Abstract
In Brazil, the Cretaceous and "Tertiary" fossil record of squamates is more conspicuous in the southeastern and northern parts of the country. This includes only lizards and snakes, representing a minor component of the known diversity for the entire South American Mesozoic-Cenozoic. The most fossilifeous Brazilian deposits of Cretaceous-"Tertiary" age are from the Bauru (Meso/NeoCretaceous) and Acre (late Miocene) basins, especially in western São Paulo and Triângulo Mineiro, and in southwestern Amazonia. Besides, the recently discovered Aiuruoca Basin (Oligocene/Eocene) yielded a great deal of small tetrapod fossils, especially lissamphibians, and further field work in the basin is likely to reveal new squamate records for the Brazilian "Tertiary". This project attempts to explore those three areas in search for fossil squamates, as well as to conduct revision studies (anatomy and systematics) on certain Cretaceous and "Tertiary" taxa. Studies will focus on the phylogeny and evolution of land squamates, as well other small tetrapods (e.g., lissamphibians and mammals), along with their paleoenvironmental implications. Additional discoveries of fossil squamates are also likely to add data to a more comprehensive target, the bioestratigraphic refinement of the oligo-eocene and miocene deposits of the Acre and Aiuruoca basins. This is also the case of the Bauru Basin, the recent geological studies of which represent a workable framework for biostratigraphic studies, never performed as such for the basin. (AU)
| Articles published in Agência FAPESP Newsletter about the research grant: |
| More itemsLess items |
| TITULO |
| Articles published in other media outlets ( ): |
| More itemsLess items |
| VEICULO: TITULO (DATA) |
| VEICULO: TITULO (DATA) |