LOS FOSILES DEFORMADOS EN LAS DETERMINACIONES PALEONTOLOGICAS: LIMITACIONES AL ANALISIS MORFOLOGICO

Abstract

Fossils included in a sedimentary unit suffer changes in their forrn, depending on both the strain intensity and their position within a strain field. These changes fall into a wide range of morphological variabilitíes. A correction must be performed in order to remove these ""tectonic"" forms; frecuently new species are proposed -without these considerations- when in fact perhaps they may correspond to known species. In this case a simple new method for removing fossil distortion is presented using Eurydesma species (Bonete Formation, Permian, Sierras Australes de Buenos Aires) as an example. The ímportance of simultaneous microstructural and paleontological analysis is here díscused and their incíden ce on paleoecological diversity is bríefly mentioned.