A New Clevosaurid from the Triassic (Carnian) of Brazil and the Rise of Sphenodontians in Gondwana

The early evolution of lepidosaurs is marked by an extremely scarce fossil record during the Triassic. Importantly, most Triassic lepidosaur specimens are represented by disarticulated individuals from high energy accretion deposits in Laurasia, thus greatly hampering our understanding of the initial stages of lepidosaur evolution. Here, we describe the fragmentary remains of an associated skull and mandible of Clevosaurus hadroprodon sp. nov., a new taxon of sphenodontian lepidosaur from the Late Triassic (Carnian; 237–228 Mya) of Brazil. Referral to Sphenodontia is supported by the combined presence of a marginal dentition ankylosed to the apex of the dentary, maxilla, and premaxilla; the presence of ‘secondary bone’ at the bases of the marginal dentition; and a ventrally directed mental process at the symphysis of the dentary. Our phylogenetic analyses recover Clevosaurus hadroprodon as a clevosaurid, either in a polytomy with the Late Triassic to Early Jurassic Clevosaurus and Brachyrhinodon (under Bayesian inference), or nested among different species of Clevosaurus (under maximum parsimony). Clevosaurus hadroprodon represents the oldest known sphenodontian from Gondwana, and its clevosaurid relationships indicates that these sphenodontians achieved a widespread biogeographic distribution much earlier than previously thought.Fil: Hsiou, Annie S.. Universidade de Sao Paulo; BrasilFil: Nydam, Randall L.. Midwestern University; Estados UnidosFil: Simões, Tiago R.. University of Alberta; Canadá. Harvard University; Estados UnidosFil: Pretto, Flávio A.. Universidade Federal de Santa Maria; BrasilFil: Onary, Silvio. Universidade de Sao Paulo; BrasilFil: Martinelli, Agustín Guillermo. Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul; Brasil. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales "Bernardino Rivadavia"; ArgentinaFil: Liparini, Alexandre. Universidade Federal de Sergipe; BrasilFil: Romo de Vivar Martínez, Paulo Rodrigo. Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul; BrasilFil: Soares, Marina. Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul; BrasilFil: Schultz, Cesar. Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul; BrasilFil: Caldwell, Michael Wayne. University of Alberta; Canad

The Bauru Basin in São Paulo and its tetrapods

Funding Information: The authors thank the editors of Derbyana, especially its Editor-in-Chief Silvio T. Hiruma, for the invitation to participate in this volume dedicated to “Advances in Paleontology”. This contribution results from FAPESP grant 2020/07997-4, to which most of the authors are affiliated. We also thank the Derbyana ad-hoc reviewers, Drs. Agustin Martinelli and Fabiano Iori, for their helpful comments to the manuscript. FIGURE 6 – Cumulative chronological distribution of the tetrapod fossil record in the Bauru Basin of São Paulo (1913-2022) compared to science and technology funding metrics and events: A – For all tetrapods; grey bars indicate total records of tables 1-5; green line indicates taxonomic richness (grey lines in Tables 1-5); pink line indicates FAPESP budget in billions of reais between 1976 and 2021 (FAPESP 2022); blue line indicates CNPq, CAPES, and FINEP budget in millions of reais between 1996 and 2018 (ESCOBAR 2019). Events indicated by arrows correspond, in chronological sequence, to the foundations of USP, “Instituto Geográfico e Geológico”, FAPESP, Unicamp, UNESP, “Instituto Geológico”, and Monte Alto Museum of Paleontology, the implementations of the Qualis list, the Lattes curriculum, the CAPES Portal de Periódicos, and the CNPq “grant”, the foundation of the Marília Museum of Paleontology, the release of the first MCT/CNPq public call for “Strengthening National Paleontology”, and the foundation of “Pedro Candolo” Museum of Paleontology. B – Separately for each recorded tetrapod group, coloured lines indicate total of records in tables 1-5 of Anura = light blue, Crocodyliformes = red, Mammalia = purple, Sauropoda = green, Squamata = yellow, Testudines = orange, and Theropoda = dark blue. Publisher Copyright: Copyright © 2022 The Institute of Electronics, Information and Communication Engineers.The Bauru Basin bears one of the best sampled tetrapod paleofaunas of Brazil, with about 70% of this diversity collected from its deposits in São Paulo. Its fossils are known since the beginning of the 20th century, coming from all stratigraphic units of the Basin cropping-out in the state, i.e., Santo Anastácio, Araçatuba, Adamantina (alternatively divided into Vale do Rio do Peixe, Presidente Prudente, and São José do Rio Preto formations), and Marília formations. Identified taxa include rare anurans, mammals, and squamates, an important set of testudines, theropods (including birds), and sauropods, in addition to one of the most diverse crocodyliform faunas known worldwide. This congregates more than fifty unique taxonomic entities, including 42 formally described species. Based on biostratigraphic correlations (including tetrapods), on few absolute ages, and other sources of evidence, the Bauru Basin deposits in São Paulo seem to be chronologically restricted to the Late Cretaceous, but further investigation is much needed. Finally, the history of research with such fossils highlights the importance of public funding for research and decentralization of university education for the advancement of science.publishersversionpublishe

O conceito de geoparque no Brasil: reflexões, perspectivas e propostas de divulgação

Geoparque é um conceito estabelecido pela UNESCO, mundialmente disseminado, para áreas demarcadas de expressiva beleza cênica e biodiversidade, patrimônio geológico, geralmente sob influência de populações humanas em um contexto de desenvolvimento econômico sustentável. Contudo, no Brasil esse conceito ainda é pouco difundido. Diante disso, este trabalho tem por vistas (1) refletir e discutir sobre o conceito de geoparque, por meio de comparações a programas bem sucedidos, frente uma das áreas candidatas no Brasil, “Geoparque Bodoquena-Pantanal”- MS; e (2) propor materiais didáticos que podem ser utilizados em espaços de ensino. A iniciativa da rede mundial de geoparques, estabelecida pela UNESCO, é capaz de impulsionar o desenvolvimento econômico e científico. Contudo, necessita de um bom planejamento e adequada equipe interdisciplinar. O até então único geoparque brasileiro (Araripe) mostra-se capaz de florescer e se desenvolver, mesmo em um contexto de problemas como tráfico de fósseis e pobreza. A área candidata no MS apresenta localidades com populações que desconhecem o conceito e que necessitam de intervenções educativas e sociais para resoluções de tais deficiências

New Quaternary Teiid (Lepidosauria, Squamata) Lizard Remains From Gruta Do Urso, Tocantins, Brazil

Here we present teiid lizard fossils from Gruta do Urso, Aurora do Tocantins, Tocantins State, northern Brazil. We describe a left lower jaw of a Cnemidophorinae indet. and a right dentary attributed to Tupinambis sp. These materials share with extant Teiidae a heterodont dentition with subpleurodont tooth implantation, and are assigned to Teiinae and Tupinambinae based on dental characteristics. The paleofaunal assemblage from Gruta do Urso suggests a late Pleistocene/early Holocene age. These records add to our knowledge of the Quaternary fauna of northern Brazil

Geobiological and diagenetic insights from Malvinokaffric devonian biota (Chapada Group, Paran? Basin, Brazil) : paleobiological and paleoenvironmental implications.

This study tests the presence of differential preservation in the Devonian Malvinokaffric fauna from the Chapada Group (Parana? Basin, Brazil). Results of EDXRF, EDS, Raman Spectroscopy, and petrographic analyses show differential preservation of shells that were originally calcite as hematite and goethite fossils, while organisms with original calcium phosphate shells tend to be preserved inside phosphatic concretions. Both preservation types are commonly associated with pseudoframboids, while calcium sulfate minerals are commonly associated with hematized fossils. From this evidence, a diagenetic model for these fossils is proposed. The model includes an early diagenetic phase (characterized by anaerobic sulfate reduction and precipitation of pyrite and carbonate-fluorapatite) and a second, near-surface chemical weathering phase (characterized by the oxidation of pyrite and precipitation of iron oxyhydroxides and calcium sulfates). Acidic conditions in both phases may account for the dissolution of less stable minerals compared to calcium phosphate. It is considered that this model may assist in understanding other similarly preserved biotas, as well as enhancing understanding of the taphonomic overprint that may occur within this important and endemic Devonian biota