Dinosaur diversity and associated faunas in the Cretaceous of South America

• Grant number: 20/07997-4
• Support Opportunities: Research Projects - Thematic Grants
• Start date: August 01, 2021
• End date: July 31, 2026
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Zoology - Paleozoology
• Principal Investigator: Max Cardoso Langer
• Grantee: Max Cardoso Langer
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Filosofia, Ciências e Letras de Ribeirão Preto (FFCLRP). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Ribeirão Preto , SP, Brazil
• City of the host institution: Ribeirão Preto
• Principal investigators: Alessandro Batezelli
• Associated researchers: Aaron LeBlanc ; Alex Christian Rohrig Hubbe ; Átila Augusto Stock da Rosa ; Daniel Perea Negreira ; Daniel Sedorko ; Elver Luiz Mayer ; Enelise Katia Piovesan ; Felipe Chinaglia Montefeltro ; Fernando Emilio Novas ; Flor Carolina Espinoza Camus ; Gabriel de Souza Ferreira ; Gabriel Jubé Uhlein ; Gerardo Veroslavsky Barbe ; Giancarlo Scardia ; Jahandar Ramezani ; Jonathas de Souza Bittencourt Rodrigues ; Júlio Cesar de Almeida Marsola ; Márcio Luiz da Silva ; Pedro Lorena Godoy ; Renato Pirani Ghilardi ; Valeria Mesa
• Associated research grant(s): 25/07244-0 - Refining the bio- and chronostratigraphy of the southern Brazilian Triassic, AV.BR
• Associated scholarship(s): 24/17970-7 - Morphofunctional macroevolution and ontogeny in Notosuchia (Mesoeucrocodylia, Crocodyliformes): an investigation of cranial biomechanics using Finite Elements Analysis (FEA), BP.PD; 24/20853-2 - Morphological disparity of Silesauridae and Heterodontosauridae: exploring the origin of Ornithischa, BP.MS; 24/20984-0 - Biostratinomic Study of the Paleontological Site of Cruzeiro do Oeste, Paraná (Caiuá Group, Bauru Basin), BP.MS; + associated scholarships 24/22016-0 - MORPHOLOGICAL ANALYSIS OF BRAZILIAN MEGARAPTORS VERTEBRAE, BP.IC; 24/16853-7 - The Holotype of Saturnalis tupiniquim and the cranial evolution in Sauropodomorphs, BP.MS; 24/16852-0 - Archosaur fossils from the 'Mawson Collection', Ilhas Group, Recôncavo graben, Eocretaceous of Bahia, BP.MS; 24/07676-4 - Investigating the diversity of Mesoeucrocodylia in the K-Pg event through a morphofunctional and biogeographical approach, BP.PD; 24/03599-5 - Life, death and preservation of vertebrates in desert environments: an integrative taphonomic approach to the Cruzeiro do Oeste bonebeds (Bauru Basin, Paraná), BP.PD; 23/14384-7 - Study of postcranial morphological disparity among crocodyliforms baurusuchids and living ones using linear morphometry, BP.IC; 23/08123-6 - The Rhinella fossil record for South America: description of unpublished specimens, taxonomic review and phylogenetic position, BP.DR; 23/06692-3 - MORPHOLOGICAL VARIATION IN THE MAXILLARY AND DENTARY BONES OF THEROPODA AND ITS PHYLOGENETIC AND FUNCTIONAL IMPLICATIONS, BP.IC; 23/04834-5 - Field works, curatorship and preparation of fossils at the Laboratório de Paleontologia de Ribeirão Preto (FFCLRPUSP), BP.TT; 22/02249-5 - Quantifying differences in body proportions in Crocodylomorpha, BP.DR; 22/00044-7 - Phylogeny, divergence times and historical biogeography of Xenarthra (Mammalia, Eutheria): combining morphological and molecular data, BP.PD; 22/05697-9 - Using comparative methods to fill the gaps of Crocodylomorph macroevolutionary knowledge, BP.PD; 22/00171-9 - Evolutionary history of tooth attachment systems in Archosauromorpha: understanding the origin and ontogeny of Archosaurian thecodonty, BP.DR; 21/14560-4 - Revising the phylogenetic relations of the major dinosaur groups, BP.PD; 21/12231-3 - Evolution and palaeobiogeography of Ceratosauria, BP.PD; 21/14173-0 - Dinosaur diversity and associated faunas in the Cretaceous of South America, BP.TT - associated scholarships

Abstract

The Cretaceous Period (ca. 145-66 Ma) encompasses almost the entire second half of dinosaur's evolutionary history, congregating about 70% of its fossil record. Dinosaur diversity at the time was already highly segregated, both geographically and phylogenetically. Hence, groups like hadrosaurs, ankylosaurs, tyrannosaurids, and marginocephalians abound in continents derived from the fragmentation of Laurasia, whereas abelisaurids, spinosaurids, and titanosaurs were more common in gondwanic areas. In South America, Cretaceous dinosaurs are well known from Argentina and some parts of Brazil, as the Bauru and Araripe basins. They are, however, much rarer in other countries and Brazilian basins, what represents an important gap in the knowledge about the group, especially as it comes to the Northwestern third of the continent. Accordingly, this project aims to: 1 - develop a fieldwork program to prospect South-American deposits of Cretaceous age in search for fossil remains of dinosaurs and the associated biota; 2 - conduct revision studies on the anatomy, palaeobiology, and systematics of the recovered key-taxa; 3 - integrate their bearing strata into a comprehensive palaeoenvironmental and chronostratigraphical (based on U-Pb radioisotopic ages from detrital zircon) framework. Fieldwork will explore deposits of three Brazilian basins, i.e., Bauru (in São Paulo and Paraná), Sanfranciscana (in Minas Gerais), and Recôncavo (in Bahia), as well as of three other South American countries, i.e., Bolivia (Cajones Formation), Peru (Fundo el Triunfo Formation), and Uruguay (Paysandú Group). The final aim is to assemble phylogenetic, palaeobiological, geochronological, and palaeoenvironmental data together, in order to advance in the understanding of dinosaur evolution in the Cretaceous of South America. (AU)

Scientific publications

(31)

(The scientific publications listed on this page originate from the Web of Science or SciELO databases. Their authors have cited FAPESP grant or fellowship project numbers awarded to Principal Investigators or Fellowship Recipients, whether or not they are among the authors. This information is collected automatically and retrieved directly from those bibliometric databases.)

LANGER, MAX CARDOSO; GODOY, PEDRO L.. So Volcanoes Created the Dinosaurs? A Quantitative Characterization of the Early Evolution of Terrestrial Pan-Aves. Frontiers in Earth Science, v. 10, p. 18-pg., 2022-06-02. (20/07997-4)

FREITAS, RODRIGO C.; BATEZELLI, ALESSANDRO; MUNIZ, FELLIPE P.; RIBEIRO, DOUGLAS C.; RUIZ, JUAN V.; ALVES, YURI M.; GEROTO, CAIO; CASTRO, MARIELA C.; BARBOSA, GABRIEL G.; LANGER, MAX C.; et al. A microvertebrate assemblage from the Adamantina Formation (Bauru Group, Upper Cretaceous) in S(a)over-tildeo Paulo State, Brazil. CRETACEOUS RESEARCH, v. 150, p. 19-pg., 2023-06-20. (20/07997-4, 18/13118-3)

DAMKE, LISIE V. S.; LANGER, MAX C.; DA-ROSA, ATILA A. S.; MUELLER, RODRIGO T.. New specimens of Saturnalia tupiniquim (Dinosauria: Sauropodomorpha): insights into intraspecific variation, rostral anatomy, and skull size. ZOOLOGICAL JOURNAL OF THE LINNEAN SOCIETY, v. 202, n. 4, p. 28-pg., 2024-12-16. (20/07997-4)

PESSOA-LIMA, CAROLINE; TOSTES-FIGUEIREDO, JONAS; MACEDO-RIBEIRO, NATALIA; HSIOU, ANNIE SCHMALTZ; MUNIZ, FELLIPE PEREIRA; MAULIN, JOSE AUGUSTO; FRANCESCHINI-SANTOS, VINICIUS H.; DE SOUSA, FREDERICO BARBOSA; BARBOSA JR, FERNANDO; PERES LINE, SERGIO ROBERTO; et al. Structure and Chemical Composition of ca. 10-Million-Year-Old (Late Miocene of Western Amazon) and Present-Day Teeth of Related Species. BIOLOGY-BASEL, v. 11, n. 11, p. 22-pg., 2022-11-01. (20/07997-4, 21/05059-0, 18/24069-3)

SOTO, MATIAS; CARBALLIDO, JOS L.; LANGER, MAX C.; SILVA JUNIOR, JULIAN C. G.; MONTENEGRO, FELIPE; PEREA, DANIEL. Phylogenetic relationships of a new titanosaur (Dinosauria, Sauropoda) from the Upper Cretaceous of Uruguay. CRETACEOUS RESEARCH, v. 160, p. 16-pg., 2024-04-20. (20/07997-4)

BRONZATI, MARIO; WATANABE, AKINOBU; BENSON, ROGER B. J.; MULLER, RODRIGO T.; WITMER, LAWRENCE M.; EZCURRA, MARTIN D.; MONTEFELTRO, FELIPE C.; VON BACZKO, M. BELEN; BHULLAR, BHART-ANJAN S.; DESOJO, JULIA B.; et al. Neuroanatomical convergence between pterosaurs and non-avian paravians in the evolution of flight. Current Biology, v. 35, n. 24, p. 13-pg., 2025-12-15. (20/07997-4)

MUNIZ, FELLIPE P.; HSIOU, ANNIE SCHMALTZ; DE ANDRADE, FABIO DIAS; OSES, GABRIEL LADEIRA; RIZZUTTO, MARCIA A.; PACHECO, MIRIAN LIZA ALVES FORANCELLI. Diagenetic characterization of crocodyliform fossils from the Adamantina Formation (Upper Cretaceous, Bauru Group): Evaluating the chemical alteration of skeletal tissues through a multi-technique approach. CRETACEOUS RESEARCH, v. 179, p. 15-pg., 2025-10-28. (20/07997-4, 21/07007-7, 23/14250-0, 22/06485-5, 23/04501-6)

BATEZELLI, ALESSANDRO; BLANCO, LEIDY ALEXANDRA DELGADO; REBELO, TAYNAH BURATTO. Changes in the stratigraphic architecture as the response to the Upper Cretaceous tectonic and climatic interplay in the Sanfranciscana Basin, Brazil. MARINE AND PETROLEUM GEOLOGY, v. 164, p. 26-pg., 2024-04-20. (20/07997-4, 15/17632-5)

LACERDA, MAURO B. S.; ISASMENDI, ERIK; DELCOURT, RAFAEL; FERNANDES, MARCELO A.; HUTCHINSON, JOHN R.. New theropod dinosaur remains from the Upper Cretaceous of the Kem Kem Group (Eastern Morocco) clarify spinosaurid morphology. ZOOLOGICAL JOURNAL OF THE LINNEAN SOCIETY, v. 202, n. 2, p. 31-pg., 2024-10-09. (20/07997-4, 22/14375-5)

BATEZELLI, ALESSANDRO; LADEIRA, FRANCISCO SERGIO BERNARDES; BLANCO, LEIDY ALEXANDRA DELGADO; DA SILVA, MARCIO LUIZ; REBELO, TAYNAH BURATTO. Geomorphological control on the palaeosol evolution in an Upper Cretaceous distributive fluvial system (Bauru Basin, Brazil). CATENA, v. 258, p. 18-pg., 2025-10-01. (15/17632-5, 20/07997-4)

PAIVA, ANA LAURA S.; GODOY, PEDRO L.; DUNNE, EMMA M.; FARNSWORTH, ALEXANDER; VALDES, PAUL J.; LUNT, DANIEL J.; KLEIN, WILFRIED; LANGER, MAX C.; HSIOU, ANNIE S.. The role of climate on the emergence of giant caimanines (Crocodylia, Alligatoroidea) from the Miocene western Amazonian region. PALAEOGEOGRAPHY PALAEOCLIMATOLOGY PALAEOECOLOGY, v. 656, p. 10-pg., 2024-12-15. (20/07997-4, 19/14153-0, 22/02249-5)

ERNESTO, MARCIA; ENDALE, TAMRAT; BATEZELLI, ALESSANDRO; SAAD, ANTONIO ROBERTO. Magnetostratigraphic and sedimentological insights into the Late Campanian Uberaba Formation of the Bauru Group, southeast Brazil. Journal of South American Earth Sciences, v. 151, p. 10-pg., 2025-01-01. (20/07997-4, 15/17632-5)

ALHALABI, WAFA A.; BARDET, NATHALIE; SACHS, SVEN; KEAR, BENJAMIN P.; JOUDE, ISSAM B.; YAZBEK, MUHAMMED K.; GODOY, PEDRO L.; LANGER, MAX C.. Recovering lost time in Syria: New Late Cretaceous (ConiacianSantonian) elasmosaurid remains from the Palmyrides mountain chain. CRETACEOUS RESEARCH, v. 159, p. 10-pg., 2024-03-14. (20/07997-4)

SILVA JR, JULIAN C. G.; MARINHO, THIAGO S.; MARTINELLI, AGUSTIN G.; RIBEIRO, LUIZ C. B.; LANGER, MAX C.. The largest known titanosaur (Dinosauria, Sauropoda) tooth and other isolated dental elements from the Serra da Galga Formation (Upper Cretaceous of Southeast Brazil). CRETACEOUS RESEARCH, v. 151, p. 5-pg., 2023-11-01. (20/07997-4, 18/21094-7)

MESTRINER, GABRIEL; MARSOLA, JULIO C. A.; NESBITT, STERLING J.; DA-ROSA, ATILA AUGUSTO STOCK; LANGER, MAX. Anatomy and phylogenetic affinities of a new silesaurid assemblage from the Carnian beds of south Brazil. JOURNAL OF VERTEBRATE PALEONTOLOGY, v. N/A, p. 26-pg., 2023-08-24. (18/24031-6, 20/07997-4, 21/14560-4, 19/07510-0, 22/00171-9)

FARINA, BRUNA M.; GODOY, PEDRO L.; BENSON, ROGER B. J.; LANGER, MAX C.; FERREIRA, GABRIEL S.. Turtle body size evolution is determined by lineage-specific specializations rather than global trends. ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION, v. 13, n. 6, p. 23-pg., 2023-06-01. (20/07997-4, 22/05697-9)

BARCELOS, LUCAS ALMEIDA; DOS SANTOS, RODOLFO OTAVIO. The Lissamphibian Fossil Record of South America. PALAEOBIODIVERSITY AND PALAEOENVIRONMENTS, v. N/A, p. 65-pg., 2022-06-28. (20/07997-4, 19/14153-0, 19/24466-5, 17/04849-1)

DELCOURT, RAFAEL; LANGER, MAX CARDOSO. A small abelisaurid caudal vertebra from the Bauru Basin, Presidente Prudente Formation (Late Cretaceous), Brazil adds information about the diversity and distribution of theropods in central South America. Journal of South American Earth Sciences, v. 116, p. 6-pg., 2022-06-11. (21/12231-3, 20/07997-4)

SOTO, MATIAS; DELCOURT, RAFAEL; LANGER, MAX C.; PEREA, DANIEL. The first record of Abelisauridae (Theropoda: Ceratosauria) from Uruguay (Late Jurassic, Tacuarembo Formation). HISTORICAL BIOLOGY, v. N/A, p. 10-pg., 2022-11-07. (20/07997-4)

FACHINI, THIAGO S.; GODOY, PEDRO L.; A MARSOLA, JULIO C.; MONTEFELTRO, FELIPE C.; LANGER, MAX C.. A large-sized mesoeucrocodylian from the Late Cretaceous of Brazil with possible neosuchian affinities. HISTORICAL BIOLOGY, v. N/A, p. 14-pg., 2022-09-28. (20/07997-4)

GRIFFIN, CHRISTOPHER T.; WYND, BRENEN M.; MUNYIKWA, DARLINGTON; BRODERICK, TIM J.; ZONDO, MICHEL; TOLAN, STEPHEN; LANGER, MAX C.; NESBITT, STERLING J.; TARUVINGA, HAZEL R.. Africa's oldest dinosaurs reveal early suppression of dinosaur distribution. Nature, v. 609, n. 7926, p. 22-pg., 2022-08-31. (20/07997-4)

DA SILVA, MARCIO LUIZ; BATEZELLI, ALESSANDRO; LADEIRA, FRANCISCO SERGIO BERNARDES. Palaeosols as stratigraphic proxies and palaeosurface markers in distributive fluvial systems. Journal of South American Earth Sciences, v. 127, p. 10-pg., 2023-05-05. (20/07997-4, 15/17632-5)

DA SILVA, MARCIO LUIZ; BATEZELLI, ALESSANDRO. Argilluviation, calcification, and silicification in palaeosols from the Late Cretaceous of Brazil. Journal of South American Earth Sciences, v. 152, p. 20-pg., 2024-12-05. (20/07997-4, 15/17632-5)

MUNIZ, FELLIPE; GIARETTA, ARIOVALDO; FACHINI, THIAGO S.; MARINHO, THIAGO DA SILVA; BUCK, PEDRO; RODRIGUES, SABRINA; MARTINELLI, AGUSTIN G.. New records of frogs (Anura, Lissamphibia) from the Late Cretaceous Bauru Group of Brazil and its paleobiogeographic implications. CRETACEOUS RESEARCH, v. 175, p. 14-pg., 2025-05-08. (20/07997-4, 24/03599-5)

VULLO, ROMAIN; FRAGOSO, LEO GALVAO CARNIER; BITTENCOURT, JONATHAS S.; PEREZ-GARCIA, ADAN; BOUCHEMLA, IMAD; BENYOUCEF, MADANI. A new genus of lonchidiid hybodontiform sharks from the Cretaceous of North Africa and South America. GEOLOGICAL MAGAZINE, v. 163, p. 9-pg., 2026-01-12. (20/07997-4)

FERREIRA, G. S.; NASCIMENTO, E. R.; CADENA, E. A.; COZZUOL, M. A.; FARINA, B. M.; PACHECO, M. L. A. F.; RIZZUTTO, M. A.; LANGER, M. C.. The latest freshwater giants: a new Peltocephalus (Pleurodira: Podocnemididae) turtle from the Late Pleistocene of the Brazilian Amazon. BIOLOGY LETTERS, v. 20, n. 3, p. 7-pg., 2024-03-13. (22/11586-5, 20/07997-4)

CARDIA, FELIPE M. S.; BERNARDI, JOSE VICENTE E.; OLIVEIRA, CARLOS EDUARDO M.; ANDRADE, MARCO B.; LANGER, MAX C.; TAVARES, SANDRA A. S.; IORI, FABIANO V.; NAVA, WILLIAM R.; MARINHO, THIAGO S.; RIBEIRO, LUIZ CARLOS B.; et al. Mercury concentration: A new window into ancient diets and trophic levels in vertebrate paleontology. CHEMICAL GEOLOGY, v. 702, p. 13-pg., 2025-12-23. (20/07997-4)

PIEROSSI, FELIPE FERREIRA; DELCOURT, RAFAEL; CASALI, DANIEL DE MELO; LEME, JOAO ALBERTO; DE OLIVEIRA MARTINS, NEURIDES; MANZIG, PAULO; LANGER, MAX CARDOSO. Convergent evolution among non-carnivorous, desert-dwelling theropods as revealed by the dentary of the noasaurid Berthasaura leopoldinae (Cretaceous of Brazil). Palaeontology, v. 68, n. 4, p. 18-pg., 2025-07-01. (21/12231-3, 23/06692-3, 20/07997-4, 22/00044-7)

ALHALABI, WAFA A.; MARTUCCI NETO, DONATO J.; FERREIRA, GABRIEL S.; JAOUDE, ISSAM BOU; NASER, HASSAN M.; AYOUB, JOULIANA; ABBOUD, LAMA; SHATI, RIM; KOUTSOUKOS, EDUARDO A. M.; LANGER, MAX C.. Recovering lost time in Syria: a new Eocene stereogenyin turtle from the Aleppo Plateau. PAPERS IN PALAEONTOLOGY, v. 11, n. 4, p. 14-pg., 2025-07-23. (20/07997-4)

DE OLIVEIRA, EMERSON FERREIRA; BATEZELLI, ALESSANDRO; ZINN, YURI LOPES. Paleosol distribution and morphology along a late Cretaceous distributive fluvial system in the Bauru Basin, Brazil. Journal of South American Earth Sciences, v. 135, p. 17-pg., 2024-02-02. (20/07997-4)

ERNESTO, MARCIA; BATEZELLI, ALESSANDRO; SAAD, ANTONIO ROBERTO; CAMINHA-MACIEL, GEORGE; OLIVEIRA, PALOMA G.. Post-magmatic sedimentation in the Paraná Basin, Brazil: paleomagnetic constraints on the age of the Cretaceous Caiuá Group. BOLETIN DE LA SOCIEDAD GEOLOGICA MEXICANA, v. 76, n. 3, p. 13-pg., 2024-01-01. (20/07997-4)