Paleorrota
Encyclopedia
FANTÁSTICO

Video of the program on Rede Globo
Rede Globo
Rede Globo , or simply Globo, is a Brazilian television network, launched by media mogul Roberto Marinho on April 26, 1965. It is owned by media conglomerate Organizações Globo, being by far the largest of its holdings...

 Fantástico
Fantástico
Fantástico is a Brazilian weekly television newsmagazine broadcast on Sundays by Rede Globo.-Format:The show's first episode was on August 5, 1973 in black-and-white. It began as a variety show featuring music, dance numbers, teletheater, humor, mixed with a small amount of news. The following...

, aired on May 16, 2010.
  1. Found ancient dinosaur fossil in Brazil.
Age of Dinosaurs

This is a television series developed by the RBS Group together with the Geosciences Institute, UFRGS
Institute of Geosciences of the Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul
The Institute of Geosciences is a unit of instruction of the Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul which includes the courses of Geography , Cartographic Engineering and Geology. It has a department of study of vertebrate paleontology...

. It depicts the animals and dinosaurs found in the Geopark
Geopark
A Geopark is defined by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization in its UNESCO Geoparks International Network of Geoparks programme as follows:...

 of Paleorrota.
  1. Single Continent
  2. The Law of the Fittest
  3. Terrible Lizards
  4. The Beginning of the End


Paleorrota (Paleoroute in English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...

), is a geopark
Geopark
A Geopark is defined by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization in its UNESCO Geoparks International Network of Geoparks programme as follows:...

 located in the center of the Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...

ian state of Rio Grande do Sul
Rio Grande do Sul
Rio Grande do Sul is the southernmost state in Brazil, and the state with the fifth highest Human Development Index in the country. In this state is located the southernmost city in the country, Chuí, on the border with Uruguay. In the region of Bento Gonçalves and Caxias do Sul, the largest wine...

. The rocks and fossil
Fossil
Fossils are the preserved remains or traces of animals , plants, and other organisms from the remote past...

s found along the route date back to the times when there was only one supercontinent Pangaea
Pangaea
Pangaea, Pangæa, or Pangea is hypothesized as a supercontinent that existed during the Paleozoic and Mesozoic eras about 250 million years ago, before the component continents were separated into their current configuration....

.

The Geopark
Geopark
A Geopark is defined by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization in its UNESCO Geoparks International Network of Geoparks programme as follows:...

 takes up a vast area underlain by bedrock from the Triassic
Triassic
The Triassic is a geologic period and system that extends from about 250 to 200 Mya . As the first period of the Mesozoic Era, the Triassic follows the Permian and is followed by the Jurassic. Both the start and end of the Triassic are marked by major extinction events...

 (Late, Middle and Early) and Late Permian
Permian
The PermianThe term "Permian" was introduced into geology in 1841 by Sir Sir R. I. Murchison, president of the Geological Society of London, who identified typical strata in extensive Russian explorations undertaken with Edouard de Verneuil; Murchison asserted in 1841 that he named his "Permian...

 (270 to 210 million years ago). It comprises several paleontological sites within the rock formation
Rock formation
This is a list of rock formations that include isolated, scenic, or spectacular surface rock outcrops. These formations are usually the result of weathering and erosion sculpting the existing rock...

s Santa Maria
Santa Maria Formation
The Santa Maria Formation is a sedimentary rock formation found in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. It has a late Ladinian – early Carnian age , and is notable for its fossils of early dinosaurs, including the herrerasaur Staurikosaurus, the basal saurischian Teyuwasu, and the basal sauropodomorph...

, Caturrita
Caturrita Formation
The Caturrita Formation is a rock formation found in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. Its sediments were deposited in the Paraná Basin. The formation has a late Carnian to early Norian age and forms part of the Santa Maria Supersequence in the upper section of the Rosário do Sul Group.-Etymology:The...

, Sanga do Cabral
Sanga do Cabral Formation
right|350px|thumb|Sanga do Cabral Formation. Source: [[UFSM]].The Sanga do Cabral Formation is a sedimentary rock formation found in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil.This rock formation is located in geopark of paleorrota, and is located to the south of Geopark...

, Rio do Rastro
Rio do Rastro Formation
The Rio do Rastro Formation is a sedimentary rock formation found in the states of southern Brazil. Mainly in the states of Santa Catarina, Paraná and Rio Grande do Sul . Received this name of the Serra do Rio do Rastro. The Upper Permian age....

 and Irati
Irati Formation
Irati Formation is the name of a geological formation of Brazil.It has previously been dated as Upper Permian using palynomorphs but is now dated as Lower Permian using zircon ages obtained from bentonite layers...

. These sites contain a diverse fossil
Fossil
Fossils are the preserved remains or traces of animals , plants, and other organisms from the remote past...

 assemblage of ancient vertebrates. In the southwestern part of the geopark
Geopark
A Geopark is defined by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization in its UNESCO Geoparks International Network of Geoparks programme as follows:...

 are found fossils that date back to the Permian, 270 million years ago.

Staurikosaurus
Staurikosaurus
Staurikosaurus is a genus of herrerasaurid dinosaur from the Late Triassic of Brazil.-Discovery:The first known specimen of Staurikosaurus was recovered from the Paleontological Site Jazigo Cinco of the Santa Maria Formation in the geopark of paleorrota , Rio Grande do Sul, southern Brazil...

was the first Brazilian dinosaur discovery, made by the paleontologist Llewellyn Ivor Price
Llewellyn Ivor Price
Llewellyn Ivor Price was one of the first Brazilian paleontologists.-Biography:Price's work contributed not only to the development of Brazilian but also to global paleontology...

 in Santa Maria (Paleontological Site Jazigo Cinco
Paleontological Site Jazigo Cinco
Paleontological Site Jazigo Cinco is located in the city of Santa Maria, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. And belongs to Santa Maria Formation. It is located in the neighborhood Kilometro 3 near Castelinho, is to 2.7 kilometers away from the Paleontological Site Arroio Cancela. It belongs to UFSM and is...

).

The city of Mata
Mata, Rio Grande do Sul
- Paleontology :This city belongs to the geopark of Paleorrota.The city of Mata has large deposits of petrified trees.Museum of the city that have fossils:#Museum Daniel Cargnin.-Day of Paleorrota:...

, together with the cities of São Pedro do Sul
São Pedro do Sul, Rio Grande do Sul
- Paleontology :This city belongs to the geopark of Paleorrota.Museum of the city that have fossils:#Museum Paleontologic and Archaeological Walter Ilha.-Day of Paleorrota:...

 and Santa Maria, are founded on paleobotanical
Paleobotany
Paleobotany, also spelled as palaeobotany , is the branch of paleontology or paleobiology dealing with the recovery and identification of plant remains from geological contexts, and their use for the biological reconstruction of past environments , and both the evolutionary history of plants, with a...

 deposits. Within an area of more than 70 km² are several sites with petrified trees.

At the end of the Permian
Permian
The PermianThe term "Permian" was introduced into geology in 1841 by Sir Sir R. I. Murchison, president of the Geological Society of London, who identified typical strata in extensive Russian explorations undertaken with Edouard de Verneuil; Murchison asserted in 1841 that he named his "Permian...

, 95% of life
Life
Life is a characteristic that distinguishes objects that have signaling and self-sustaining processes from those that do not, either because such functions have ceased , or else because they lack such functions and are classified as inanimate...

 on Earth
Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets...

 disappeared at the Permian–Triassic extinction. In the Triassic
Triassic
The Triassic is a geologic period and system that extends from about 250 to 200 Mya . As the first period of the Mesozoic Era, the Triassic follows the Permian and is followed by the Jurassic. Both the start and end of the Triassic are marked by major extinction events...

, life underwent big changes, that affected all the following species
Species
In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...

. Fossil finds made in the region of Paleorrota have advanced the understanding of these transformations:
 Brazil Portuguese Geoparque da Paleorrota
 United States English Geopark of Paleoroute
 Spain Spanish Geopark de Paleoruta
 Germany German Geopark Paläoroute
 Italy Italian Geoparco di Paleoroute
 Republic of Macedonia Macedonian геопаркот палеорота
 Russia Russian Геопарк из ПалеоДорога

  • Staurikosaurus
    Staurikosaurus
    Staurikosaurus is a genus of herrerasaurid dinosaur from the Late Triassic of Brazil.-Discovery:The first known specimen of Staurikosaurus was recovered from the Paleontological Site Jazigo Cinco of the Santa Maria Formation in the geopark of paleorrota , Rio Grande do Sul, southern Brazil...

    , one of the oldest saurischia
    Saurischia
    Saurischia meaning 'lizard' and ischion meaning 'hip joint') is one of the two orders, or basic divisions, of dinosaurs. In 1888, Harry Seeley classified dinosaurs into two orders, based on their hip structure...

    ns.
  • Sacisaurus
    Sacisaurus
    Sacisaurus is a dinosauriform from the Late Triassic Caturrita Formation of southern Brazil...

    , possibly the oldest ornithischia
    Ornithischia
    Ornithischia or Predentata is an extinct order of beaked, herbivorous dinosaurs. The name ornithischia is derived from the Greek ornitheos meaning 'of a bird' and ischion meaning 'hip joint'...

    n.
  • Pelycosaur
    Pelycosaur
    The pelycosaurs are an informal grouping composed of basal or primitive Late Paleozoic synapsid amniotes. Some species were quite large and could grow up to 3 meters or more, although most species were much smaller...

    s. This group gave rise to the cynodont
    Cynodont
    Cynodontia or cynodonts are a taxon of therapsids which first appeared in the Late Permian and were eventually distributed throughout all seven continents by the Early Triassic . This clade includes modern mammals and their extinct close relatives. They were one of the most diverse groups of...

    s, which in turn led to the mammals. The Geopark
    Geopark
    A Geopark is defined by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization in its UNESCO Geoparks International Network of Geoparks programme as follows:...

    's fossils contribute greatly in the understanding of mammalian evolution
    Evolution of mammals
    __FORCETOC__The evolution of mammals within the synapsid lineage was a gradual process that took approximately 70 million years, beginning in the mid-Permian. By the mid-Triassic, there were many species that looked like mammals, and the first true mammals appeared in the early Jurassic...

    .

Fauna and Flora found in Paleorrota

Currently have been collected over 50 different specie
Specie
Specie may refer to:* Coins or other metal money in mass circulation* Bullion coins* Hard money * Commodity money* Specie Circular, 1836 executive order by US President Andrew Jackson regarding hard money* Specie Payment Resumption Act...

s of vertebrate
Vertebrate
Vertebrates are animals that are members of the subphylum Vertebrata . Vertebrates are the largest group of chordates, with currently about 58,000 species described. Vertebrates include the jawless fishes, bony fishes, sharks and rays, amphibians, reptiles, mammals, and birds...

s. We found two skulls of defaced, which may belong to Chanaresuchus
Chanaresuchus
Chanaresuchus is an extinct genus of proterochampsian archosauriform. It was of modest size for a proterochampsian, being on average just over a meter in length. Fossils have been found from the Chañares Formation in La Rioja Provence, Argentina, dating back to the Ladinian stage of the Middle...

, but this needs confirmation.

The insect was found Sanctipaulus mendesi
Sanctipaulus mendesi
Sanctipaulus mendesi is a species of fossil caddisfly, known from a single specimen. It was found in the Geopark of Paleorrota in Santa Maria Formation in rocks dating from the Triassic. It was found in 1955 in a shipment made by Irajá Damiani Pinto....

.

In paleobotany
Paleobotany
Paleobotany, also spelled as palaeobotany , is the branch of paleontology or paleobiology dealing with the recovery and identification of plant remains from geological contexts, and their use for the biological reconstruction of past environments , and both the evolutionary history of plants, with a...

, the plants found here belong to the flora Dicroidium
Dicroidium
Dicroidium is an extinct genus of fork-leaved seed ferns that were distributed over Gondwana during the Triassic . Their fossils are known from South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, South America and Antarctica...

 and Araucarioxylon.
List of vertebrates found in the Geopark
Geopark
A Geopark is defined by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization in its UNESCO Geoparks International Network of Geoparks programme as follows:...

:



 

History

Sources: UFSM (Romeu Beltrão
Romeu Beltrão
Romeu Beltrão , was born and died in Santa Maria, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil.- Biography :In 1920, he entered the College of Santa Maria. At age 15, goes to Porto Alegre to study at the Medical School of Porto Alegre. After graduating in medicine returns to Santa Maria. In 1935, he moved to São...

) and UFRGS.
   Institutions.
  • Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul.
  • Federal University of Santa Maria
    Universidade Federal de Santa Maria
    The Federal University of Santa Maria is a Brazilian public university located in Santa Maria, in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, funded by the federal government of Brazil...

    .
  • Pontifical Catholic University of Rio Grande do Sul
    Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul
    The Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul is a private non-profit Catholic university, with three campuses, in the Brazilian cities of Porto Alegre, Uruguaiana, and Viamão...

    .
  • University of Vale do Rio dos Sinos
    Universidade do Vale do Rio dos Sinos
    The Universidade do Vale do Rio dos Sinos is a private and non-profit Jesuit university, located in São Leopoldo, in Greater Porto Alegre. It is one of the largest and most prestigious Brazilian universities...

    .
  • Lutheran University of Brazil
    Universidade Luterana do Brasil
    The Universidade Luterana do Brasil is a university located in the city of Canoas, in the State of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil...

    .
  • Zoobotanical Foundation of Rio Grande do Sul
    Porto Alegre Botanical Garden
    The Porto Alegre Botanical Garden is a Foundation of Rio Grande do Sul located on the street Salvador França, in Porto Alegre, Brazil. Together with the Museum of Natural Sciences, the Botanical Garden is one of the most complete ones. This preservation area is also suitable for investigation,...

    .
  • Federal University of Pampa
    Universidade Federal do Pampa
    The Universidade Federal do Pampa is a public university established in 2006 with the objective of strengthen the South Region of the state of Rio Grande do Sul....

    .
  • Centro Universitário Franciscano (Tourism).
    Centro Universitário Franciscano
    Centro Universitário Franciscano is a private university center in Santa Maria, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. The center was founded in 1951 and today it offers over thirty undergraduate courses.-External links:**...


The research began with fossils in Santa Maria with the geographer
Geographer
A geographer is a scholar whose area of study is geography, the study of Earth's natural environment and human society.Although geographers are historically known as people who make maps, map making is actually the field of study of cartography, a subset of geography...

 and professor
Professor
A professor is a scholarly teacher; the precise meaning of the term varies by country. Literally, professor derives from Latin as a "person who professes" being usually an expert in arts or sciences; a teacher of high rank...

 Antero de Almeida, in 1901, when the first fossils found in the Sanga da Alemoa
Sanga da Alemoa
The Sanga da Alemoa paleontological site is located in the city of Santa Maria, Rio Grande do Sul, in Brazil. It belongs to the Caturrita Formation and the Santa Maria Formation. It is located in the neighborhood of Castelinho...

. Antero de Almeida, also found the Paleontological Site Chiniquá
Paleontological Site Chiniquá
Palaeontological Site Chiniquá is located in the Brazilian city of São Pedro do Sul, Rio Grande do Sul. That the margins of the highway BR-287, with an area of about 250 hectar. It is located at 70 kilometers from the city of Santa Maria. The site belongs to geopark of paleorrota...

, later visited by German
Germans
The Germans are a Germanic ethnic group native to Central Europe. The English term Germans has referred to the German-speaking population of the Holy Roman Empire since the Late Middle Ages....

 paleontologist Friedrich von Huene
Friedrich von Huene
Friedrich von Huene was a German paleontologist who named more dinosaurs in the early 20th century than anyone else in Europe.-Biography:...

.

In 1902, Dr. Jango Fischer, born in Santa Maria, collected fossils in the Sanga da Alemoa
Sanga da Alemoa
The Sanga da Alemoa paleontological site is located in the city of Santa Maria, Rio Grande do Sul, in Brazil. It belongs to the Caturrita Formation and the Santa Maria Formation. It is located in the neighborhood of Castelinho...

 and sent to Prof. Dr. Hermann von Ihering
Hermann von Ihering
Hermann von Ihering was a German-Brazilian zoologist. He was born at Kiel, Germany, and died at Gießen, Germany. He was the oldest son of Rudolf von Jhering.-Biography:...

, then director of the Museu Paulista
Museu Paulista
The Museu Paulista of the University of São Paulo is a Brazilian history museum located near where Emperor D. Pedro I proclaimed the Brazilian independence on the banks of Ipiranga brook in the Southeast region of the city of São Paulo, then the "Caminho do Mar," or road to the seashore...

 in São Paulo
São Paulo
São Paulo is the largest city in Brazil, the largest city in the southern hemisphere and South America, and the world's seventh largest city by population. The metropolis is anchor to the São Paulo metropolitan area, ranked as the second-most populous metropolitan area in the Americas and among...

. Three vertebral bodies were nearly complete, a fragment of a vertebra, one finger
Finger
A finger is a limb of the human body and a type of digit, an organ of manipulation and sensation found in the hands of humans and other primates....

 and four phalanges and ungual phalanx alone. The material was sent to Arthur Smith Woodward
Arthur Smith Woodward
Sir Arthur Smith Woodward was an English palaeontologist.-Biography:Woodward was born in Macclesfield, Cheshire, England and was educated there and at Owens College, Manchester. He joined the staff of the Department of Geology at the Natural History Museum in 1882. He became assistant Keeper of...

, the eminent paleontologist of the British Museum
British Museum
The British Museum is a museum of human history and culture in London. Its collections, which number more than seven million objects, are amongst the largest and most comprehensive in the world and originate from all continents, illustrating and documenting the story of human culture from its...

 in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

 to study, which resulted in the determination of the first terrestrial reptile fossil in South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...

, the Rhynchosaur
Rhynchosaur
Rhynchosaurs were a group of Triassic diapsid reptiles related to the archosaurs.-Description:Rhynchosaurs were herbivores, and at times abundant , with stocky bodies and a powerful beak...

 was given the name Scaphonyx fischeri, in honor of Jango Fischer.

So the international scientific attention has focused on Santa Maria, leading to a series of scientific expeditions.

In the years 1915 to 1917, Dr. Guilherme Rau
Guilherme Rau
Guilherme Rau immigrated to Santa Maria, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil from Germany in 1900. An ophthalmologist, from 1915 to 1917 he helped with the Geological Survey of Berlin's excavation of 200 fossil at the Paleontological Site Sanga of Alemoa...

, a German
Germans
The Germans are a Germanic ethnic group native to Central Europe. The English term Germans has referred to the German-speaking population of the Holy Roman Empire since the Late Middle Ages....

 who now reside in Santa Maria in 1900, helped the German
Germans
The Germans are a Germanic ethnic group native to Central Europe. The English term Germans has referred to the German-speaking population of the Holy Roman Empire since the Late Middle Ages....

 scientist Dr. H. Lotz of the Geological Survey of Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...

, and collected 200 fossils in the Sanga da Alemoa
Sanga da Alemoa
The Sanga da Alemoa paleontological site is located in the city of Santa Maria, Rio Grande do Sul, in Brazil. It belongs to the Caturrita Formation and the Santa Maria Formation. It is located in the neighborhood of Castelinho...

. This material was sent to Von Huene
Friedrich von Huene
Friedrich von Huene was a German paleontologist who named more dinosaurs in the early 20th century than anyone else in Europe.-Biography:...

 in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

 in 1924. During this time a boy of 14 years, Atílio Munari
Atílio Munari
Atílio Munari was born in Santa Maria, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil.-Biography:He lived near the Sanga da Alemoa, and when he was 14 years old, he lived with the scientist H. Lotz, a German paleontologist, who taught him to collecting and preparing fossils. Many of the fossils collected by him, are...

, who lived near the Sanga da Alemoa
Sanga da Alemoa
The Sanga da Alemoa paleontological site is located in the city of Santa Maria, Rio Grande do Sul, in Brazil. It belongs to the Caturrita Formation and the Santa Maria Formation. It is located in the neighborhood of Castelinho...

, began to live with the scientist H. Lotz, who taught him to collect and prepare the fossil
Fossil
Fossils are the preserved remains or traces of animals , plants, and other organisms from the remote past...

s. Many of the fossils collected by him, are now in Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro , commonly referred to simply as Rio, is the capital city of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city of Brazil, and the third largest metropolitan area and agglomeration in South America, boasting approximately 6.3 million people within the city proper, making it the 6th...

, Porto Alegre
Porto Alegre
Porto Alegre is the tenth most populous municipality in Brazil, with 1,409,939 inhabitants, and the centre of Brazil's fourth largest metropolitan area . It is also the capital city of the southernmost Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul. The city is the southernmost capital city of a Brazilian...

 and Santa Maria.

Llewellyn Ivor Price
Llewellyn Ivor Price
Llewellyn Ivor Price was one of the first Brazilian paleontologists.-Biography:Price's work contributed not only to the development of Brazilian but also to global paleontology...

, was born in Santa Maria
Santa Maria, Rio Grande do Sul
Santa Maria is a municipality in the central region of Rio Grande do Sul, the southernmost state of Brazil. In 2007, its population was 263,403 inhabitants in a total area of 1,823 km2.-Importance:...

, and completed his studies at Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...

, USA. He returned to Santa Maria
Santa Maria, Rio Grande do Sul
Santa Maria is a municipality in the central region of Rio Grande do Sul, the southernmost state of Brazil. In 2007, its population was 263,403 inhabitants in a total area of 1,823 km2.-Importance:...

 in 1936, bringing along his colleague Theodore E. White. Both contacted Munari
Atílio Munari
Atílio Munari was born in Santa Maria, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil.-Biography:He lived near the Sanga da Alemoa, and when he was 14 years old, he lived with the scientist H. Lotz, a German paleontologist, who taught him to collecting and preparing fossils. Many of the fossils collected by him, are...

 that helped them in their excavations of fossils.

In 1925, Santa Maria
Santa Maria, Rio Grande do Sul
Santa Maria is a municipality in the central region of Rio Grande do Sul, the southernmost state of Brazil. In 2007, its population was 263,403 inhabitants in a total area of 1,823 km2.-Importance:...

 and São Pedro do Sul
São Pedro do Sul, Rio Grande do Sul
- Paleontology :This city belongs to the geopark of Paleorrota.Museum of the city that have fossils:#Museum Paleontologic and Archaeological Walter Ilha.-Day of Paleorrota:...

, were visited by the German
Germans
The Germans are a Germanic ethnic group native to Central Europe. The English term Germans has referred to the German-speaking population of the Holy Roman Empire since the Late Middle Ages....

 paleontologist Dr. Bruno von Freyberg, University of Halle-Wittenberg
University of Halle-Wittenberg
The Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg , also referred to as MLU, is a public, research-oriented university in the cities of Halle and Wittenberg within Saxony-Anhalt, Germany...

. That same year Dr. G. Florence and Pacheco, members of the Commission geological and geographical, of São Paulo
São Paulo
São Paulo is the largest city in Brazil, the largest city in the southern hemisphere and South America, and the world's seventh largest city by population. The metropolis is anchor to the São Paulo metropolitan area, ranked as the second-most populous metropolitan area in the Americas and among...

 were in Paleorrota. Everything that happened this season influenced Vicentino Prestes de Almeida
Vicentino Prestes de Almeida
-Biography:Vicentino Prestes de Almeida, was a Brazilian paleontologist. He died on October 28, 1954, in São Pedro do Sul.- Biography:It was a self-taught paleontologist...

, born Chiniquá (1900), to become a paleontologist. A jaw
Jaw
The jaw is any opposable articulated structure at the entrance of the mouth, typically used for grasping and manipulating food. The term jaws is also broadly applied to the whole of the structures constituting the vault of the mouth and serving to open and close it and is part of the body plan of...

 discovered by him, and sent to Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

, it influenced Von Huene
Friedrich von Huene
Friedrich von Huene was a German paleontologist who named more dinosaurs in the early 20th century than anyone else in Europe.-Biography:...

 to make a visit to Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...

. Prestosuchus
Prestosuchus
Prestosuchus is an extinct genus of a group of rauisuchians called prestosuchids. Friedrich von Huene named the genus in honor of Vicentino Prestes de Almeida....

 is named after a Vicentino Prestes de Almeida
Vicentino Prestes de Almeida
-Biography:Vicentino Prestes de Almeida, was a Brazilian paleontologist. He died on October 28, 1954, in São Pedro do Sul.- Biography:It was a self-taught paleontologist...

.

In 1927, the geologist
Geologist
A geologist is a scientist who studies the solid and liquid matter that constitutes the Earth as well as the processes and history that has shaped it. Geologists usually engage in studying geology. Geologists, studying more of an applied science than a theoretical one, must approach Geology using...

s Paulino Franco de Carvalho and Nero Passos, come to Santa Maria
Santa Maria, Rio Grande do Sul
Santa Maria is a municipality in the central region of Rio Grande do Sul, the southernmost state of Brazil. In 2007, its population was 263,403 inhabitants in a total area of 1,823 km2.-Importance:...

. This year also comes the geologist
Geologist
A geologist is a scientist who studies the solid and liquid matter that constitutes the Earth as well as the processes and history that has shaped it. Geologists usually engage in studying geology. Geologists, studying more of an applied science than a theoretical one, must approach Geology using...

 Alex Löfgren, who came here a year and a half helped by Munari
Atílio Munari
Atílio Munari was born in Santa Maria, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil.-Biography:He lived near the Sanga da Alemoa, and when he was 14 years old, he lived with the scientist H. Lotz, a German paleontologist, who taught him to collecting and preparing fossils. Many of the fossils collected by him, are...

.

In 1928 comes the German
Germans
The Germans are a Germanic ethnic group native to Central Europe. The English term Germans has referred to the German-speaking population of the Holy Roman Empire since the Late Middle Ages....

 Friedrich von Huene
Friedrich von Huene
Friedrich von Huene was a German paleontologist who named more dinosaurs in the early 20th century than anyone else in Europe.-Biography:...

, accompanied by Dr. Rudolf Stahlecker
Rudolf Stahlecker
- Biography :He studied with the German paleontologist Friedrich von Huene at the University of Tübingen, Germany. He participated in expeditions to collect fossils in the geopark of Paleorrota in 1928 and 1929. He also made several collections of fossils in Argentina.In his honor, the dicynodonts...

. They were six months collecting in the Sanga da Alemoa
Sanga da Alemoa
The Sanga da Alemoa paleontological site is located in the city of Santa Maria, Rio Grande do Sul, in Brazil. It belongs to the Caturrita Formation and the Santa Maria Formation. It is located in the neighborhood of Castelinho...

 and then stayed two months in Chiniquá. In the ten month period made several stratigraphic observations of many municipalities. They returned to Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

 with many tons of fossils. Many fossils collected by Friedrich von Huene
Friedrich von Huene
Friedrich von Huene was a German paleontologist who named more dinosaurs in the early 20th century than anyone else in Europe.-Biography:...

 are at the University of Tübingen, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

.

Cerritosaurus
Cerritosaurus
Cerritosaurus is a genus of proterochampsid archosauromorph from the Upper Triassic. It has been found in the Santa Maria Formation, in the Geopark of Paleorrota. It is represented by one species....

 was collected in 1941 by Jesuit Antonio Binsfeld, in the Sanga da Alemoa
Sanga da Alemoa
The Sanga da Alemoa paleontological site is located in the city of Santa Maria, Rio Grande do Sul, in Brazil. It belongs to the Caturrita Formation and the Santa Maria Formation. It is located in the neighborhood of Castelinho...

 in Santa Maria
Santa Maria, Rio Grande do Sul
Santa Maria is a municipality in the central region of Rio Grande do Sul, the southernmost state of Brazil. In 2007, its population was 263,403 inhabitants in a total area of 1,823 km2.-Importance:...

.

In the 40's and 50’s various expeditions organized by Llewellyn Ivor Price
Llewellyn Ivor Price
Llewellyn Ivor Price was one of the first Brazilian paleontologists.-Biography:Price's work contributed not only to the development of Brazilian but also to global paleontology...

, of the Department of Palaeontology of the National Department of Mineral Production in Rio de Janeiro, arriving in the region. Price
Llewellyn Ivor Price
Llewellyn Ivor Price was one of the first Brazilian paleontologists.-Biography:Price's work contributed not only to the development of Brazilian but also to global paleontology...

 has worked in the area along with Edwin Harris Colbert
Edwin Harris Colbert
Edwin Harris Colbert was a distinguished American vertebrate paleontologist and prolific researcher and author. He received his A.B. from the University of Nebraska, then his Masters and Ph.D. from Columbia University, finishing in 1935.Born in Clarinda, Iowa, he grew up in Maryville, Missouri...

, Carlos de Paula Couto
Carlos de Paula Couto
-Biography:Carlos de Paula Couto, was one of the most important Brazilian paleontologists.Researcher at the National Museum of Brazil in Rio de Janeiro, specialized in paleontology of mammals...

, Mackenzie Gondon, Fausto Luís de Souza Cunha and Theodore E. White. In Santa Maria, Price was staying at Colégio Centenário
Colégio Centenário
The Colégio Centenário is a Methodist college located at Rua Dr. Tury, in Santa Maria, Rio Grande do Sul. Your name derives from the founding date, March 27, 1922, at the very first year of centenary of the independence of Brazil . Its founders were two American missionaries from the Methodist...

.
In 1947, Ney Vidal and Carlos de Paula Couto
Carlos de Paula Couto
-Biography:Carlos de Paula Couto, was one of the most important Brazilian paleontologists.Researcher at the National Museum of Brazil in Rio de Janeiro, specialized in paleontology of mammals...

, working at the National Museum of Brazil
National Museum of Brazil
The National Museum of Brazil is a centenarian museum and research institution, located in the Quinta da Boa Vista park in the city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.-History:...

, were collecting fossil
Fossil
Fossils are the preserved remains or traces of animals , plants, and other organisms from the remote past...

s in the region. In 1955 prof. Irajá Damiani Pinto
Irajá Damiani Pinto
Irajá Damiani Pinto, born in Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, on July 3, 1919 and currently still working with Paleontology. - Biography:...

 (UFRGS), made collections of fossils in Paleorrota.

Dr. Romeu Beltrão
Romeu Beltrão
Romeu Beltrão , was born and died in Santa Maria, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil.- Biography :In 1920, he entered the College of Santa Maria. At age 15, goes to Porto Alegre to study at the Medical School of Porto Alegre. After graduating in medicine returns to Santa Maria. In 1935, he moved to São...

, who in 1951 collected material was sent to the National Museum of Brazil
National Museum of Brazil
The National Museum of Brazil is a centenarian museum and research institution, located in the Quinta da Boa Vista park in the city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.-History:...

. Subsequently the fossils was studied by Carlos de Paula Couto
Carlos de Paula Couto
-Biography:Carlos de Paula Couto, was one of the most important Brazilian paleontologists.Researcher at the National Museum of Brazil in Rio de Janeiro, specialized in paleontology of mammals...

.

From the year 1956 Father Daniel Cargnin
Daniel Cargnin
Daniel Cargnin, was a Brazilian priest and amateur paleontologist born in Nova Palma, in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, in 1930. He died in 2002, and at his request was buried in the town of Mata....

, which has enriched many museums, such as Museum Vincente Pallotti
Museum Vincente Pallotti
The Museum Vicente Pallotti is located on Avenida Presidente Vargas, 115 in Santa Maria, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. Visits need to be scheduled in advance.- Rooms :...

, Museum Daniel Cargnin
Museum Daniel Cargnin
The Museum Daniel Cargnin is located at Rua do Comércio, 825 in the city of Mata, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. It received its name in honor of priest and paleontologist Daniel Cargnin, which collected more than 80 percent of fossils in the region of Mata....

, UFRGS and PUCRS. He worked with Mário Costa Barberena
Mário Costa Barberena
- Biography :Did graduate in Natural History at the Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul in 1956 to 1959. Did his doctorate at Harvard University, in Stratigraphic and Paleontology...

 (UFRGS) and he collected more than 50 skulls. He was a paleontologist, who collected about 80% of the fossils that are in museums in the region.

From the 60's, with the creation of the School of Geology (UFRGS), and subsequently their postgraduate courses, the geological mapping of Paleorrota received large increase, as well as paleontological knowledge of sedimentary rocks found there.

In the 70 and 80, in São Pedro do Sul
São Pedro do Sul, Rio Grande do Sul
- Paleontology :This city belongs to the geopark of Paleorrota.Museum of the city that have fossils:#Museum Paleontologic and Archaeological Walter Ilha.-Day of Paleorrota:...

, Walter Ilha, a paleontologist has collected fossils in the region. Collected bibliographies, books and magazines on the subject. He fought to build a museum in his hometown. In 1987 he died, and the museum acquired the name of Museum Paleontologic and Archaeological Walter Ilha
Museum Paleontologic and Archaeological Walter Ilha
The Museum Paleontologic and Archaeological Walter Ilha is located at street Rua Fernando Ferrari, 164, in the city São Pedro do Sul, in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. It is a museum of Geopark of Paleorrota with information on the region....

.

In Paleorrota, paleontology
Paleontology
Paleontology "old, ancient", ὄν, ὀντ- "being, creature", and λόγος "speech, thought") is the study of prehistoric life. It includes the study of fossils to determine organisms' evolution and interactions with each other and their environments...

 began with amateur
Amateur
An amateur is generally considered a person attached to a particular pursuit, study, or science, without pay and often without formal training....

 paleontologists. Later we had the arrival of several foreign paleontologists, who contributed with their research and teaching of paleontology drove in our universities and school
School
A school is an institution designed for the teaching of students under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is commonly compulsory. In these systems, students progress through a series of schools...

s. Throughout this period the research of the amateurs were usually made with their own financial resources.

Research and Teaching

In the early 60s, started the first university courses in geology
Geology
Geology is the science comprising the study of solid Earth, the rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which it evolves. Geology gives insight into the history of the Earth, as it provides the primary evidence for plate tectonics, the evolutionary history of life, and past climates...

 in Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...

, due to the incentive to search for oil. Among the first universities were UFRGS, which began with the direction of prof. Irajá Damiani Pinto
Irajá Damiani Pinto
Irajá Damiani Pinto, born in Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, on July 3, 1919 and currently still working with Paleontology. - Biography:...

. The teaching of paleontology
Paleontology
Paleontology "old, ancient", ὄν, ὀντ- "being, creature", and λόγος "speech, thought") is the study of prehistoric life. It includes the study of fossils to determine organisms' evolution and interactions with each other and their environments...

 occurs today at UFRGS, UFSM, PUCRS and UNISINOS. Currently UFRGS produces replicas of fossils that are sold or exchanged with other research institutions, museums and businesses.

It has also intensified the Paleontological Tourism in the region, and the UNIFRA has prepared for tourism professionals.

In October 2009, began free distribution of one thousand copies of the book Vertebrados Fósseis de Santa Maria e Região (Vertebrate Fossils of Santa Maria and surrounding regions in English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...

). The book will be delivered to institutions, schools and libraries in Santa Maria, in order to spread the teaching of this subject in the region. The book was published by the council of the city.

Already published two comic book
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...

s with titles Xiru Lautério e Os Dinossauros I and II, in order to disclose the paleontology
Paleontology
Paleontology "old, ancient", ὄν, ὀντ- "being, creature", and λόγος "speech, thought") is the study of prehistoric life. It includes the study of fossils to determine organisms' evolution and interactions with each other and their environments...

 and gaucho
Gaucho
Gaucho is a term commonly used to describe residents of the South American pampas, chacos, or Patagonian grasslands, found principally in parts of Argentina, Uruguay, Southern Chile, and Southern Brazil...

 culture among children.

Tourism

Museums of Paleorrota.
  • Museum of Paleontology Irajá Damiani Pinto
  • Museum of Natural Sciences Foundation Zoo Botanical Rio Grande do Sul
  • Museum of Science and Technology (PUCRS)
    Museum of Science and Technology (PUCRS)
    The Museum of Science and Technology is a Brazilian museum, located in the city of Porto Alegre in Rio Grande do Sul, on Avenida Ipiranga 6681, Building 40, Parthenon in the neighborhood, near the PUCRS. The visiting hours are from Tuesdays to Sundays, from 9am to 5pm.- Overview :The museum was...

  • Museum of Geological History of Rio Grande do Sul
  • Educational Museum Gama D'Eça
    Museum Education Gama D'Eça
    The Educational Museum Gama D'Eça is located in the center of Santa Maria city, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. The current headquarters of the museum, located at Rua do Acamapamento Street, 81. The schedule of visits to the Museum is from Monday to Friday from 8am to 12am and from 1pm to 5pm.- Building...

    .
  • Museum Vincente Pallotti
    Museum Vincente Pallotti
    The Museum Vicente Pallotti is located on Avenida Presidente Vargas, 115 in Santa Maria, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. Visits need to be scheduled in advance.- Rooms :...

    .
  • Museum Aristides Carlos Rodrigues
    Museum Aristides Carlos Rodrigues
    The Museum Aristides Carlos Rodrigues is located at Avenue Pereira Rego, 1000, in the town of Candelária, in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. It is a museum of Geopark of Paleorrota with information on the region...

    .
  • Paleontological and Archeological Museum Walter Ilha
    Museum Paleontologic and Archaeological Walter Ilha
    The Museum Paleontologic and Archaeological Walter Ilha is located at street Rua Fernando Ferrari, 164, in the city São Pedro do Sul, in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. It is a museum of Geopark of Paleorrota with information on the region....

    .
  • Museum Daniel Cargnin
    Museum Daniel Cargnin
    The Museum Daniel Cargnin is located at Rua do Comércio, 825 in the city of Mata, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. It received its name in honor of priest and paleontologist Daniel Cargnin, which collected more than 80 percent of fossils in the region of Mata....

    .


The tourist who arrives in Porto Alegre
Porto Alegre
Porto Alegre is the tenth most populous municipality in Brazil, with 1,409,939 inhabitants, and the centre of Brazil's fourth largest metropolitan area . It is also the capital city of the southernmost Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul. The city is the southernmost capital city of a Brazilian...

 have several options for visits to museums in the city. A visit to the Porto Alegre Botanical Garden
Botanical garden
A botanical garden The terms botanic and botanical, and garden or gardens are used more-or-less interchangeably, although the word botanic is generally reserved for the earlier, more traditional gardens. is a well-tended area displaying a wide range of plants labelled with their botanical names...

, also visits the Museum of Natural Sciences Foundation Zoo Botanical Rio Grande do Sul, which is inside and has an exhibition of fossils. Two kilometers away is the Museum of Science and Technology (PUCRS)
Museum of Science and Technology (PUCRS)
The Museum of Science and Technology is a Brazilian museum, located in the city of Porto Alegre in Rio Grande do Sul, on Avenida Ipiranga 6681, Building 40, Parthenon in the neighborhood, near the PUCRS. The visiting hours are from Tuesdays to Sundays, from 9am to 5pm.- Overview :The museum was...

, which has several specimens of fossils, plus an exhibition of science and technology. Seven kilometers of PUCRS, we arrived at the campus of UFRGS, where is located the Museum of Paleontology Irajá Damiani Pinto next to the building and has a Geosciences Laboratory of Paleontology.

The Museum of Geological History of Rio Grande do Sul is located in the city of São Leopoldo
São Leopoldo
São Leopoldo is an important Brazilian industrial city located in the south state of Rio Grande do Sul. It occupies a total area of 103.9 km² at circa 30 km from the State Capital, Porto Alegre. Climate is sub-tropical, with temperatures varying from 2°C minimum at Winter to more than...

, in the UNISINOS and is thirty kilometers from Porto Alegre
Porto Alegre
Porto Alegre is the tenth most populous municipality in Brazil, with 1,409,939 inhabitants, and the centre of Brazil's fourth largest metropolitan area . It is also the capital city of the southernmost Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul. The city is the southernmost capital city of a Brazilian...

. UNISINOS has emerged in surveys of Paleobotany.

To know Paleorrota, starting the trip in Porto Alegre
Porto Alegre
Porto Alegre is the tenth most populous municipality in Brazil, with 1,409,939 inhabitants, and the centre of Brazil's fourth largest metropolitan area . It is also the capital city of the southernmost Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul. The city is the southernmost capital city of a Brazilian...

, should go through the BR-287 toward Santa Maria
Santa Maria, Rio Grande do Sul
Santa Maria is a municipality in the central region of Rio Grande do Sul, the southernmost state of Brazil. In 2007, its population was 263,403 inhabitants in a total area of 1,823 km2.-Importance:...

, which is 300 kilometers away. Following the path we passed the town of Venâncio Aires
Venâncio Aires
Venâncio Aires is a city in southern Brazil. It is the capital of chimarrão, a kind of drink, with approximately 65,000 inhabitants. The main industry is tobacco.-See also:*Esporte Clube Guarani...

, which is the start of the area with fossils. In Candelária
Candelária, Rio Grande do Sul
- Paleontology :This city belongs to the geopark of Paleorrota.Museum of the city that have fossils:#Museum Aristides Carlos Rodrigues.-Day of Paleorrota:...

 town, we visit the Museum Aristides Carlos Rodrigues
Museum Aristides Carlos Rodrigues
The Museum Aristides Carlos Rodrigues is located at Avenue Pereira Rego, 1000, in the town of Candelária, in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. It is a museum of Geopark of Paleorrota with information on the region...

.

Arriving in Santa Maria
Santa Maria, Rio Grande do Sul
Santa Maria is a municipality in the central region of Rio Grande do Sul, the southernmost state of Brazil. In 2007, its population was 263,403 inhabitants in a total area of 1,823 km2.-Importance:...

, you can visit the campus of UFSM, the Museum Vincente Pallotti
Museum Vincente Pallotti
The Museum Vicente Pallotti is located on Avenida Presidente Vargas, 115 in Santa Maria, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. Visits need to be scheduled in advance.- Rooms :...

 and the Educational Museum Gama D'Eça. In Santa Maria
Santa Maria, Rio Grande do Sul
Santa Maria is a municipality in the central region of Rio Grande do Sul, the southernmost state of Brazil. In 2007, its population was 263,403 inhabitants in a total area of 1,823 km2.-Importance:...

, was where the history of paleontology of Paleorrota began. The city itself is under a large deposit of fossils. The city has many hotels, shoppings and restaurants.

Over 40 kilometers of travel, and arrive to São Pedro do Sul
São Pedro do Sul, Rio Grande do Sul
- Paleontology :This city belongs to the geopark of Paleorrota.Museum of the city that have fossils:#Museum Paleontologic and Archaeological Walter Ilha.-Day of Paleorrota:...

, where is the Museum Paleontologic and Archaeological Walter Ilha
Museum Paleontologic and Archaeological Walter Ilha
The Museum Paleontologic and Archaeological Walter Ilha is located at street Rua Fernando Ferrari, 164, in the city São Pedro do Sul, in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. It is a museum of Geopark of Paleorrota with information on the region....

. More than 40 kilometers and we reached the town of Mata
Mata, Rio Grande do Sul
- Paleontology :This city belongs to the geopark of Paleorrota.The city of Mata has large deposits of petrified trees.Museum of the city that have fossils:#Museum Daniel Cargnin.-Day of Paleorrota:...

, where the museum is the Museum Daniel Cargnin
Museum Daniel Cargnin
The Museum Daniel Cargnin is located at Rua do Comércio, 825 in the city of Mata, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. It received its name in honor of priest and paleontologist Daniel Cargnin, which collected more than 80 percent of fossils in the region of Mata....

. Here there are a lot of petrified wood
Petrified wood
Petrified wood is the name given to a special type of fossilized remains of terrestrial vegetation. It is the result of a tree having turned completely into stone by the process of permineralization...

 that are found throughout the city. In Mata
Mata, Rio Grande do Sul
- Paleontology :This city belongs to the geopark of Paleorrota.The city of Mata has large deposits of petrified trees.Museum of the city that have fossils:#Museum Daniel Cargnin.-Day of Paleorrota:...

 end our trip.

From Porto Alegre
Porto Alegre
Porto Alegre is the tenth most populous municipality in Brazil, with 1,409,939 inhabitants, and the centre of Brazil's fourth largest metropolitan area . It is also the capital city of the southernmost Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul. The city is the southernmost capital city of a Brazilian...

 to Mata
Mata, Rio Grande do Sul
- Paleontology :This city belongs to the geopark of Paleorrota.The city of Mata has large deposits of petrified trees.Museum of the city that have fossils:#Museum Daniel Cargnin.-Day of Paleorrota:...

, is about 400 kilometers is better down the road of Paleorrota with a car. If you prefer to go by bus to Santa Maria
Santa Maria, Rio Grande do Sul
Santa Maria is a municipality in the central region of Rio Grande do Sul, the southernmost state of Brazil. In 2007, its population was 263,403 inhabitants in a total area of 1,823 km2.-Importance:...

.

Day of Paleorrota

On 21 and 22 May 2011, was held the first day of Paleorrota
Paleorrota
Paleorrota , is a geopark located in the center of the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul. The rocks and fossils found along the route date back to the times when there was only one supercontinent Pangaea....

, where the museums of palaeontology at Porto Alegre
Porto Alegre
Porto Alegre is the tenth most populous municipality in Brazil, with 1,409,939 inhabitants, and the centre of Brazil's fourth largest metropolitan area . It is also the capital city of the southernmost Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul. The city is the southernmost capital city of a Brazilian...

, Candelária
Candelária, Rio Grande do Sul
- Paleontology :This city belongs to the geopark of Paleorrota.Museum of the city that have fossils:#Museum Aristides Carlos Rodrigues.-Day of Paleorrota:...

, Santa Maria, São Pedro do Sul
São Pedro do Sul, Rio Grande do Sul
- Paleontology :This city belongs to the geopark of Paleorrota.Museum of the city that have fossils:#Museum Paleontologic and Archaeological Walter Ilha.-Day of Paleorrota:...

 and Mata
Mata, Rio Grande do Sul
- Paleontology :This city belongs to the geopark of Paleorrota.The city of Mata has large deposits of petrified trees.Museum of the city that have fossils:#Museum Daniel Cargnin.-Day of Paleorrota:...

, opened their doors to visits from tourists. The day of Paleorrota should occur every year in May during the week's national museum. Earlier this week, on May 17 is the anniversary of Santa Maria city.

Cities

The Geopark of Paleorrota comprises 21 municipalities in Rio Grande do Sul
Rio Grande do Sul
Rio Grande do Sul is the southernmost state in Brazil, and the state with the fifth highest Human Development Index in the country. In this state is located the southernmost city in the country, Chuí, on the border with Uruguay. In the region of Bento Gonçalves and Caxias do Sul, the largest wine...

 
City Information

Porto Alegre
Porto Alegre
Porto Alegre is the tenth most populous municipality in Brazil, with 1,409,939 inhabitants, and the centre of Brazil's fourth largest metropolitan area . It is also the capital city of the southernmost Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul. The city is the southernmost capital city of a Brazilian...


Although Porto Alegre
Porto Alegre
Porto Alegre is the tenth most populous municipality in Brazil, with 1,409,939 inhabitants, and the centre of Brazil's fourth largest metropolitan area . It is also the capital city of the southernmost Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul. The city is the southernmost capital city of a Brazilian...

 is not located within the area of the Triassic
Triassic
The Triassic is a geologic period and system that extends from about 250 to 200 Mya . As the first period of the Mesozoic Era, the Triassic follows the Permian and is followed by the Jurassic. Both the start and end of the Triassic are marked by major extinction events...

 rocks, it has the highest number of paleontologists of Rio Grande do Sul
Rio Grande do Sul
Rio Grande do Sul is the southernmost state in Brazil, and the state with the fifth highest Human Development Index in the country. In this state is located the southernmost city in the country, Chuí, on the border with Uruguay. In the region of Bento Gonçalves and Caxias do Sul, the largest wine...

 and possesses a large number of museums, institutions and universities :
  1. The UFRGS has a large number of paleontologists specializing in vertebrates and houses the Museum of Paleontology Irajá Damiani Pinto
    Institute of Geosciences of the Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul
    The Institute of Geosciences is a unit of instruction of the Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul which includes the courses of Geography , Cartographic Engineering and Geology. It has a department of study of vertebrate paleontology...

    . In 1998 the first Brazilian Symposium on Vertebrate Paleontology was held at UFRGS.
  2. The PUCRS has contributed to the paleorrota. Its important Museum of Science and Technology
    Museum of Science and Technology (PUCRS)
    The Museum of Science and Technology is a Brazilian museum, located in the city of Porto Alegre in Rio Grande do Sul, on Avenida Ipiranga 6681, Building 40, Parthenon in the neighborhood, near the PUCRS. The visiting hours are from Tuesdays to Sundays, from 9am to 5pm.- Overview :The museum was...

     displays fossil
    Fossil
    Fossils are the preserved remains or traces of animals , plants, and other organisms from the remote past...

    s of the region.
  3. The UNISINOS
    Universidade do Vale do Rio dos Sinos
    The Universidade do Vale do Rio dos Sinos is a private and non-profit Jesuit university, located in São Leopoldo, in Greater Porto Alegre. It is one of the largest and most prestigious Brazilian universities...

     has a team specializing in paleobotany
    Paleobotany
    Paleobotany, also spelled as palaeobotany , is the branch of paleontology or paleobiology dealing with the recovery and identification of plant remains from geological contexts, and their use for the biological reconstruction of past environments , and both the evolutionary history of plants, with a...

    .
  4. At the Museum of Natural Sciences, incorporated into the Porto Alegre Botanical Garden
    Porto Alegre Botanical Garden
    The Porto Alegre Botanical Garden is a Foundation of Rio Grande do Sul located on the street Salvador França, in Porto Alegre, Brazil. Together with the Museum of Natural Sciences, the Botanical Garden is one of the most complete ones. This preservation area is also suitable for investigation,...

    , is an exhibition of fossils found in the geopark
    Geopark
    A Geopark is defined by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization in its UNESCO Geoparks International Network of Geoparks programme as follows:...

    .

Santa Maria

Santa Maria has been built on large fossil deposits featuring 22 outcrop
Outcrop
An outcrop is a visible exposure of bedrock or ancient superficial deposits on the surface of the Earth. -Features:Outcrops do not cover the majority of the Earth's land surface because in most places the bedrock or superficial deposits are covered by a mantle of soil and vegetation and cannot be...

s within the city limits. Several of its museums have dinosaurs on display.
In 2006, the University UFSM held the fifth Brazilian Symposium on Vertebrate Paleontology. It was in Santa Maria that Staurikosaurus
Staurikosaurus
Staurikosaurus is a genus of herrerasaurid dinosaur from the Late Triassic of Brazil.-Discovery:The first known specimen of Staurikosaurus was recovered from the Paleontological Site Jazigo Cinco of the Santa Maria Formation in the geopark of paleorrota , Rio Grande do Sul, southern Brazil...

(amongst many other fossils) was first found.
Within the city limits are the following paleontological sites:
  1. Paleontological Site Arroio Cancela
    Paleontological Site Arroio Cancela
    The Paleontological Site Arroio Cancela is located within the city of Santa Maria, a municipality of Rio Grande do Sul, the southernmost state of Brazil. The site is situated in the neighbourhood Nossa Senhora de Lourdes at an altitude of 107 metres above sea level...

    .
  2. Paleontological Site Largo Padre Daniel Cargnin
    Paleontological Site Largo Padre Daniel Cargnin
    Paleontological Site Largo Padre Daniel Cargnin is a paleontological site of the Caturrita Formation located in the city of Santa Maria, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. The site is located in the Paleorrota Geopark....

    .
  3. Paleontological Site Bela Vista
    Paleontological Site Bela Vista
    Paleontological Site Bela Vista is located in the city of Santa Maria, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. And belongs to Caturrita Formation. Site belongs to the region paleorrota....

    .
  4. Paleontological Site Jazigo Cinco
    Paleontological Site Jazigo Cinco
    Paleontological Site Jazigo Cinco is located in the city of Santa Maria, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. And belongs to Santa Maria Formation. It is located in the neighborhood Kilometro 3 near Castelinho, is to 2.7 kilometers away from the Paleontological Site Arroio Cancela. It belongs to UFSM and is...

    .
  5. Paleontological Site Sanga of Alemoa.


Municipal museums with fossils on display:
  1. Educational Museum Gama D'Eça
    Museum Education Gama D'Eça
    The Educational Museum Gama D'Eça is located in the center of Santa Maria city, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. The current headquarters of the museum, located at Rua do Acamapamento Street, 81. The schedule of visits to the Museum is from Monday to Friday from 8am to 12am and from 1pm to 5pm.- Building...

    .
  2. Museum Vincente Pallotti
    Museum Vincente Pallotti
    The Museum Vicente Pallotti is located on Avenida Presidente Vargas, 115 in Santa Maria, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. Visits need to be scheduled in advance.- Rooms :...

    .

Candelária
Candelária, Rio Grande do Sul
- Paleontology :This city belongs to the geopark of Paleorrota.Museum of the city that have fossils:#Museum Aristides Carlos Rodrigues.-Day of Paleorrota:...


Candelária has also been an area where fossil vertebrates have been discovered. The thecodont
Thecodont
Thecodont , now considered an obsolete term, was formerly used to describe a diverse range of early archosaurs that first appeared in the Latest Permian and flourished until the end of the Triassic period...

 Karamuru
Karamuru
Karamuru is a genus of prestosuchid archosaur from the Middle Triassic-age Santa Maria Formation of Brazil. It was found in the Paleorrota geopark. It is based on remains that had been assigned to Prestosuchus chininiquensis, including a nearly complete skull...

was collected here in 2000. In the city alone are 17 outcrop
Outcrop
An outcrop is a visible exposure of bedrock or ancient superficial deposits on the surface of the Earth. -Features:Outcrops do not cover the majority of the Earth's land surface because in most places the bedrock or superficial deposits are covered by a mantle of soil and vegetation and cannot be...

s.

Municipal museum with fossils on display:
  1. Museum Aristides Carlos Rodrigues
    Museum Aristides Carlos Rodrigues
    The Museum Aristides Carlos Rodrigues is located at Avenue Pereira Rego, 1000, in the town of Candelária, in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. It is a museum of Geopark of Paleorrota with information on the region...

    .

São Pedro do Sul
São Pedro do Sul, Rio Grande do Sul
- Paleontology :This city belongs to the geopark of Paleorrota.Museum of the city that have fossils:#Museum Paleontologic and Archaeological Walter Ilha.-Day of Paleorrota:...


São Pedro do Sul has a large reserve of petrified trees and a museum with dinosaur fossils. The city is located 40 km from Santa Maria. In 1938 the paleontologist Friedrich von Huene
Friedrich von Huene
Friedrich von Huene was a German paleontologist who named more dinosaurs in the early 20th century than anyone else in Europe.-Biography:...

 collected here the thecodont
Thecodont
Thecodont , now considered an obsolete term, was formerly used to describe a diverse range of early archosaurs that first appeared in the Latest Permian and flourished until the end of the Triassic period...

 Prestosuchus chiniquensis
Prestosuchus
Prestosuchus is an extinct genus of a group of rauisuchians called prestosuchids. Friedrich von Huene named the genus in honor of Vicentino Prestes de Almeida....

.
  1. Paleontological Site Chiniquá
    Paleontological Site Chiniquá
    Palaeontological Site Chiniquá is located in the Brazilian city of São Pedro do Sul, Rio Grande do Sul. That the margins of the highway BR-287, with an area of about 250 hectar. It is located at 70 kilometers from the city of Santa Maria. The site belongs to geopark of paleorrota...

    .


Municipal museum with fossils on display:
  1. Paleontological and Archeological Museum Walter Ilha
    Museum Paleontologic and Archaeological Walter Ilha
    The Museum Paleontologic and Archaeological Walter Ilha is located at street Rua Fernando Ferrari, 164, in the city São Pedro do Sul, in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. It is a museum of Geopark of Paleorrota with information on the region....

    .

Mata
Mata, Rio Grande do Sul
- Paleontology :This city belongs to the geopark of Paleorrota.The city of Mata has large deposits of petrified trees.Museum of the city that have fossils:#Museum Daniel Cargnin.-Day of Paleorrota:...


In the city of Mata are large deposits of petrified trees.

Municipal museum with fossils on display:
  1. Museum Daniel Cargnin
    Museum Daniel Cargnin
    The Museum Daniel Cargnin is located at Rua do Comércio, 825 in the city of Mata, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. It received its name in honor of priest and paleontologist Daniel Cargnin, which collected more than 80 percent of fossils in the region of Mata....

    .

São João do Polêsine
São João do Polêsine
- Paleontology :This city belongs to the geopark of Paleorrota.This situated approximately 50 kilometers from the city of Santa Maria.In this city there are outcrops with fossils. The CAPPA , is under construction in this city.-See also:*List of municipalities in Rio Grande do Sul...


São João do Polêsine is situated approximately 50 kilometers from Santa Maria.

Within the city are outcrop
Outcrop
An outcrop is a visible exposure of bedrock or ancient superficial deposits on the surface of the Earth. -Features:Outcrops do not cover the majority of the Earth's land surface because in most places the bedrock or superficial deposits are covered by a mantle of soil and vegetation and cannot be...

s with fossil
Fossil
Fossils are the preserved remains or traces of animals , plants, and other organisms from the remote past...

s. The CAPPA (Support Center for Research on Palaeontology) is under construction in this city.

Agudo
Agudo, Rio Grande do Sul
Agudo is a municipality in Rio Grande do Sul, the southernmost state of Brazil. Its coordinates are 53º14'24" West and the elevation is 83 meters above sealevel...


Sacisaurus
Sacisaurus
Sacisaurus is a dinosauriform from the Late Triassic Caturrita Formation of southern Brazil...

was found in Agudo. It was discovered in 2010 the fossil of a Trucidocynodon
Trucidocynodon
Trucidocynodon is an extinct, monotypic genus of synapsid from Upper Triassic of Brazil. Trucidocynodon riograndensis is the only species descript for genus....

.

São Martinho da Serra
São Martinho da Serra
-See also:*List of municipalities in Rio Grande do Sul...


Here Unaysaurus
Unaysaurus
Unaysaurus is a genus of sauropodomorph dinosaur, and is one of the oldest dinosaurs known. It was discovered in southern Brazil,in the geopark of paleorrota, in 1998, and announced in a press conference on Thursday, December 3, 2004...

was discovered, 13 kilometers from Santa Maria.
  1. Paleontological Site of Agua Negra
    Paleontological Site of Agua Negra
    Paleontological Site of Agua Negra is located in the Agua Negra in the city of São Martinho da Serra, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. The site is approximately 8 kilometers from the city of Santa Maria. Site belongs to the region paleorrota. Here was found Unaysaurus....

    .

Dona Francisca
Dona Francisca
-See also:*List of municipalities in Rio Grande do Sul...


Near the city of Santa Maria. Dona Francisca likewise has fossil-bearing
Fossil
Fossils are the preserved remains or traces of animals , plants, and other organisms from the remote past...

 outcrop
Outcrop
An outcrop is a visible exposure of bedrock or ancient superficial deposits on the surface of the Earth. -Features:Outcrops do not cover the majority of the Earth's land surface because in most places the bedrock or superficial deposits are covered by a mantle of soil and vegetation and cannot be...

s. In 2008 a 240 million year old cynodont (Luangwa
Luangwa (cynodont)
Luangwa is a genus of traversodontid cynodonts. The species Luangwa drysdalli was discovered 1963 in the valley of the Luangwa river in Zambia, Africa. Luangwa lived in the Triassic period 240 Million years ago....

) was found here.

Researchers at the Lutheran University of Brazil
Universidade Luterana do Brasil
The Universidade Luterana do Brasil is a university located in the city of Canoas, in the State of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil...

 in April 2010 found a complete fossil of a thecodont
Thecodont
Thecodont , now considered an obsolete term, was formerly used to describe a diverse range of early archosaurs that first appeared in the Latest Permian and flourished until the end of the Triassic period...

 Prestosuchus
Prestosuchus
Prestosuchus is an extinct genus of a group of rauisuchians called prestosuchids. Friedrich von Huene named the genus in honor of Vicentino Prestes de Almeida....

.

Faxinal do Soturno
Faxinal do Soturno
-See also:*List of municipalities in Rio Grande do Sul...


Close to Santa Maria. Faxinal do Soturno has outcrop
Outcrop
An outcrop is a visible exposure of bedrock or ancient superficial deposits on the surface of the Earth. -Features:Outcrops do not cover the majority of the Earth's land surface because in most places the bedrock or superficial deposits are covered by a mantle of soil and vegetation and cannot be...

s with fossil
Fossil
Fossils are the preserved remains or traces of animals , plants, and other organisms from the remote past...

s.

Cachoeira do Sul
Cachoeira do Sul
Cachoeira do Sul is a municipality of the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil.It is located at a latitude of 30º02'21" S and a longitude of 52º53'38" W, at an approximate height of 68 meters over sea level. Its population in 2004 was approximately 89120 and its surface area is 3715.5 square...


The fossil-bearing
Fossil
Fossils are the preserved remains or traces of animals , plants, and other organisms from the remote past...

 outcrop
Outcrop
An outcrop is a visible exposure of bedrock or ancient superficial deposits on the surface of the Earth. -Features:Outcrops do not cover the majority of the Earth's land surface because in most places the bedrock or superficial deposits are covered by a mantle of soil and vegetation and cannot be...

s are to the north of the city. In Agudo
Agudo, Rio Grande do Sul
Agudo is a municipality in Rio Grande do Sul, the southernmost state of Brazil. Its coordinates are 53º14'24" West and the elevation is 83 meters above sealevel...

, near Cachoeira do Sul, the ULBRA
Universidade Luterana do Brasil
The Universidade Luterana do Brasil is a university located in the city of Canoas, in the State of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil...

 of Cachoeira do Sul discovered the fossil
Fossil
Fossils are the preserved remains or traces of animals , plants, and other organisms from the remote past...

 remnants of Sacisaurus
Sacisaurus
Sacisaurus is a dinosauriform from the Late Triassic Caturrita Formation of southern Brazil...

.

São Gabriel
São Gabriel
São Gabriel is a municipality in the state Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil.It's the birthplace of the Field Marshal Mascarenhas de Morais and Baron of Candiota.- Paleontology :This city belongs to the geopark of Paleorrota....


In São Gabriel the fossil
Fossil
Fossils are the preserved remains or traces of animals , plants, and other organisms from the remote past...

 remains of an ancient amphibian
Amphibian
Amphibians , are a class of vertebrate animals including animals such as toads, frogs, caecilians, and salamanders. They are characterized as non-amniote ectothermic tetrapods...

 appeared that date back to the Permian
Permian
The PermianThe term "Permian" was introduced into geology in 1841 by Sir Sir R. I. Murchison, president of the Geological Society of London, who identified typical strata in extensive Russian explorations undertaken with Edouard de Verneuil; Murchison asserted in 1841 that he named his "Permian...

 (270 million years ago).

Here three geological formations crop out:
  1. Irati Formation
    Irati Formation
    Irati Formation is the name of a geological formation of Brazil.It has previously been dated as Upper Permian using palynomorphs but is now dated as Lower Permian using zircon ages obtained from bentonite layers...

     (Passo São Borja). Age: Late Permian
    Permian
    The PermianThe term "Permian" was introduced into geology in 1841 by Sir Sir R. I. Murchison, president of the Geological Society of London, who identified typical strata in extensive Russian explorations undertaken with Edouard de Verneuil; Murchison asserted in 1841 that he named his "Permian...

    .
  2. Rio do Rastro Formation
    Rio do Rastro Formation
    The Rio do Rastro Formation is a sedimentary rock formation found in the states of southern Brazil. Mainly in the states of Santa Catarina, Paraná and Rio Grande do Sul . Received this name of the Serra do Rio do Rastro. The Upper Permian age....

     (Posto Queimado). Age: Late Permian
    Permian
    The PermianThe term "Permian" was introduced into geology in 1841 by Sir Sir R. I. Murchison, president of the Geological Society of London, who identified typical strata in extensive Russian explorations undertaken with Edouard de Verneuil; Murchison asserted in 1841 that he named his "Permian...

    .
  3. Sanga do Cabral Formation
    Sanga do Cabral Formation
    right|350px|thumb|Sanga do Cabral Formation. Source: [[UFSM]].The Sanga do Cabral Formation is a sedimentary rock formation found in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil.This rock formation is located in geopark of paleorrota, and is located to the south of Geopark...

     (Abandoned railroad between Dilermando de Aguiar
    Dilermando de Aguiar
    - Paleontology :This city belongs to the geopark of Paleorrota. In this city there are outcrops of Sanga do Cabral Formation, the . Early Triassic age.-See also:...

     and São Gabriel
    São Gabriel
    São Gabriel is a municipality in the state Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil.It's the birthplace of the Field Marshal Mascarenhas de Morais and Baron of Candiota.- Paleontology :This city belongs to the geopark of Paleorrota....

    ). Age: Late Triassic
    Late Triassic
    The Late Triassic is in the geologic timescale the third and final of three epochs of the Triassic period. The corresponding series is known as the Upper Triassic. In the past it was sometimes called the Keuper, after a German lithostratigraphic group that has a roughly corresponding age...

    .

Aceguá
Aceguá, Rio Grande do Sul
- Paleontology :This city belongs to the geopark of Paleorrota. Here are outcrops located between the City of Aceguá and Bagé, located along the highway BR-153. They are Rio do Rastro Formation and Late Permian age.-See also:...


In the Aceguá area the outcrop
Outcrop
An outcrop is a visible exposure of bedrock or ancient superficial deposits on the surface of the Earth. -Features:Outcrops do not cover the majority of the Earth's land surface because in most places the bedrock or superficial deposits are covered by a mantle of soil and vegetation and cannot be...

s are located between the City of Aceguá
Aceguá, Rio Grande do Sul
- Paleontology :This city belongs to the geopark of Paleorrota. Here are outcrops located between the City of Aceguá and Bagé, located along the highway BR-153. They are Rio do Rastro Formation and Late Permian age.-See also:...

 and Bagé
Bagé
Bagé is a city and a municipality in the south of the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. In 2007 its population was 112,550 in a total area of 4,096 km2. It was the tenth largest city in the state in 2007 -Location:...

, along the highway BR-153. They belong to the Rio do Rastro Formation
Rio do Rastro Formation
The Rio do Rastro Formation is a sedimentary rock formation found in the states of southern Brazil. Mainly in the states of Santa Catarina, Paraná and Rio Grande do Sul . Received this name of the Serra do Rio do Rastro. The Upper Permian age....

 and are Late Permian
Permian
The PermianThe term "Permian" was introduced into geology in 1841 by Sir Sir R. I. Murchison, president of the Geological Society of London, who identified typical strata in extensive Russian explorations undertaken with Edouard de Verneuil; Murchison asserted in 1841 that he named his "Permian...

 in age.

Bagé
Bagé
Bagé is a city and a municipality in the south of the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. In 2007 its population was 112,550 in a total area of 4,096 km2. It was the tenth largest city in the state in 2007 -Location:...


In the Bagé area the outcrop
Outcrop
An outcrop is a visible exposure of bedrock or ancient superficial deposits on the surface of the Earth. -Features:Outcrops do not cover the majority of the Earth's land surface because in most places the bedrock or superficial deposits are covered by a mantle of soil and vegetation and cannot be...

s are located between the City of Aceguá
Aceguá, Rio Grande do Sul
- Paleontology :This city belongs to the geopark of Paleorrota. Here are outcrops located between the City of Aceguá and Bagé, located along the highway BR-153. They are Rio do Rastro Formation and Late Permian age.-See also:...

 and Bagé
Bagé
Bagé is a city and a municipality in the south of the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. In 2007 its population was 112,550 in a total area of 4,096 km2. It was the tenth largest city in the state in 2007 -Location:...

, along the highway BR-153. They belong to the Rio do Rastro Formation
Rio do Rastro Formation
The Rio do Rastro Formation is a sedimentary rock formation found in the states of southern Brazil. Mainly in the states of Santa Catarina, Paraná and Rio Grande do Sul . Received this name of the Serra do Rio do Rastro. The Upper Permian age....

 and are Late Permian
Permian
The PermianThe term "Permian" was introduced into geology in 1841 by Sir Sir R. I. Murchison, president of the Geological Society of London, who identified typical strata in extensive Russian explorations undertaken with Edouard de Verneuil; Murchison asserted in 1841 that he named his "Permian...

 in age.

Dilermando de Aguiar
Dilermando de Aguiar
- Paleontology :This city belongs to the geopark of Paleorrota. In this city there are outcrops of Sanga do Cabral Formation, the . Early Triassic age.-See also:...


In Dilermando de Aguiar the Sanga do Cabral Formation
Sanga do Cabral Formation
right|350px|thumb|Sanga do Cabral Formation. Source: [[UFSM]].The Sanga do Cabral Formation is a sedimentary rock formation found in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil.This rock formation is located in geopark of paleorrota, and is located to the south of Geopark...

 crops out
Outcrop
An outcrop is a visible exposure of bedrock or ancient superficial deposits on the surface of the Earth. -Features:Outcrops do not cover the majority of the Earth's land surface because in most places the bedrock or superficial deposits are covered by a mantle of soil and vegetation and cannot be...

 along the abandoned railroad between Dilermando de Aguiar
Dilermando de Aguiar
- Paleontology :This city belongs to the geopark of Paleorrota. In this city there are outcrops of Sanga do Cabral Formation, the . Early Triassic age.-See also:...

 and São Gabriel
São Gabriel
São Gabriel is a municipality in the state Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil.It's the birthplace of the Field Marshal Mascarenhas de Morais and Baron of Candiota.- Paleontology :This city belongs to the geopark of Paleorrota....

). Early Triassic
Early Triassic
The Early Triassic is the first of three epochs of the Triassic period of the geologic timescale. It spans the time between 251 ± 0.4 Ma and 245 ± 1.5 Ma . Rocks from this epoch are collectively known as the Lower Triassic, which is a unit in chronostratigraphy...

 age.

Santa Cruz do Sul
Santa Cruz do Sul
Santa Cruz do Sul is a city in central Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. The city has approximately 130,000 inhabitants and sits about 150 km from the capital city of the state, Porto Alegre...


Here the fossil
Fossil
Fossils are the preserved remains or traces of animals , plants, and other organisms from the remote past...

 of a cynodont
Cynodont
Cynodontia or cynodonts are a taxon of therapsids which first appeared in the Late Permian and were eventually distributed throughout all seven continents by the Early Triassic . This clade includes modern mammals and their extinct close relatives. They were one of the most diverse groups of...

 was found.

 

UNESCO Geopark

For Paleorrota to be included in the network of UNESCO
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...

 geoparks, several steps must be fulfilled. The Society of Mineral Resources Research is developing a project for the creation of a geopark. 246 outcrop
Outcrop
An outcrop is a visible exposure of bedrock or ancient superficial deposits on the surface of the Earth. -Features:Outcrops do not cover the majority of the Earth's land surface because in most places the bedrock or superficial deposits are covered by a mantle of soil and vegetation and cannot be...

s were described and a geological map of the area was prepared by the Regional Superintendent of Porto Alegre
Porto Alegre
Porto Alegre is the tenth most populous municipality in Brazil, with 1,409,939 inhabitants, and the centre of Brazil's fourth largest metropolitan area . It is also the capital city of the southernmost Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul. The city is the southernmost capital city of a Brazilian...

.

CAPPA - Support Center for Paleontological Research

CAPPA (Support Center for Paleontological Research) or (Centro de Apoio a Pesquisa Paleontológica), in Portuguese. Maximiliano Vizzotto street, 598. Seated in the city of São João do Polêsine
São João do Polêsine
- Paleontology :This city belongs to the geopark of Paleorrota.This situated approximately 50 kilometers from the city of Santa Maria.In this city there are outcrops with fossils. The CAPPA , is under construction in this city.-See also:*List of municipalities in Rio Grande do Sul...

 in Rio Grande do Sul
Rio Grande do Sul
Rio Grande do Sul is the southernmost state in Brazil, and the state with the fifth highest Human Development Index in the country. In this state is located the southernmost city in the country, Chuí, on the border with Uruguay. In the region of Bento Gonçalves and Caxias do Sul, the largest wine...

, Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...

, not far from the Monument of Nossa Senhora da Salete close to highway
RS 149.

The center will have a museum
Museum
A museum is an institution that cares for a collection of artifacts and other objects of scientific, artistic, cultural, or historical importance and makes them available for public viewing through exhibits that may be permanent or temporary. Most large museums are located in major cities...

, research facilities, laboratories, auditorium
Auditorium
An auditorium is a room built to enable an audience to hear and watch performances at venues such as theatres. For movie theaters, the number of auditoriums is expressed as the number of screens.- Etymology :...

, classroom
Classroom
A classroom is a room in which teaching or learning activities can take place. Classrooms are found in educational institutions of all kinds, including public and private schools, corporations, and religious and humanitarian organizations...

, accommodations, restaurant and various services to be offered to visitors, researchers and students of paleontology
Paleontology
Paleontology "old, ancient", ὄν, ὀντ- "being, creature", and λόγος "speech, thought") is the study of prehistoric life. It includes the study of fossils to determine organisms' evolution and interactions with each other and their environments...

. It will be a support center for paleontological research in Paleorrota.

The facility will occupy 2.649 m² and its construction is divided into three stages with the first was completed in early 2009. Also at this time began to define the goals and purposes intitucionais.

This venture has the sponsorship of Petrobras
Petrobras
Petróleo Brasileiro or Petrobras is a semi-public Brazilian multinational energy corporation headquartered in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It is the largest company in Latin America by market capitalization and revenue, and the largest company headquartered in the Southern Hemisphere by market...

 and Eletrobras
Eletrobrás
Eletrobras is a major Brazilian power utility. It's also Latin America's biggest power utility company, tenth largest in the world and is also the fourth largest clean energy company in the world. It is currently expanding its operations in the continent, as well as in Africa. The company's full...

.

Chronology CAPPA

  • 12/01/2007 Inaugurated the CAPPA.
  • 03/12/2009 to 05/12/2009, was performed at PALEORS2009. First event of paleontology at the site, organized by UFSM. The event will include teachers, students, researchers, paleo-Arctic and interested in paleontology in the state.

Fossils of the region

The vertebrate fossils are found in reddish soil-like bedrock. Depending on the process of fossilization, they will have certain characteristics:
  • Without Calcium carbonate
    Calcium carbonate
    Calcium carbonate is a chemical compound with the formula CaCO3. It is a common substance found in rocks in all parts of the world, and is the main component of shells of marine organisms, snails, coal balls, pearls, and eggshells. Calcium carbonate is the active ingredient in agricultural lime,...

     the fossils will take on a white color and are easily dissolved in water.
  • With Calcium carbonate
    Calcium carbonate
    Calcium carbonate is a chemical compound with the formula CaCO3. It is a common substance found in rocks in all parts of the world, and is the main component of shells of marine organisms, snails, coal balls, pearls, and eggshells. Calcium carbonate is the active ingredient in agricultural lime,...

     the fossils will show the color of brown rust, and have the form of concrete because of the calcium carbonate. When a fossil has the ideal amount of carbonate, the fossil is undeformed, and does not dissolve in water. But excess of carbonate will deform the fossil, giving it a swollen appearance. If there is a very large quantity of carbonate, the fossil takes on a dusty outer surface which dissolves in water.


Another important feature is caused by slow creep. During the millions of years that the fossils have been embedded in the ground the slow creeping movement of the ground has created ripples in the fossils and given them a wavy appearance.

Most of the bedrock in the region is covered by soil. Only one percent of the bedrock is exposed in creeks, streams, lakes and roads.

Geological formations

Geological Formation of Geopark
Geopark
A Geopark is defined by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization in its UNESCO Geoparks International Network of Geoparks programme as follows:...

Formation Age City Fauna

Caturrita
Caturrita Formation
The Caturrita Formation is a rock formation found in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. Its sediments were deposited in the Paraná Basin. The formation has a late Carnian to early Norian age and forms part of the Santa Maria Supersequence in the upper section of the Rosário do Sul Group.-Etymology:The...


Late Triassic
Late Triassic
The Late Triassic is in the geologic timescale the third and final of three epochs of the Triassic period. The corresponding series is known as the Upper Triassic. In the past it was sometimes called the Keuper, after a German lithostratigraphic group that has a roughly corresponding age...

  • Santa Maria
  • Candelária
    Candelária, Rio Grande do Sul
    - Paleontology :This city belongs to the geopark of Paleorrota.Museum of the city that have fossils:#Museum Aristides Carlos Rodrigues.-Day of Paleorrota:...

  • São Pedro do Sul
    São Pedro do Sul, Rio Grande do Sul
    - Paleontology :This city belongs to the geopark of Paleorrota.Museum of the city that have fossils:#Museum Paleontologic and Archaeological Walter Ilha.-Day of Paleorrota:...

  • Mata
    Mata, Rio Grande do Sul
    - Paleontology :This city belongs to the geopark of Paleorrota.The city of Mata has large deposits of petrified trees.Museum of the city that have fossils:#Museum Daniel Cargnin.-Day of Paleorrota:...

  • Santa Cruz do Sul
    Santa Cruz do Sul
    Santa Cruz do Sul is a city in central Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. The city has approximately 130,000 inhabitants and sits about 150 km from the capital city of the state, Porto Alegre...

  • Cachoeira do Sul
    Cachoeira do Sul
    Cachoeira do Sul is a municipality of the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil.It is located at a latitude of 30º02'21" S and a longitude of 52º53'38" W, at an approximate height of 68 meters over sea level. Its population in 2004 was approximately 89120 and its surface area is 3715.5 square...

  • São João do Polêsine
    São João do Polêsine
    - Paleontology :This city belongs to the geopark of Paleorrota.This situated approximately 50 kilometers from the city of Santa Maria.In this city there are outcrops with fossils. The CAPPA , is under construction in this city.-See also:*List of municipalities in Rio Grande do Sul...

  • Faxinal do Soturno
    Faxinal do Soturno
    -See also:*List of municipalities in Rio Grande do Sul...

  • Dona Francisca
    Dona Francisca
    -See also:*List of municipalities in Rio Grande do Sul...

  • Agudo, Rio Grande do Sul
    Agudo, Rio Grande do Sul
    Agudo is a municipality in Rio Grande do Sul, the southernmost state of Brazil. Its coordinates are 53º14'24" West and the elevation is 83 meters above sealevel...

  • São Martinho da Serra
    São Martinho da Serra
    -See also:*List of municipalities in Rio Grande do Sul...

  • Dinosaur
    Dinosaur
    Dinosaurs are a diverse group of animals of the clade and superorder Dinosauria. They were the dominant terrestrial vertebrates for over 160 million years, from the late Triassic period until the end of the Cretaceous , when the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event led to the extinction of...

    s
  • Rhynchosaur
    Rhynchosaur
    Rhynchosaurs were a group of Triassic diapsid reptiles related to the archosaurs.-Description:Rhynchosaurs were herbivores, and at times abundant , with stocky bodies and a powerful beak...

    s
  • Thecodont
    Thecodont
    Thecodont , now considered an obsolete term, was formerly used to describe a diverse range of early archosaurs that first appeared in the Latest Permian and flourished until the end of the Triassic period...

    s
  • Dicynodont
    Dicynodont
    Dicynodontia is a taxon of anomodont therapsids or mammal-like reptiles. Dicynodonts were small to large herbivorous animals with two tusks, hence their name, which means 'two dog tooth'...

    s
  • Cynodont
    Cynodont
    Cynodontia or cynodonts are a taxon of therapsids which first appeared in the Late Permian and were eventually distributed throughout all seven continents by the Early Triassic . This clade includes modern mammals and their extinct close relatives. They were one of the most diverse groups of...

    s
  • Sphenodontia
    Sphenodontia
    Sphenodontia is an order of lizard-like reptiles that includes only one living genus, the tuatara , and only two living species...

    ns

  • Santa Maria
    Santa Maria Formation
    The Santa Maria Formation is a sedimentary rock formation found in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. It has a late Ladinian – early Carnian age , and is notable for its fossils of early dinosaurs, including the herrerasaur Staurikosaurus, the basal saurischian Teyuwasu, and the basal sauropodomorph...


    Late Triassic
    Late Triassic
    The Late Triassic is in the geologic timescale the third and final of three epochs of the Triassic period. The corresponding series is known as the Upper Triassic. In the past it was sometimes called the Keuper, after a German lithostratigraphic group that has a roughly corresponding age...


    Middle Triassic
    Middle Triassic
    In the geologic timescale, the Middle Triassic is the second of three epochs of the Triassic period or the middle of three series in which the Triassic system is divided. It spans the time between 245 ± 1.5 Ma and 228 ± 2 Ma...

    • Santa Maria
    • Candelária
      Candelária, Rio Grande do Sul
      - Paleontology :This city belongs to the geopark of Paleorrota.Museum of the city that have fossils:#Museum Aristides Carlos Rodrigues.-Day of Paleorrota:...

    • São Pedro do Sul
      São Pedro do Sul, Rio Grande do Sul
      - Paleontology :This city belongs to the geopark of Paleorrota.Museum of the city that have fossils:#Museum Paleontologic and Archaeological Walter Ilha.-Day of Paleorrota:...

    • Mata
      Mata, Rio Grande do Sul
      - Paleontology :This city belongs to the geopark of Paleorrota.The city of Mata has large deposits of petrified trees.Museum of the city that have fossils:#Museum Daniel Cargnin.-Day of Paleorrota:...

    • Santa Cruz do Sul
      Santa Cruz do Sul
      Santa Cruz do Sul is a city in central Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. The city has approximately 130,000 inhabitants and sits about 150 km from the capital city of the state, Porto Alegre...

    • Cachoeira do Sul
      Cachoeira do Sul
      Cachoeira do Sul is a municipality of the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil.It is located at a latitude of 30º02'21" S and a longitude of 52º53'38" W, at an approximate height of 68 meters over sea level. Its population in 2004 was approximately 89120 and its surface area is 3715.5 square...

    • São João do Polêsine
      São João do Polêsine
      - Paleontology :This city belongs to the geopark of Paleorrota.This situated approximately 50 kilometers from the city of Santa Maria.In this city there are outcrops with fossils. The CAPPA , is under construction in this city.-See also:*List of municipalities in Rio Grande do Sul...

    • Faxinal do Soturno
      Faxinal do Soturno
      -See also:*List of municipalities in Rio Grande do Sul...

    • Dona Francisca
      Dona Francisca
      -See also:*List of municipalities in Rio Grande do Sul...

    • Agudo
      Agudo, Rio Grande do Sul
      Agudo is a municipality in Rio Grande do Sul, the southernmost state of Brazil. Its coordinates are 53º14'24" West and the elevation is 83 meters above sealevel...

    • São Martinho da Serra
      São Martinho da Serra
      -See also:*List of municipalities in Rio Grande do Sul...

  • Dinosaur
    Dinosaur
    Dinosaurs are a diverse group of animals of the clade and superorder Dinosauria. They were the dominant terrestrial vertebrates for over 160 million years, from the late Triassic period until the end of the Cretaceous , when the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event led to the extinction of...

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  • Rhynchosaur
    Rhynchosaur
    Rhynchosaurs were a group of Triassic diapsid reptiles related to the archosaurs.-Description:Rhynchosaurs were herbivores, and at times abundant , with stocky bodies and a powerful beak...

    s
  • Thecodont
    Thecodont
    Thecodont , now considered an obsolete term, was formerly used to describe a diverse range of early archosaurs that first appeared in the Latest Permian and flourished until the end of the Triassic period...

    s
  • Dicynodont
    Dicynodont
    Dicynodontia is a taxon of anomodont therapsids or mammal-like reptiles. Dicynodonts were small to large herbivorous animals with two tusks, hence their name, which means 'two dog tooth'...

    s
  • Cynodont
    Cynodont
    Cynodontia or cynodonts are a taxon of therapsids which first appeared in the Late Permian and were eventually distributed throughout all seven continents by the Early Triassic . This clade includes modern mammals and their extinct close relatives. They were one of the most diverse groups of...

    s
  • Sphenodontia
    Sphenodontia
    Sphenodontia is an order of lizard-like reptiles that includes only one living genus, the tuatara , and only two living species...

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  • Procolophon pricei
    Procolophon
    Procolophon was a genus of lizard-like procolophonid reptiles with at least eight species that persisted through the Permian–Triassic extinction event, but became extinct in the later Triassic....


  • Sanga do Cabral
    Sanga do Cabral Formation
    right|350px|thumb|Sanga do Cabral Formation. Source: [[UFSM]].The Sanga do Cabral Formation is a sedimentary rock formation found in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil.This rock formation is located in geopark of paleorrota, and is located to the south of Geopark...


    Early Triassic
    Early Triassic
    The Early Triassic is the first of three epochs of the Triassic period of the geologic timescale. It spans the time between 251 ± 0.4 Ma and 245 ± 1.5 Ma . Rocks from this epoch are collectively known as the Lower Triassic, which is a unit in chronostratigraphy...

    • São Gabriel
      São Gabriel
      São Gabriel is a municipality in the state Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil.It's the birthplace of the Field Marshal Mascarenhas de Morais and Baron of Candiota.- Paleontology :This city belongs to the geopark of Paleorrota....

    • Dilermando de Aguiar
      Dilermando de Aguiar
      - Paleontology :This city belongs to the geopark of Paleorrota. In this city there are outcrops of Sanga do Cabral Formation, the . Early Triassic age.-See also:...

  • Amphibian
    Amphibian
    Amphibians , are a class of vertebrate animals including animals such as toads, frogs, caecilians, and salamanders. They are characterized as non-amniote ectothermic tetrapods...

    s
  • Procolophon pricei
    Procolophon
    Procolophon was a genus of lizard-like procolophonid reptiles with at least eight species that persisted through the Permian–Triassic extinction event, but became extinct in the later Triassic....

  • Protorosaurus
    Protorosaurus
    Protorosaurus , a lizard-like reptile of the order Prolacertiformes, is the earliest known archosauromorph. It lived during the Late Permian period in Germany. In 1914, a new ceratopsian dinosaur found by Lawrence Lambe was again given the name Protorosaurus...

  • Pareiasaur
    Pareiasaur
    The Pareiasaurs - Family Pareiasauridae - are a clade of medium-sized to large herbivorous anapsid reptiles that flourished during the Permian period....

    s
  • Dinocephalia
    Dinocephalia
    Dinocephalia are a clade of large early therapsids that flourished during the Middle Permian, but became extinct leaving no descendants.-Description:...

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  • Rio do Rastro
    Rio do Rastro Formation
    The Rio do Rastro Formation is a sedimentary rock formation found in the states of southern Brazil. Mainly in the states of Santa Catarina, Paraná and Rio Grande do Sul . Received this name of the Serra do Rio do Rastro. The Upper Permian age....


    Late Permian
    Permian
    The PermianThe term "Permian" was introduced into geology in 1841 by Sir Sir R. I. Murchison, president of the Geological Society of London, who identified typical strata in extensive Russian explorations undertaken with Edouard de Verneuil; Murchison asserted in 1841 that he named his "Permian...

    • Aceguá
      Aceguá, Rio Grande do Sul
      - Paleontology :This city belongs to the geopark of Paleorrota. Here are outcrops located between the City of Aceguá and Bagé, located along the highway BR-153. They are Rio do Rastro Formation and Late Permian age.-See also:...

    • Bagé
      Bagé
      Bagé is a city and a municipality in the south of the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. In 2007 its population was 112,550 in a total area of 4,096 km2. It was the tenth largest city in the state in 2007 -Location:...

    • São Gabriel
      São Gabriel
      São Gabriel is a municipality in the state Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil.It's the birthplace of the Field Marshal Mascarenhas de Morais and Baron of Candiota.- Paleontology :This city belongs to the geopark of Paleorrota....

  • Amphibian
    Amphibian
    Amphibians , are a class of vertebrate animals including animals such as toads, frogs, caecilians, and salamanders. They are characterized as non-amniote ectothermic tetrapods...

    s
  • Dicynodont
    Dicynodont
    Dicynodontia is a taxon of anomodont therapsids or mammal-like reptiles. Dicynodonts were small to large herbivorous animals with two tusks, hence their name, which means 'two dog tooth'...

    s

  • Irati
    Irati Formation
    Irati Formation is the name of a geological formation of Brazil.It has previously been dated as Upper Permian using palynomorphs but is now dated as Lower Permian using zircon ages obtained from bentonite layers...


    Late Permian
    Permian
    The PermianThe term "Permian" was introduced into geology in 1841 by Sir Sir R. I. Murchison, president of the Geological Society of London, who identified typical strata in extensive Russian explorations undertaken with Edouard de Verneuil; Murchison asserted in 1841 that he named his "Permian...

    • São Gabriel
      São Gabriel
      São Gabriel is a municipality in the state Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil.It's the birthplace of the Field Marshal Mascarenhas de Morais and Baron of Candiota.- Paleontology :This city belongs to the geopark of Paleorrota....

  • Mesosaurus
    Mesosaurus
    Mesosaurus is an extinct genus of reptile from the Early Permian of southern Africa and South America. Along with the genus Stereosternum, it is a member of the family Mesosauridae and the order Mesosauria. Mesosaurus was one of the first marine reptiles, and had many adaptations to a fully...


  • Legislation

    Since the 1940s, federal legislation
    Legislation
    Legislation is law which has been promulgated by a legislature or other governing body, or the process of making it...

     has protected the fossils as property of the Union. In 2001, state legislation was passed to protect the fossils of Paleorrota. In general, it states:
    • The fossils are a cultural heritage of the state.
    • The fossils can only be collected by paleontologists or technicians who are working for officially recognized institutions.
    • Foreign institutions are only to support an institution's research endeavour.
    • A visit to Paleontological Sites can only be performed in the company of someone authorized.
    • Transport of fossils can only be done under authorization with a return guarantee.
    • The only economic activities to be carried out are tours with authorized guides.


    The complete legislation is found with the Brazilian Society of Paleontology.

    See also

    • Fossil collecting
      Fossil collecting
      Fossil collecting is the collection of fossils for scientific study, hobby, or profit. Fossil collecting, as practiced by amateurs, is the predecessor of modern paleontology and many still collect fossils and study fossils as amateurs...

    • List of synapsids
    • Paleobiology
      Paleobiology
      Paleobiology is a growing and comparatively new discipline which combines the methods and findings of the natural science biology with the methods and findings of the earth science paleontology...

    • History of paleontology
      History of paleontology
      The history of paleontology traces the history of the effort to understand the history of life on Earth by studying the fossil record left behind by living organisms...

    • Ichnology
      Ichnology
      Ichnology is the branch of geology that deals with traces of organismal behavior, such as burrows and footprints. It is generally considered as a branch of paleontology; however, only one division of ichnology, paleoichnology, deals with trace fossils, while neoichnology is the study of modern traces...

    • Bioerosion
      Bioerosion
      Bioerosion describes the erosion of hard ocean substrates – and less often terrestrial substrates – by living organisms. Marine bioerosion can be caused by mollusks, polychaete worms, phoronids, sponges, crustaceans, echinoids, and fish; it can occur on coastlines, on coral reefs, and...

    • Taphonomy
      Taphonomy
      Taphonomy is the study of decaying organisms over time and how they become fossilized . The term taphonomy was introduced to paleontology in 1940 by Russian scientist Ivan Efremov to describe the study of the transition of remains, parts, or products of organisms, from the biosphere, to the...

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