Palynology of the Cerro de Las Cabras Formation (Middle Triassic) at Estancia La Obligación area, Cuyana Basin, Mendoza, Argentina: systematics, palynostratigraphy, and long‐distance correlations with the northern hemisphere

The Cerro de Las Cabras Formation preserves one of the richest Triassic palynofloras in southwestern Gondwana, although detailed studies have focused only on its type section. To expand this view, we performed a palynological study in the Estancia La Obligación area and contrasted findings with Potrerillos locality. This study identifies six genera and 28 species of palynomorphs not previously recorded here, raising the total diversity of the unit to 102 genera and 203 species. Assemblages are largely dominated by non‐striate bisaccate pollen, while striate and monosulcate pollen appear in lower and increasing frequencies, respectively; spore abundance, although limited, is notable in the lower stratigraphic levels. The species accumulation curve indicates substantial potential for the discovery of new palynotaxa. Rarefaction analysis supports overall comparability among assemblages, despite observed differences in diversity patterns and slight variations in slope. The stratigraphic arrangement of palynological assemblages suggests a possible temporal control on their taxonomic composition; however, taxonomical differences among localities hinder reliable biostratigraphic correlation. The common presence of typical European taxa and joint occurrence of other palynostratigraphic markers from elsewhere, most of them already recorded in the type section, constrains the age of the unit in Estancia La Obligación locality to the upper Anisian to lower Ladinian.