils reported here come from the main fossiliferous level which includes terrestrial, freshwater and marine taxa: vertebrates, Mammalia (both tribosphenic and non-tribosphenic therians), Theropoda (Coelurosauria and Sauropoda), Crocodylia, Squamata (Serpentes), Chelonia, Amphibia (Anura, Gymnophiona, Caudata) and fish (Dipnoi, Teleostei, Actinopteri, Cladistia, Chondrostei); invertebrates (Gastropoda, Bryozoa) and plants (charophytes). Amongst these taxa are the earliest records of some fish, Amphibia and tribosphenic Mammalia in South America and/or in the world. The fish concerned are: Polypteriformes (Latinopollia suarezi), Siluriformes of the family Andinichthyidae (Andinichthys) and two new families, Osteoglossiformes of the subfamily Heterotidinae (Osteoglossidae), Perciformes of the family Latidae, Dipnoi of the family Lepidosirenidae (Lepidosiren cf. paradoxa). The Amphibia concerned are: indeterminate Gymnophiona, Noterpetontidae (Noterpeton bolivianum). Pajcha Pata is the only known locality in South America with both non-tribosphenic and tribosphenic therian mammals. The depositional environment was probably estuarian or lagoonal as indicated by a mixed continental, freshwater, and marine fauna. Comparison of this local fauna with faunas of the same age at localities belonging to the same proximal part of the El Molino basin on one hand, and with others belonging to the distal part on the other hand, shows that the two continental areas seem to have their own endemic freshwater fish fauna (except the Characidae and the Lepisosteidae, known in all levels of Bolivia). However, these two areas have the same marine taxa. This implies some influence of the sea in the whole basin. Calculated temperatures of the marine waters range from 13 to 17° for a latitute of about 22°S, implying a southern Pacific upwelling. The El Molino Basin could have been also connected with the open sea through present-day Argentina and not only Venezuela as thought until now.