pISSN 0705-3797 eISSN 2586-1298
HOME Article View

Article

Episodes 1999; 22(3): 238-251

Published online September 1, 1999

https://doi.org/10.18814/epiiugs/1999/v22i3/012

Copyright © International Union of Geological Sciences.

Vertebrate paleontology in Brazil — a review

Alexander W. A. Kellner1, Diogenes de Almeida Campos2

1Dept. Geology and Paleontology, Museu Nacional/UFRJ, Quinta da Boa Vista, São Cristóvão, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; e-mail: kellner@acd.ufrj.br
2Museu de Ciências da Terra, DNPM, Av. Pasteur 404, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; e-mail: dac@abc.org.br

This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Abstract

A review of the vertebrate fossil diversity in Brazil is presented. The best known faunas are the fish and reptiles from the Santana Formation (both, Crato and Romualdo Members). Also comparatively well known are the mammalian faunas from Pleistocene deposits, which is the result of extensive research done in the last decades. Poorly known are the Paleozoic vertebrates, which is possible due to the limited outcrops in the country. Paradoxically, the Late Cretaceous vertebrate faunas (fishes, reptiles, and mammals) from the Bauru Group are also poorly known, despite the large extension of these sedimentary rocks in the country. Following the achievements in the last decades, continuous systematic fieldwork has to be done, with the employment of various collecting techniques (e.g., screen washing), in order to improve the knowledge about the Brazilian paleovertebrate faunas.