Paleorrota

Museums

The Paleorrota Geopark . Source: UFSM

Paleorrota (in German Paleoroute ) is a geopark that extends over tens of thousands of square kilometers along the federal highway 287 in the state of Rio Grande do Sul in southern Brazil . The there pending sedimentary rocks with their fossils are from the Triassic and Permian , the geological eras of the existence of the supercontinent Pangea . They therefore have a numerical age of 290 to 201 million years. The following sedimentary formations are represented (from young to old):

These formations contain several fossil deposits, in which a rich fauna of primeval terrestrial vertebrates has been handed down. Among other things, in 1936 an excavation team led by the paleontologist Llewellyn Ivor Price in the Santa Maria Formation near the eponymous city of Santa Maria discovered the fossils of the first dinosaur found in Brazil and one of the earliest dinosaurs. The fossils were later described under the name Staurikosaurus pricei .

The sedimentary rocks in the urban area of Mata , São Pedro do Sul and Santa Maria in the west of the geopark are also important palaeobotanically . There are several sites with petrified tree trunks in an area of 70 square kilometers.

At the end of the Permian there was a mass extinction that killed 95% of the species present at the time. This led to great upheavals among the surviving taxa in the subsequent Triassic. The following fossil finds in the area of the Paleorrota helped to better understand the faunistic changes:

Staurikosaurus , one of the oldest pelvic lizard dinosaurs
Sacisaurus , possibly the oldest bird pelvic dinosaur
Pelycosaurs . From them later emerged the cynodontic animals , which in turn passed on to mammals . The fossil finds in the Geopark are therefore very important for understanding the evolution of mammals .

Vertebrates of the Paleorrota

List of vertebrates found in the Geopark :

Rhynchosaurs
Exaeretodon riograndensis
Staurikosaurus
Guaibasaurus
Saturnalia
Sacisaurus
Unaysaurus
Karamuru vorax
Dinodontosaurus turpior
Prestosuchus chiniquensis
Chiniquodon
Massetognathus
Stahleckeria
Jachaleria candelariensis
Mesosaurus
Luangwa
Phytosaurs
Aetosaurs
Brasilitherium
Brasilodon
Riograndia
Stereospondyli
Procolophon pricei
Protorosaurus
Provelosaurus brasilienses - a pareiasaur
Spondylosoma
Teyuwasu

Exaeretodon .	Staurikosaurus with a captured rhynchosaur .	Prestosuchus chiniquensis .	Staurikosaurus .
The rhynchosaur Hyperodapedon .	The rhynchosaur Hyperodapedon .	Stahleckeria .	Exaeretodon
Unaysaurus	Prestosuchus .	Mesosaurus .	The phytosaur Rutiodon .
Stagonolepis - an aetosaur .	Peltobatrachus - a stereospondyle .	Procolophon pricei .	Protorosaurus .
Scutosaurus - a pareiasaur .	Dinodontosaurus turpior .	Ischigualastia

CAPPA - Paleontological Research Center

Universities

CAPPA (Paleontological Research Center) or ( Centro de Apoio a Pesquisa Paleontológica ) in Portuguese . The research facility under construction is located in the city of São João do Polêsine in the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul and is located on the RS 149 state road near the Nossa Senhora da Salete monument . A museum , research laboratories , auditorium , lecture hall , accommodation, restaurant and various services for visitors, research staff and paleontology students are planned . The aim of this facility is to support paleontological research in the Paleorrota Geopark.

The facility will occupy 2649 square meters of floor space. The construction work will be carried out in three stages, with the first stage having already been completed. This project is financially supported by Petrobras and Eletrobrás .

Cities

The Paleorrota Geopark comprises 21 cities in Rio Grande do Sul
city	information
Porto Alegre	The Thecodontier Karamuru with a petrified tree . Although Porto Alegre does not lie on Triassic underground, it still has the most palaeontologists in the state of Rio Grande do Sul and can also boast numerous museums, institutions and universities: UFRGS has a large number of vertebrate paleontologists and is home to the Irajá Damiani Pinto Paleontological Museum . The first Brazilian Symposium on Vertebrate Paleontology was also held at UFGRS in 1998. The PUCRS has also contributed to the Paleorrota . In its important Museum of Science and Technology are fossils to visit from the environment. The UNISINOS has a group of palaeobotanists . The Natural Science Museum integrated in the Botanical Garden of Porto Alegre has fossils from the Geopark on display.
Santa Maria	Exaeretodon Santa Maria was built on very fossil-rich layers, so there are 22 outcrops in the city area alone . Dinosaurs can be seen in some city museums. In 2006, the fifth Brazilian Symposium on Vertebrate Paleontology was held at UFSM . In Santa Maria, along with countless other fossils, the first discovery of Staurikosaurus was made. The following fossil sites are located in the city: Arroio Cancela fossil site . Largo Padre Daniel Cargnin fossil site . Bela Vista fossil site . Jazigo Cinco fossil site . Sanga do Alemoa fossil site . The following city museums have fossils on display: Gama D'Eça Educational Museum . Vincente Pallotti Museum .
Candelaria	The dicynodont animal Dinodontosaurus. Vertebrate finds have also been made in the vicinity of Candelária. So was z. B. discovered in 2000 the thecodontier Karamuru . There are 17 outcrops in the city area alone . Municipal museum with exhibited fossils: Aristides Carlos Rodrigues Museum .
Sao Pedro do Sul	São Pedro do Sul has a large number of fossilized tree trunks and is also home to a dinosaur museum. The city is 40 km west of Santa Maria. In 1938 the German palaeontologist Friedrich von Huene found the thecodontier Prestosuchus chiniquensis here . Chiniquá fossil site . Municipal museum with exhibited fossils: Walter Ilha Paleontological and Archaeological Museum .
Mata	There are also large deposits of petrified trees in Mata . Municipal museum with exhibited fossils: Daniel Cargnin Museum .
São João do Polêsine	São João do Polêsine is about 50 kilometers from Santa Maria. There are fossil sites in the urban area. The CAPPA (Paleontological Research Center) is being expanded here.
Agudo	Sacisaurus was discovered in Agudo .
São Martinho da Serra	A Unaysaurus was found here only 13 kilometers from Santa Maria . Agua Negra fossil site .
Dona Francisca	Also located near Santa Maria. There are also fossil-bearing outcrops in Dona Francisca. In 2008 a 240 million year old Cynodontier ( Luangwa) was discovered here.
Faxinal do Soturno	Located north of Santa Maria. Faxinal do Soturno also has fossil sites.
Cachoeira do Sul	The sites are in the north of the city. In Agudo , not far from Cachoeira do Sul , the ULBRA managed to find the fossilized remains of a Sacisaurus .
Sao Gabriel	The 270 million year old remains of an ancient amphibian from the Permian period appeared in São Gabriel . There are the following three formations: Sanga-do-Cabral formation (abandoned railway line between Dilermando de Aguiar and São Gabriel). Age: Upper Triassic . Rio-do-Rastro formation (Posto Queimado). Age: Upper Permian . Irati formation (Passo São Borja). Age: Upper Permian .
Aceguá	Outcrops of the Upper Permian Rio-do-Rastro Formation lie along the BR-153 state road from Aceguá to Bagé .
Bagé	Outcrops of the Upper Permian Rio-do-Rastro Formation lie along the BR-153 state road from Aceguá to Bagé .
Dilermando de Aguiar	In Dilermando de Aguiar the sub-Triassic Sanga-do-Cabral formation comes to light , outcrops are along the abandoned railway line from Dilermando de Aguiar to São Gabriel).
Santa Cruz do Sul	The fossilization of a cynodontic animal was found here.

History

Dicynodontic animal

Source: UFSM and UFRGS .

In 1902, under the direction of Dr. Jango Fischer carried out the first paleontological investigations in Santa Maria. Organic fossils were encountered near the Alemoa Hill - a rocky landscape between the city and the former Camobi district . Jango Fischer then sent some of the remains to Prof. Dr. Herrmann von Ihering, the museum director of São Paulo . Among the remains were three nearly complete vertebrae , one vertebral remnant, a finger with four phalanges, and a single toe . Von Ihering, in turn, passed this material on to Arthur Smith Woodward , an eminent paleontologist at the British Museum in London, for further investigation . Woodward recognized the fossil remains of a land-dwelling reptile in the material sent to him and thus the first such find from South America. He gave the taxon the name Scaphonyx fischeri (now Hyprodapedon ), the generic name means "canoe claw" with regard to the large claws, the species name honors the discoverer Jango Fischer.

In the following years, the main scientific focus was therefore on Santa Maria and several scientific expeditions were sent there. One of these expeditions was led by the German paleontologist Friedrich von Huene from 1928-29 . Many of the fossils found by his expedition are now at the University of Tübingen . Between the 1930s and 1950s, several expeditions were organized by Llewellyn Ivor Price , head of the palaeontological office in Rio de Janeiro . Price mainly examined the urban area and the surrounding area of São Pedro do Sul, Santa Maria and Candelária.

Many fossil finds go back to the tireless and unpaid work of the two priests Daniel Cargnin and Abraham Cargnin . The finds now enrich the collections of several museums, such as B. the Vincente Pallotti Museum . In honor of the late Daniel Cargnin, various taxa were given his name.

From the sixties, with the establishment of the Geological Institute at the UFRGS, the geological mapping of the state by means of graduate and doctoral students received an enormous boost, which in turn enriched the paleontological knowledge of the sedimentary rocks.

In the 1970s and 1980s, the amateur palaeontologist Walter Ilha from São Pedro do Sul conducted his fossil searches in the region. He also collected a large amount of literature (bibliographies, books and magazines) on the subject. Until his death in 1987 he was also actively involved in building a city museum. This museum later took on the name of the Paleontological and Archaeological Museum Walter Ilha in his honor .

Conservation status of the fossils

Guaibasaurus .

The fossilized vertebrates are embedded in red sediments . Their conservation status depends on the prevailing fossilization process:

Without calcium carbonate , the fossils take on a white tint and are quite easily soluble in water.
With calcium carbonate , the fossils appear rust-colored with a concrete-like constitution.

At a very specific ideal level of calcium carbonate, the fossils are undeformed and insoluble in water. Excess calcium carbonate leads to deformation and gives the fossil a puffy appearance. With very high levels of calcium carbonate, the fossil literally crumbles and is soluble in water.

Another significant phenomenon is slow soil creeping, which over millions of years can deform the fossils and sometimes leave them with slight undulations.

The rock in the Paleorrota Geopark is mostly covered by soil. Only about one percent of the pending has been exposed in streams, rivers, lakes and road cuts.

Geological formations

Geological formations of the geopark
formation	Age	city	fauna
Caturrita	Upper Triassic	Santa Maria Candelaria Sao Pedro do Sul Mata Santa Cruz do Sul Cachoeira do Sul São João do Polêsine Faxinal do Soturno Dona Francisca Agudo São Martinho da Serra	dinosaur Rhynchosaurs Thecodontia Dicynodontic animal Cynodontic animal Sphenodontia
Santa Maria	Upper Triassic Middle Triassic	Santa Maria Candelaria Sao Pedro do Sul Mata Santa Cruz do Sul Cachoeira do Sul São João do Polêsine Faxinal do Soturno Dona Francisca Agudo São Martinho da Serra	dinosaur Rhynchosaurs Thecodontia Dicynodontic animal Cynodontic animal Sphenodontia Procolophon pricei
Sanga do Cabral	Lower Triassic	Sao Gabriel Dilermando de Aguiar	Amphibians Procolophon pricei Protorosaurus Pareiasaur Dinocephalia
Rio do Rastro	Upper Permian	Aceguá Bagé Sao Gabriel	Amphibians Dicynodontic animal
Irati	Upper Permian	Sao Gabriel	Mesosaurus

Legal regulations

Federal law has treated fossils as state property since the 1940s. In 2001, laws were passed to protect the fossils of the Paleorrota Geopark. They are:

Fossils are a state cultural heritage.
Only paleontologists or technical staff from recognized institutions are allowed to collect fossils.
External institutions may only provide support in research projects of local institutes.
Visiting paleontological sites is only permitted with an authorized escort.
The transport of fossils requires a permit and is only allowed with a return guarantee.
The only allowed commercial activities are tours with authorized guides.

The full regulations are available from the Brazilian Society of Paleontology .