Paleorrota

Paleorrota or Paleoroute (in english), is a geopark located in the center of the state of the Rio Grande do Sul in Brazil, along which are found Triassic rocks and fossils, from a time when there was only the continent Pangaea.

The road is located within a vast area of Triassic rocks, and dating to around 230 million years ago. The region has several paleontologic sites, which belong to the rock formations Santa Maria Formation and Caturrita Formation. At these sites are found the fossil remains of ancient vertebrate animals, such as: rhynchosaurs, thecodonts, exaeretodonts, Staurikosaurus, Guaibasaurus, Saturnalia, Sacisaurus, Unaysaurus and many others.

The Staurikosaurus was the first Brazilian dinosaur and was collected in Santa Maria in Paleontological Site Jazigo Cinco, by paleontologist Llewellyn Ivor Price.

The city Mata (Rio Grande do Sul), together with the cities of São Pedro do Sul and Santa Maria, form a large deposit of petrified trees. In an area of more than 70 kilometers, there are several deposits of fossils of petrified trees.^[1]

At the end of the Permian, 95% of the life in Earth disappeared at the event known as Permian–Triassic extinction. In the Triassic, life began to change, shaping all new species that would follow. The region has already made great contributions to the understanding of these changes:

• Staurikosaurus which is one of the oldest saurischians.
• Sacisaurus which may be the oldest ornithischian.
• Pelycosaurs gave rise to cynodonts, which led to mammals. The discoveries made of Exaeretodon in this region has helped to better understand this path.

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Cities

The region of Paleorrota involves 21 municipalities of Rio Grande do Sul:

• Porto Alegre.

Although the Porto Alegre is not located in the area of Triassic rocks, it is where is the highest number of paleontologist of Rio Grande do Sul are, and has a large number of museums, institutions and universities. A UFRGS was held in 1998 the Brazilian Symposium on I of Vertebrate Paleontology.

• Santa Maria.

In this city, situated on a large deposit of fossils, there are museums with dinosaurs. In 2006, the University UFSM made theV Brazilian Symposium of Vertebrate Paleontology.^[2] In this city was found the Staurikosaurus and many others.

• Candelaria.

This city has also been an area where fossil vertebrates have been discovered.

• São Pedro do Sul.

It has a large reserve of petrified trees and a museum with fossils of dinosaurs. This city is located 40 km from Santa Maria.

• Mata.

The city of Mata has large deposits of petrified trees.

• Agudo.

In this city, Sacisaurus was found.

• São Martinho da Serra.

Here was found Unaysaurus, 8 miles from Santa Maria.

Paleontological Sites of the Region

1. Paleontological Site Arroio Cancela.
2. Paleontological Site Largo Padre Daniel Cargin.
3. Paleontological Site Bela Vista.
4. Paleontological Site Jazigo Cinco.
5. Paleontological Site Sanga of Alemoa.
6. Paleontological Site of Agua Negra.

History

Source: UFSM and UFRGS.

1902 saw the first paleontological searches in Santa Maria, with the collection of fossils organic petrifieds by Dr. Jango Fischer, in the vicinity of the Mount of Alemoa, a region of rocky outcrops between the city and the then district of Camobi. Jango Fischer, in 1902, collected some remains and sent them to Prof. Dr. Hermann von Ihering, then director of the Museum in São Paulo. They were three vertebral bodies almost complete, a piece of vertebra, a finger of four phalanges, and an ungual alone. Von Ihering, in turn, referred the material to Arthur Smith Woodward, eminent paleontologist at the British Museum of London, for study. This resulted in the determination of the first terrestrial reptile fossil in South America, the rhynchosaur baptized by Woodward with the name of Scaphonyx fischeri, the generic name given in reference to the excavation and claw feature, and the specific name in homage to Jango Fischer, the discoverer of the remains.

From then, the international scientific attention focused mostly on Santa Maria, leading to a series of scientific expeditions. One expedition was conducted by German Friedrich von Huene, in 1928-29, and several expeditions were organized by Llewellyn Ivor Price, of the Bureau of Paleontology of the National Department of Mineral Production of Rio de Janeiro, between the 1930s and 1950s, mainly in paleontological sites near the cities of São Pedro do Sul, Santa Maria and Candelaria.

Many of the fossils collected there should be devoted to work and without major financial resources held by Priest Daniel and Priest Abraham Cargnin, which enriched the collections of several museums, like the Museum Vincente Pallotti. In tribute to the recently deceased Priest Daniel, several fossils received his name.

From the 1960s, with the creation of the School of Geology, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul,^[3] and then of its Post-Graduate Course in the geological mapping of the state received a large increase, and the palaeontological knowledge of the sedimentary rocks found there.

Fossils of the Region

The vertebrate fossils are found in the red soil. Depending on the process of fossilization, they will have certain characteristics:

• Without Calcium carbonate, the fossils have a white color and are easily dissolved in water.
• With Calcium carbonate, the fossils have the color of brown rust, and have the form of concrete because of the calcium carbonate. When a fossil is with the ideal amount of carbonate, the fossil is not deformed, 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 is like a dusty, and that dissolves in water.

Another important feature is caused by the movement of soil. During the millions of years that the fossils are of the low soil, the slow movement of the soil creates ripples in the fossil, or the fossil can be wavy.

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

Legislation

Since the 1940s, federal legislation 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 search state.
• A visit to Sites Paleontologics can only be performed with the accompaniment of someone authorized.
• Transport of fossils can only be done with authorization, with guarantee of return.
• The only economic purposes to be carried out are tours with authorized guides.

The legislation completes this in Brazilian Society of Paleontology.^[4]

Notes and references

See also

• Staurikosaurus
• Exaeretodon
• Saturnalia
• Sacisaurus
• Unaysaurus
• Guaibasaurus
• Fossil collecting
• Paleobiology
• History of paleontology
• Ichnology
• Bioerosion
• Taphonomy

External links

• Dinosaurs of Rio grande do Sul.