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Freshwater localities dating from the break-up of western Gondwana are important for a better understanding of the faunal composition and biogeographic patterns of taxa that would become established in both South America and Africa. In the Potiguar Basin, the single locality that represents the Albian-Cenomanian span is the Acu Formation. The paleontological content of Acu Formation began to be discovered in 2005 and, after that, a number of fieldworks conducted recovered numerous fossil remains. The remains include eight fish taxa identified as Tribodus, Bawitius, Lepisosteidae, Vidalamiinae, Pycnodontiformes, Mawsonia c.f. lavocati, Asiatoceratodus c.f. tiguidiensis and Ceratodus. The taxa described here are common to other freshwater localities in Africa and South America, revealing some dating problems related to these localities in the western part of Gondwana.

Catfish fossils are mainly represented by disarticulated material, most of which is dorsal and pectoral spines. Morphological data on dorsal and fin spines are described. These materials, collected from two sites of the Adamantina and Marilia formations, Late Cretaceous, of the Bauru Group, reveal the morphologic diversity of the freshwater siluriform taxa. This fauna represents one of the oldest samples of catfish diversity in South America, shortly posterior to its separation from Africa during the Cretaceous. A comparative analysis of these materials with the pectoral and dorsal spines of fossil and extant taxa demonstrated a mosaic of similarities shared with several catfishes, such as the families Bagridae - dorsal spine of morphotype one, Pimelodidae, Ictaluridae and †Bachmannidae - dorsal spine of morphotypes two and three, and Ictaluridae and †Hypsidoridae - pectoral spines of morphotypes one and two.

Several studies have used isolated crocodyliform and theropod teeth as an important tool for taxonomic identification, as they can often be the only record of some taxa. The objective of this paper is the description and identification of the isolated crocodyliform and theropod teeth in order to clarify which taxa inhabited the western portion of the Potiguar Basin during mid-Cretaceous. The material consists of six tooth crowns from Acu Formation (Albian–Cenomanian), Potiguar Basin, northeastern Brazil. The crowns were identified by a set of qualitative (morphological comparisons and cladistics) and quantitative analyses. UFRJ-DG 659Rd was identified through morphological comparison as a peirosaurid crocodyliform due to its true ziphodont condition, enamel with an irregular texture, and faint lingual fluting. Five of the tooth crowns were identified as abelisaurid theropods based on the results of the cladistic analysis and morphological comparison, with the quantitative analysis supporting this result only for two of the five teeth. This result represents the first report of peirosaurids and abelisaurids in Potiguar Basin, and possibly one of the oldest abelisaurid records in Brazil.

We performed a macroscopic study on six species of Pleistocene sloths from the Brazilian Intertropical Region (BIR) including Valgipes bucklandi, Catonyx cuvieri, Mylodonopsis ibseni, Glossotherium...

Tank deposits are an exceptional type of fossiliferous deposit and bear a remarkably fossil record of the Pleistocene megafauna of South America, particularly of Brazil. The taphonomy of vertebrate remains preserved in this type of environmental context was clearly driven by climate, similarly to most of the Quaternary continental fossil record. The formation of the vertebrates fossil record in tank deposits was influenced by the climate seasonality typical of arid climate. The taphonomic history of most tank deposits is a consequence of this seasonality and, as a result, the paleoecological data preserved in their fossil assemblages is reliable with respect to paleobiological and paleoenvironmental settings of the Quaternary ecosystems of the Brazilian Intertropical Region (BIR). Other tank deposits experienced an unusual taphonomic history that, besides climate, was affected by recurrent events of reworking produced by the depositional agents dominant in the surrounding alluvial plains. The conclusions obtained here concerning the main taphonomic settings and formative processes that characterize fossil vertebrate assemblages of tank deposits will help further studies aimed to recover information on the paleoecology of Quaternary fauna collected in such deposits by allowing a better understanding of their time and spatial resolutions and other potential biases.

Este trabalho reporta novas ocorrencias de mamiferos da Megafauna do Quaternario nos sitios paleontologicos de Campo Alegre (municipio de Taperoa, estado da Paraiba) e Lage Grande (municipio de Alagoinha, estado de Pernambuco), Nordeste do Brasil. Sao registrados os seguintes taxons: Hippidion principale (Perissodactyla, Equidae), Panochthus sp. (Cingulata, Glyptodontidae) e Gomphotheriidae indet. (Proboscidea) no deposito de tanque de Campo Alegre; e Equus (Amerhippus) neogeus (Perissodactyla, Equidae) no deposito de tanque de Lage Grande. Em termos paleoambientais e paleoclimaticos, a ocorrencia dos taxons aqui reportados sugere um ambiente mais aberto associado a coberturas florestais e um clima relativamente mais umido e quente na regiao de Taperoa, e areas estritamente abertas e cobertas por pastagens e um clima relativamente mais arido em Alagoinha durante o Pleistoceno Final-Holoceno inicial.

Tumors are thought rare in dinosaurs, previously limited in distribution to a single family – hadrosaurs. Here we recognized two different neoplastic lesions, osteoma and hemangioma, in a single caudal vertebra of a titanosaur dinosaur from the Upper Cretaceous of Brazil, diagnosed on the basis of macroscopic, radiological and histological analysis. This is the first occurrence of neoplasia in a non-hadrosaur dinosaur. Therefore, neoplasia is not restricted to hadrosaur dinosaurs, as previously suggested.

We report the first occurrence of anurans in the Quaternary fossil record of Rio Grande do Norte State. The specimen UERN PV-50 was assigned to the bufonid Rhinella jimi . This finding extends the geographic distribution of this species in the northeastern Brazil during the Late Pleistocene-early Holocene. In paleoenvironmental terms, the occurrence of R. jimi in Riacho Verde paleontological site suggests an arid climate with marked seasonality in that area during the Late Pleistocene-early Holocene and that the paleobiodiversity in that region was higher than the observed in the fossil record. Furthermore, the tanks seem to have been areas of aggregating anurans during raining periods. Finally, based on sedimentological and biostratinomic data, we interpret that Riacho Verde paleontological site preserved a peripheral assemblage. doi: 10.12957/jse.2016.21507

The Rebbachisauridae (Diplodocoidea) comprises small to medium-sized sauropods that diversified at the end of the Early Cretaceous–beginning of the Late Cretaceous in Africa, South America and Europe. The goal of this paper is to review the distribution of fossils assigned to Rebbachisauridae at Early-Late Cretaceous and describe the first occurrence of this group in the Acu Formation, Potiguar Basin, Brazil. The material consists of five isolated caudal vertebrae. The specimens have the combination of some characteristics shared with rebbachisaurid taxa, such as Limaysaurus, Amazonsaurus and Demandasaurus: (i) the anterior and posterior articular facets of the centrum are sub-hexagonal to sub-quadrangular; (ii) they bear a wide base; (iii) the centrum presents an amphicoelic condition; (iv) the centrum lacks pneumatization in both lateral and ventral surfaces; (v) an anterior position of the neural arch is implied by the anteriorly located centroneural suture of the centrum (Salgado et al., 1997; Wilson and Sereno, 1998; Canudo et al., 2018). The rebbachisaurids have been largely used for biogeographical interpretations due to its presence in both Gondwanan and Laurasian continents; the material presented here is a further evidence of this relationship once the specimens show similarities with both European and Argentinean forms. Furthermore, this occurrence enlarges the presence of the group in Brazil and South America, and is important for a better understanding of the faunistic context of the Northeast of South America and its relationship with other Early-Late Cretaceous faunas.

Abstract: Riostegotherium yanei from the Itaborai Basin, Brazil, is the oldest known Xenarthra. This paper aims to describe the internal morphology of the osteoderms of Riostegotherium yanei from the perspective of histology and micro-CT approaches, expanding the available data on cingulate osteoderm microstructure. Seven osteoderms of R. yanei were used for the internal microstructure description and eight of Dasypus novemcinctus for comparison. The osteoderms of Riostegotherium yanei lacks the diploe-like structure typical of glyptodonts but has a three-layered structure composed of two layers of non-Haversian compact bone enclosing a central layer of primary and secondary osteons. This internal organization is distinct from other Astegotheriini of comparable age, but similar to Dasypus. The 3D reconstruction of Riostegotherium yanei revealed two patterns of internal organization. Pattern 1 of movable osteoderm is composed of large remodeled areas at the base and a more compact bone at the tongue; in Pattern 2 (both movable and buckler), the internal cavities are much smaller, more numerous, and more interconnected to each other. In one buckler osteoderm, the cavities are organized somewhat radially with a compact central region (Pattern 1). Pattern 1 of both movable and buckler osteoderms resemble that of Dasypus.

Little is known about the tooth wear of South American theropod dinosaurs. This paper describes wear facets in Abelisauridae, Carcharodontosauridae and some indeterminate theropods teeth, from the Marília Formation. Four types of wear facets are proposed: vertically-oriented attritional striations; perpendicular attritional surfaces; oval wear facets; and apical grooves. All these worn surfaces were produced by dental occlusion, except the apical grooves, which are produced by the contact between predator teeth and the prey bone during predator–prey interaction. More detailed biomechanical and hardness testing of teeth and bone may further elucidate the pattern of tooth wear in theropods.

Curimatas Paleontological Site (CPS) preserved one of the most iconic fossil assemblages of Late Pleistocene vertebrates of Brazil. Fossils were collected in a tank deposit,a singular type of Quaternary vertebrate-bearing deposit of South America. In this work, a detailed taphonomic study of the tank assemblage of CPS is presented. This analysis also provides taphonomic and paleoecological data obtained through the application of common multivariate techniques and provides estimates of time- and spatial resolution for tank deposits. The results show that, although the CPS assemblage has experienced an array of taphonomic processes, the long-distance transport was the main process controlling the taphonomic pathway of the thanatocoenosis during the biostratinomic phase, and was responsible for the co-occurrence of other processes, such as abrasion, fragmentation and bioclastic sorting. The origin of the taphonomic modes of vertebrates in the tank deposit of CPS may have been controlled by three major taphonomic phenomena: (i) a taphonomic bias towards the large-bodied size; (ii) long time span of transportation towards the final burial environment; and (iii) some degree of reworking. Furthermore, the analysis of these taphonomic modes supports a previous hypothesis: although taphonomic biases affect the origin of tank assemblages, paleoecological patterns can be preserved with considerable fidelity. The time resolution in tank accumulations is of the order of 10- 3 to 104 years and their spatial resolution seems to be from local to regional.

Acknowledging intraspecific variation is an important part of a reliable species diagnoses. For mammalian taxonomy, tooth morphology is an especially important trait and, therefore, the morphological variability of these structures is also greatly significant. Here we describe all dental variation present for Protolipterna ellipsodontoides based on a sample of more than 500 teeth and provide a differential diagnoses distinguishing from its sister taxa. Initially, the sample was carefully observed under stereo microscope in order to indentify variable traits. Further variable features were also highlighted by a geometric morphometric analysis. We conducted statistic tests to make sure all sample belong to the same species and the single identity of the sample was recovered. A great deal of our results show that structures like the parastyle, hypocone, conular cristae and ectoflexus can show different degrees of development for the same species. The tooth outline may also show some variation in shape and proportions. Many of those features are used as characters of phylogenies, however the current results pointed that those traits are inadequate for this sort of study, as they are variable within a single species. Some accessory cusps were also found, but they have very low frequency. These traits, however, does not have a clear phylogenetic sign and should be not be unadvisedly used in any taxonomy or phylogenetic research. doi: 10.5710/AMGH.11.08.2019.3250

Biological, stratigraphic, and temporal processes act on the origin of fossil concentrations. The influence of these phenomena on fossil vertebrate accumulations from tank deposits recently began to be analyzed in detail. This paper documents taphonomic patterns recognized in the late Pleistocene fossil vertebrate accumulation from a tank deposit of Lage Grande Paleontological Site (LGPS), Pernambuco State, northeastern Brazil. The preservation observed in LGPS differs strongly from the expected for tank accumulations and, given the high quality of preservation and the low rate of time-averaging inferred (indicated by the low degrees of surface bone modifications), it seems reasonable that LGPS accumulation reflects nearly non-biased biocenotic patterns. Under this hypothesis, Eremotherium laurillardi was the most abundant species in the region of Lage Grande during the late Pleistocene, similarly to other areas with tank deposits. Surprisingly, cingulates were rare or absent. Non-mammalian vertebrates and Glossotherium were rare in that area. Taphonomic signatures indicate that the thanatocoenosis of Lage Grande experienced a short time span of subaerial exposure prior to burial and short transport to inside the tanks by debris-flows. Thus, LGPS accumulation can be classified as parautochthonous. Besides the inferred rapid burial of the LGPS assemblage, when compared to other tank accumulations, another feature that may had generated the peculiar taphonomic setting of LGPS accumulation is the uncommon pond-like morphology of this deposit. Morphology of the tanks may be one additional factor responsible for differential preservation of vertebrates in this kind of deposit.

Fossiliferous natural tanks are a singular type of sedimentary deposit restricted to northeastern Brazil, which usually preserves a diversified late Pleistocene vertebrate fauna. Their fossil assemblages are taxonomically well known, but their taphonomy is poorly understood. This work presents a detailed taphonomic analysis of a tank deposit from Jirau site (Ceara State, Northeastern Brazil) to improve understanding of the processes that influenced fossil deposition and preservation in natural tanks and to shed light on paleoecological and paleoenvironmental aspects related to the late Pleistocene vertebrate fauna from Northeastern Brazil. Tank deposits from different localities were also compared to figure out potential taphonomic patterns among them. Additionally, comparisons with other Brazilian Pleistocene deposits and other debris-flow deposits bearing vertebrates were undertaken. The study revealed the predominance of the megamammal Eremotherium laurillardi in the deposit, which we attributed to its abundance in late Pleistocene biocoenosis as well as bone resistance. Scarcity of non-mammalian vertebrates is likely related to their paucity in late Pleistocene biocoenosis. Time-averaging was evidenced by the co-occurrence of different weathering, petrographic and color patterns, and may have affected the ontogenetic profile of the accumulation relative to the original biocoenosis. Analyses of weathering stages, tooth and trample marks, indicate wide exposition of the thanatocoenosis before burial. Abrasion and petrographic patterns allow reworking in the assemblage to be inferred. Permineralization and substitution are the fossilization processes observed. Taphonomy indicates that floods deposited clasts and bioclasts in the tank under an arid or semiarid climate in a debris-flow regime. Comparison with other tank deposits revealed several similar taphonomic features and differences related to sedimentology and stratigraphy. Taphonomic similarities suggest rather homogeneous environmental conditions in the northeastern Brazil during the late Pleistocene, as previously suggested by taxonomic studies. Comparison with other Brazilian Pleistocene deposits shows that tanks have more temporal fidelity than caves, coastal and some fluvial deposits. The Jirau vertebrate accumulation was produced by the reworking and transport of skeletal elements accumulated in a nearby thanatocoenosis and is similar to other better known debris-flow hosted vertebrate accumulations.

Two lungfish tooth plates from the Adamantina and Marilia formations, southeastern Brazil, are redescribed. One represents the youngest record of an asiatoceratodontid for Gondwana. This extends the upper temporal range of this family from Cenomanian to Turonian–Santonian. The other represents a new record of ceratodontids for South America. This discovery corroborates previous descriptions of South American fauna, such as the mixture of relict and ancient Gondwana taxa that disappeared by the end of the Cretaceous or the beginning of the Paleogene. The records add to the extant neotropical ichthyofauna, that survived after the South America–Africa separation.

We report new theropod dinosaur material from the Presidente Prudente Formation (Campanian–Maastrichtian), Bauru Group, in southwestern Sao Paulo state. The material comprises a fragment of right maxilla of Carcharodontosauridae, an anterior portion of a left ilium of Abelisauroidea and a proximal portion of a right fibula of a coelurosaurian. Previous theropod records from the Bauru Basin comprise Abelisauridae and Tetanurae and in Sao Paulo state these have been represented by only a right premaxilla of an abelisaurid and isolated abelisaurid and carcharodontosaurid teeth. The new material reported here represents the first theropod remains from the Presidente Prudente Formation, and includes the first abelisauroid and coelurosaurian postcranial remains from the Bauru Basin in Sao Paulo state and the first latest Cretaceous carcharodontosaurid known from non-dental remains anywhere.

The order Litopterna is represented in the São José de Itaboraí basin by four species belonging to the families Protolipternidae (Protolipterna ellipsodontoides, Miguelsoria parayirunhor and Asmithwoodwardia scotti) and Proterotheriidae (Paranisolambda prodromus). Only the deciduous teeth of P. prodromus are known so far. Isolated milk premolars are described for P. ellipsodontoides and M. parayirunhor. The known specimens assigned to P. prodromus are redescribed. No milk teeth are known for A. scotti. The upper and lower milk teeth of Protolipternidae, especially dP3, are more molarized than their successors, resembling, in several features later Proterotheriidae. They provide new support for the placement of this family within the order Litopterna. The analysis of the wear level of dp2-4/dP2-4 and X-ray images of the lower jaw of P. prodromus suggests that the second teeth of the premolar series, in upper and lower jaw, are retained milk premolars. Some information on tooth replacement pattern of P. ellipsodontoides and P. prodromus are also provided.

The Crocodyliformes are the most represented vertebrate clade in the Upper Cretaceous sequences of the Bauru Group, Paraná Basin. However, some of the species described have an uncertain taxonomic status and phylogenetic position. For instance, "Goniopholis" paulistanus has been assigned as a nomem dubium, due to its description being based on scarce material. The "G". paulistanus specimens (i.e. teeth and a left tibia) were discovered in two different localities in São Paulo state: Mirandópolis and Valparaíso municipalities; where the upper interval of the Adamantina Formation (Early Maastrichtian of Bauru Group) crops out. Revisiting these specimens, we observed multicrenulated teeth in middle dentary toot- row, a remarkable feature only shared with teleosaurids Machimosaurus hugii (Upper Jurassic of Laurasia) and M. rex (Lower Cretaceous of Tunisia). This apomorphy was also recognized in new material from the Alfredo Marcondes municipality (Presidente Prudente Formation), which are here also referred to "G". paulistanus. We recognized the teeth of "G." paulistanus as the lectotype, however the tibia cannot be assigned to a species as it was not collected in association with the teeth. We performed a phylogenetic analysis with a data matrix composed of 388 characters and 86 taxa, analyzed in TNT. The strict consensus tree recovered Neosuchia and Ziphosuchia (Notosuchia + Sebecia) within Mesoeucrocodylia. The species "G" paulistanus is valid, as a distinct and new genus within Sebecia, in a polytomy with Barreirosuchus, Pepesuchus, Itasuchus and Peirosaurus, forming the clade Itasuchidae. Stolokrosuchus is the sister taxon to Itasuchidae, the sister group of all other Sebecia (Peirosauridae (Mahajangasuchidae + Sebecidae and taxa affinis)). The clades Ziphosuchia, Sebecia and Itasuchidae are here redefined, and we find the last two clades to be more closely related to terrestrial notosuchids than to semiaquatic neosuchians.

The Uberaba area, in Minas Gerais State, Brazil, yields a rich continental fauna and flora from the Late Cretaceous Uberaba and Marilia formations. This paper reviews the diversity of the biota recorded from these formations. The most significant taxa from Peiropolis are the frog Baurubatrachus pricei, the turtle Cambaremys langertoni, the lizard Pristiguana brasiliensis, the crocodyliforms Itasuchus jesuinoi, Peirosaurus tormini and Uberabasuchus terrificus, the titanosaurian Baurutitan britoi, Trigonosaurus pricei, Aeolosaurus sp., indeterminate titanosaurians, and abelisaurid, carcharodontosaurid and maniraptoran theropods. Together with faunas of a similar age in Argentina and Madagascar, the assemblages contribute to a better understanding of Late Cretaceous Gondwanan faunas as a whole.

Notoungulates were recovered from bentonitic clays of the Tremembé Formation (Taubaté Basin). Two families, three genres and two species are known so far: Leontinidae (Taubatherium paulacoutoi and ?Ancylocoelus) and Notohippidae (Rhychippus brasiliensis). Analyzing the paleobiology data of this group and the geological context of the basin together, we assume that leontinids inhabited lake's margin, occupy a niche similar to the capybara (Hydrochoerus), having amphibian habit and feeding on plants like Pteridophyta, Cyperaceae, Typhaceae, aquatic plants and with Gramineae possibilities. Although notohippids seem to forest dwellers, they probably supported selective habits, feeding on fruits, young leaves and buds.

The Litopterna is a group of endemic South America ungulates that lived from Late Paleocene (Itaboraiense) to Late Pleistocene (Lujanense). The order is divided in two large groups based on dental features: the Bunolipterna, in which the Protolipternidae is placed, is composed by taxa with primitive bunodont teeth; and the Lopholipterna, grouping taxa with derived lophodont teeth. In both the postcranial morphology is derived and uniform since the early forms. The Itaborai Basin, located at São José district, Itaboraí city, Rio de Janeiro state, is filled with different kinds of limestones, cut vertically by fissure fill deposits, where most of the fossils were collected. Protolipterna ellipsodontoides was described in 1983 based on dental features, but later postcranial bones were associated to this species. The main goal of this article is to infer the foot posture of P. ellipsodontoides. The material studied consists of femora, astragali, calcanea and metatarsals III, comprising 165 bones. All fossils were deposited in the fossil mammal collection of Departamento Nacional da Produção Mineral, in Rio de Janeiro state, Brasil. The methodology employed consisted of 15 linear and curvilinear measurements, which were submitted to a multivariate analysis (Principal Component Analysis -PCA and Discriminant Function Analysis -DFA). The results suggested a digitigrade posture to P. ellipsodontoides. Other morphological features of the skeleton, associated with a digitigrades posture, are suggestive of a cursorial locomotion, but with probable saltatory habits.

Sauropod dinosaurs (Titanosauria) remains were collected in Upper Cretaceous sandstones, at Alfredo Marcondes site, Adamantina Formation, São Paulo state. These fossils comprise a fragmentary right femur and a proximal portion of a right tibia. The femur was assigned to the family Titanosauridae on the basis of the following features: straight shape, somewhat anteroposteriorly flattened; fourth trochanter slightly medially pronounced right above of the middle part of the bone's lenght; a proximolateral proeminence of the greater trochanter and a medial deflection of the proximal end of the femur. The tibia described here shares similar features with Titanosauria taxa like a well developed cnemial crest only slightly curved laterally; a deep longitudinal concavity separating the crest from the tibial shaft and a very anteroposteriorly expanded proximal end. These are the first fossil bones of dinosaurs recovered from Alfredo Marcondes municipality.

Titanosauria is a clade of sauropod dinosaurs that includes some of the largest terrestrial animals ever recorded. An outstanding feature of some species of this group is the presence of osteoderms, which are bony deposits on the skin that form scales, plates or other structures. Only six osteoderms have been identified from Brazil. Herein, we describe the first titanosaurian osteoderm from the Potiguar Basin (Early–Late Cretaceous) and discuss Brazilian titanosaur osteoderm diversity, their taxonomy and the functional implications. The specimen (UFRJ-DG 549-R) is bilaterally symmetrical and is assigned to the ellipsoid morphotype. The most interesting feature is the large cavities separated by thin trabeculae. This pattern, according to recent interpretations, suggests that titanosaur osteoderms functioned as a source of calcium. However, the function(s) of titanosaur osteoderms remain(s) open to debate. Compared with the other reported osteoderms from Brazil, the Potiguar osteoderm shows more similarities with an osteoderm of Ibira (Bauru Group, Turonian–Santonian) than with material collected from the Sao Luis Basin (Albian–Cenomanian) despite their greater geographical and temporal proximity. The Potiguar and Ibira osteoderms are of the ellipsoid morphotype, with no cingulum and several pits on the external surface. More findings are necessary to clarify whether the Potiguar material represents a different armored titanosaurian species in northeastern Brazil.

CHRISTIAN de MUIZON', RICHARD L. CIFELLI2, and LILIAN PAGLARELLI BERGQVIST3, 'URA 12 CNRS, Laboratoire de Paleontologie, Museum National d'Histoire Naturelle, 8 rue Buffon, 75005 Paris, France; 2Oklahoma Museum of Natural History and Department of Zoology, University of Oklahoma, Norman, Oklahoma 73019; 3Departamento de Geologia, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Avenida Brigadeiro Trompowski s/n, 21910-900 Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Theropods comprise the most common vertebrate remains in the fossil assemblage from the Serra da Galga Member, Marilia Formation (late Maastrichtian) in the Bauru Basin Peiropolis paleontological site (Uberaba Town, Minas Gerais State), in southeastern Brazil. In this study, cross-sectional outlines of the teeth and wrinkles on the surfaces of the crowns were used to group the teeth into nine morphological classes. The tooth cross-sections were drawn using a copper wire to contour the outlines of the most proximal portions of the tooth crowns. Other features were analyzed using a microscope. Within the nine morphological classes, morphotypes one and two can be assigned to the Abelisauridae, and morphotypes three to seven belong to the Carcharodontosauridae. This is the most abundant record of Abelisauridae in Minas Gerais State, Brazil. Morphotypes eight and nine were not identified because they do not have any diagnostic features of known Gondwanan or Laurasian taxa. The presence of Carcharodontosauridae teeth in the Member of Serra da Galga (late Maastrichtian) is the youngest record for this family.

Resumo: Em 1995, foi criado na área da bacia de Itaboraí, o Parque Paleontológico de São José, com objetivo de preservar a história, os afloramentos e os fósseis remanescentes do período em que esta bacia foi explorada para extração de calcário. Com o intuito de ampliar o entendimento pela comunidade da importância deste parque, foram desenvolvidas atividades utilizando jogos adaptados a uma linguagem didática. As atividades foram planejadas de forma a atingir diferentes faixas etárias e compreenderam: jogo “tipo” dominó - ligação de imagens a textos referentes à história da bacia, dos pesquisadores e um pouco da sua biota; jogo da memória - através de imagens de fósseis da bacia, os participantes puderam se familiarizar com a biota que viveu em Itaboraí há 60 Ma; quebra-cabeças - com imagens da reconstituição em vida de fósseis encontrados na bacia; jogo evolução da vida na Terra - jogo de tabuleiro contando um pouco das modificações ocorridas durante evolução da vida na Terra e localizando a Bacia de Itaboraí neste contexto. A atividade que mais atraiu o interesse dos participantes foi a simulação do trabalho do paleontólogo em laboratório. Para esta, foram confeccionados moldes em gesso de um bloco de rocha contendo um fragmento fóssil no seu interior. Este deveria ser “procurado” com o auxílio de instrumentos apropriados utilizados na pesquisa paleontológica. As atividades demonstraram, de forma geral, êxito no alcance dos objetivos pretendidos, dada a grande receptividade e interesse dos jovens e crianças frente às atividades desenvolvidas. Todas as atividades proposta podem ser adaptadas e aplicadas para outros fins.

A utilização de luz ultravioleta (“luz negra”) ouUV, na paleontologia, tem ampla aplicação. Seu êxitoestá nos fósseis calcários, cuja presença de fosfatode cálcio provoca fluorescência do fóssil, o quepermite delimitar, com maior precisão, a presença deestruturas completamente invisíveis ou pouco visíveisà luz natural. Através da fluorescência, em triagensrealizadas a noite, é possível encontrar um maiornúmero de pequenos vertebrados fósseis quandocomparado a triagens realizadas em iluminaçãonormal. A eficiência desse método também foiconstatada na análise um dinossauro Theropoda,revelando uma divisão da cavidade visceral emduas regiões (pleuropericardial anterior e abdominalposterior). O objetivo desse trabalho é reportar osucesso da utilização da luz ultravioleta na montagemdo esqueleto de Carodnia vieirai. Este mamífero,de idade paleocênica, foi encontrado em uma dasfendas que cortava o calcário que preenche a Baciade S. J. de Itaboraí, Rio de Janeiro, Brasil. Apesarde parcialmente preparado, para a reconstituição emontagem do esqueleto houve necessidade da totalremoção de qualquer sedimento antes da confecçãodos moldes. Devido à matriz óssea e o sedimentoapresentarem a mesma coloração e estaremfortemente unidos, a preparação sob luz naturalalgumas vezes provocou danos ao fóssil, devido àdificuldade na diferenciação de ambos. A principioutilizou-se água para aumentar a diferenciação (osedimento úmido fica ligeiramente acinzentado) epara facilitar a remoção deste, entretanto, após longaexposição do fóssil à água, este se tornou mais frágile mais facilmente fragmentava-se. Para evitar estesdanos optou-se então pela utilização de luz negra napreparação. Utilizou-se uma lâmpada UV de 18”/15watt, de comprimento de onda entre 400 e 320nm(UVA), e classificada como UV próximo. Tratasede uma lâmpada fluorescente sem a proteçãodo componente (fósforo), que a faz emitir umaluz visível, deixando assim passar toda a radiaçãoultravioleta. Em ambiente completamente escuro,a lâmpada proporcionou a fluorescência do fóssile uma coloração roxo escuro no sedimento, a eleaderido. Na preparação da mandíbula a luz negra tevetambém uma outra aplicação importante, pois em C.vieirai ela apresenta um padrão distinto, encontradoatualmente apenas nos sirênios – o direcionamentoanterior do processo coronóide. Os dois ramos estãobem preservados e apresentam o mesmo ângulo decurvatura, entretanto, existe um pouco de gesso euma massa de tom alaranjado preenchendo algunsespaços, o que levantou dúvidas quanto à naturezadesse padrão: se seria original ou tafonomicamenteformado. Na exposição à luz UV, pode-se constatarque apesar de estar parcialmente preenchida, opadrão encontrado na mandíbula era natural. Napreparação de um fragmento de maxilar, recobertopor sedimento, foi possível identificar que noprocesso de fossilização ele sofreu uma deformação,pois fragmentos soltos floresciam, evidenciando umapossível fragmentação de um dos lados. A utilizaçãodessa iluminação também evidenciou um dente(coloração diferenciada) de Crocodylia, aderido aum bloco de sedimento com fragmentos cranianose um M3 de C. vieirai. Concluímos então que alâmpada negra é muito útil para a paleontologia,proporcionando maior precisão na preparação dofóssil e auxiliando no reconhecimento de possíveisprocessos tafonômicos. Recomendamos umaampliação do seu uso nesta ciência.