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Triassic Brazil

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Hyperodapedon
Hyperodapedon (from , 'above' and , 'pavement') is an extinct genus of rhynchosaur reptiles which lived during Late Triassic period. Like other rhynchosaurs, it was a heavily built archosauromorph, distantly related to archosaurs such as crocodilians and dinosaurs. Hyperodapedon in particular was part of the subfamily Hyperodapedontinae, a specialized rhynchosaurian subgroup with broad skulls, beaked snouts, and crushing tooth plates on the roof of the mouth.
Dinodontosaurus
Dinodontosaurus (meaning "terrible-toothed lizard") is a genus of dicynodont therapsid. It was medium to large dicynodont of the Triassic (with skull up to long) and had a beak corneum. It lived in the Middle Triassic but disappeared in the Upper Triassic.
Prestosuchus
Prestosuchus (meaning "Prestes crocodile") is an extinct genus of pseudosuchian in the group Loricata, which also includes Saurosuchus and Postosuchus. It has historically been referred to as a "rauisuchian", and was the defining member of the family Prestosuchidae, though the validity of both of these groups is questionable: Rauisuchia is now considered paraphyletic and Prestosuchidae is polyphyletic in its widest form.
Exaeretodon
Exaeretodon is an extinct genus of fairly large, low-slung traversodontid cynodonts from the southern parts of Pangea. Four species are known, hailing from various formations. E. argentinus is from the Carnian-age (Late Triassic) Cancha de Bochas Member of the Ischigualasto Formation in the Ischigualasto-Villa Unión Basin in northwestern Argentina. E. major and E. riograndensis are from the Carnian-age portion of the Santa Maria Formation of the Paraná Basin in southeastern Brazil. E. statisticae is from the Carnian-age Lower Maleri Formation of India.
Chiniquodon
thumb|left|Life reconstruction of C. theotonicus
Procolophon
Procolophon (from , 'before' and , 'summit') is a genus of lizard-like procolophonid parareptiles that first appeared in the Early Triassic (Induan) of South Africa, Brazil, and Antarctica. It persisted through the Permian–Triassic extinction event, but went extinct in the beginning of the Early Middle Triassic.
Stahleckeria
Stahleckeria is an extinct genus of Middle Triassic (Ladinian) dicynodonts. It lived about 237 million years ago in what is now Brazil and Namibia. As a member of the group Kannemeyeriiformes, it was similar to the genus Kannemeyeria. The genus is known from the type species Stahleckeria potens, which was first collected from the Ladinian-age Santa Maria Formation in the Paleorrota fossil site of Brazil. Stahleckeria was named in honor of Rudolf Stahlecker, who discovered the first specimens during a 1935 expedition led by paleontologist Friedrich von Huene to the Chiniquá fossil site.
Rauisuchus
Rauisuchus (meaning "Wilhelm Rau's crocodile") is a genus of extinct archosaurs which lived in what is now the Geopark of Paleorrota (Santa María Formation), Brazil, during the Late Triassic period (235–228 million years ago). It contains one species, R. tiradentes.F. v. Huene. (1942) Die fossilen Reptilien des südamerikanischen Gondwanalandes. Ergebnisse der Sauriergrabung in Südbrasilien 1928/29. München: C.H. Beck'sche Verlagsbuchhandlung
Spondylosoma
Spondylosoma (meaning "vertebra body") is a genus of avemetatarsalian archosaur, belonging to the clade Aphanosauria, from the Middle Triassic (late Ladinian age) Lower Santa Maria Formation in Paleorrota Geopark, Brazil.
Massetognathus
Massetognathus ( ; Greek for "chewing muscle jaw") is an extinct genus of plant-eating traversodontid cynodonts. They lived during the Triassic Period about 235 million years ago, and are known from the Chañares Formation in Argentina and the Santa Maria Formation in Brazil.
Trucidocynodon
Trucidocynodon is an extinct genus of ecteniniid cynodonts from the Upper Triassic (Carnian) of Brazil. It is a monotypic genus that contains a single species, Trucidocynodon riograndensis. Fossils of Trucidocynodon were discovered in outcrops of the Upper Santa Maria Formation in Paleorrota Geopark, Agudo. Trucidocynodon is one of the most completely known Triassic cynodonts, as its holotype is a nearly complete and fully articulated skeleton.
Ixalerpeton
Ixalerpeton (meaning "leaping reptile") is a genus of lagerpetid avemetatarsalian containing one species, I. polesinensis. It lived in the Late Triassic of Brazil alongside the sauropodomorph dinosaur Buriolestes.
Prozostrodon brasiliensis
Prozostrodon is an extinct genus of probainognathian cynodonts that was closely related to mammals. The remains were found in Brazil and are dated to the Carnian age of the Late Triassic. The holotype has an estimated skull length of , indicating that the whole animal may have been the size of a cat. The teeth were typical of advanced cynodonts, and the animal was probably a carnivore hunting reptiles and other small prey.
Compsocerops
Compsocerops is an extinct genus of temnospondyl amphibians recovered from the Late Triassic Upper Maleri and Tiki Formations of India, and the Santa Maria Formation of Brazil.
Proterochampsa
Proterochampsa is an extinct genus of proterochampsid archosauriform from the Late Triassic (Carnian-Norian boundary) of South America. The genus is the namesake of the family Proterochampsidae, and the broader clade Proterochampsia. Like other proterochampsids, Proterochampsa are quadruped tetrapods superficially similar in appearance to modern crocodiles, although the two groups are not closely related. Proterochampsids can be distinguished from other related archosauriformes by characters such as a dorsoventrally flattened, triangular skull with a long, narrow snout at the anterior end and
Bonacynodon
Bonacynodon is an extinct genus of cynodonts that lived in what is now southern Brazil during the Triassic period (Ladinian–Carnian ages). The genus is monotypic, containing only the type species Bonacynodon schultzi. B. schultzi is known from two specimens, consisting of two partial skulls and some badly preserved parts of the postcranium. Both specimens were recovered from the Pinheiros-Chiniquá Sequence, part of the Santa Maria Supersequence of the Paraná Basin. This sequence preserves a faunal association known as the Dinodontosaurus Assemblage Zone, which contains numerous other species o
Faxinalipterus minimus
Faxinalipterus is a genus of ornithodiran archosaur, originally described as a pterosaur, from the Late Triassic Caturrita Formation of southern Brazil. A study from 2022 reinterpreted the fossil remains and instead suggests them to belong to a member of the Lagerpetidae, another clade of pterosauromorphs.
Chanaresuchus
Chanaresuchus is an extinct genus of proterochampsid archosauriform. It was of modest size for a proterochampsian, being on average just over a meter in length. The type species is Chanaresuchus bonapartei was named in 1971. Its fossils were found in from the early Carnian-age Chañares Formation in La Rioja Province, Argentina . Chanaresuchus appears to be one of the most common archosauriforms from the Chañares Formation due to the abundance of specimens referred to the genus. Much of the material has been found by the La Plata-Harvard expedition of 1964–65. Chanaresuchus is the most well-des
Brasilodon
Brasilodon ("tooth from Brazil") is an extinct genus of small, mammal-like cynodonts that lived in what is now Brazil during the Norian age of the Late Triassic epoch, about 225.42 million years ago. While no complete skeletons have been found, the length of Brasilodon has been estimated at . Its dentition shows that it was most likely an insectivore. The genus is monotypic, containing only the species B. quadrangularis. Brasilodon belongs to the family Brasilodontidae, whose members were some of the closest relatives of mammals, the only cynodonts alive today. Two other brasilodontid genera,
Candelariodon
Candelariodon is an extinct genus of carnivorous probainognathian cynodonts from the Middle to Late Triassic Santa Maria Formation of the Paraná Basin in Rio Grande do Sul state, Brazil. Candelariodon is known from a partial mandible having some complete teeth. It was first named by Téo Veiga de Oliveira, Cesar Leandro Schultz, Marina Bento Soares and Carlos Nunes Rodrigues in 2011 and the type species is Candelariodon barberenai.
Ginkgoites
Ginkgoites is a genus of extinct plants belonging to Ginkgoaceae. Fossils of these plants have been found around the globe during the Triassic, Jurassic, Cretaceous, with fossils also known from the Paleogene. The name was created as a form genus in 1919 by Albert Seward, who stated: "I... propose to employ the name Ginkgoites for leaves that it is believed belong either to plants generically identical with Ginkgo or to very closely allied types."
Decuriasuchus quartacolonia
Decuriasuchus is an extinct genus of loricatan from the Middle Triassic period (Ladinian stage). It is a carnivorous archosaur that lived in what is now southern Brazil, in Paleorrota. It was first named by Marco Aurélio G. França, Jorge Ferigolo and Max C. Langer in 2011 and the type species is Decuriasuchus quartacolonia. The generic name means "unit of ten crocodiles" in Latin and Greek in reference to the ten known specimens and the animal's possible group behavior. The specific name refers to the Quarta Colonia region where the fossils were collected.
Archeopelta
Archeopelta is an extinct genus of carnivorous archosaur from the late Middle or early Late Triassic period (late Ladinian to early Carnian stage). It was a 2 m (6 ft) long predator which lived in what is now southern Brazil. Its exact phylogenetic placement within Archosauriformes is uncertain; it was originally classified as a doswelliid, but subsequently it was argued to be an erpetosuchid archosaur.
Irajatherium
Irajatherium is an extinct genus of cynodonts, known only of the type species Irajatherium hernandezi. It is named in honor of Irajá Damiani Pinto.
Riograndia
Riograndia is an extinct genus of prozostrodontian cynodonts from the Late Triassic of Brazil. The type and only species is Riograndia guaibensis, named after the State of Rio Grande do Sul and Guaíba Basin, where it was discovered. Remains have been found in the Caturrita Formation of the geopark of Paleorrota. It was a small non-mammalian cynodont, with several advanced features also present in mammals. Several specimens of Riograndia guaibensis have been found in the towns of Candelária and Faxinal do Soturno in the Caturrita Formation. The genus defines the Riograndia Assemblage Zone.
Menadon
Menadon is an extinct genus of traversodontid cynodonts. The type and only species is Menadon besairiei.
Therioherpeton
Therioherpeton is an extinct genus of small, carnivorous cynodonts belonging to the clade Prozostrodontia, which lived in what is now Brazil during the Late Triassic. Its type species is Therioherpeton cargnini. It was named in 1975 by the palaeontologists José Bonaparte and Mário Costa Barberena based on remains collected in the Hyperodapedon Assemblage Zone of the Santa Maria Formation in the Paraná Basin.
Venetoraptor
Venetoraptor (meaning "Vale Vêneto plunderer") is an extinct genus of lagerpetid archosaurs from the Late Triassic Santa Maria Formation (Paraná Basin) of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. The genus contains a single species, V. gassenae, known from a partial skeleton. Venetoraptor is characterized by the presence of a beak and scythe-like claws on long fingers.
Protheriodon
Protheriodon is an extinct genus of probainognathian cynodonts which existed in the Santa Maria Formation of the Paraná Basin in southeastern Brazil during the middle Triassic period. It contains the species Protheriodon estudianti. It was first described by Argentine palaeontologist José Bonaparte, who assigned it to the family Brasilodontidae. More recent studies have however recovered it in a more basal position than other brasilodontids, just outside Prozostrodontia.
Rhadinosuchus
Rhadinosuchus is an extinct genus of proterochampsian archosauriform reptile from the Late Triassic. It is known only from the type species Rhadinosuchus gracilis, reposited in Munich, Germany. The fossil includes an incomplete skull and fragments of post-cranial material. Hosffstetter (1955), Kuhn (1966), Reig (1970) and Bonaparte (1971) hypothesized it to be synonymous with Cerritosaurus, but other characteristics suggest it is closer to Chanaresuchus and Gualosuchus, while it is certainly different from Proterochampsa and Barberenachampsa. The small size indicates it is a young animal, maki
Caturrita Formation
geological formation in Brazil
Siriusgnathus
Siriusgnathus is a traversodontid cynodont from the Carnian channel sandstones and mudstones of the Candelária Formation, belonging to the Santa Maria Supersequence of the Paraná Basin in southeastern Brazil. It includes one species, Siriusgnathus niemeyerorum and was described in 2018. The species epithet refers to the Niemeyer locality in Agudo, Rio Grande do Sul. It was found together with various archosauromorphs, dinosauromorphs and other cynodonts, such as Brasilitherium riograndensis, Brasilodon quadrangularis, Irajatherium hernandezi and Prozostrodon brasiliensis.
Charruodon
Charruodon is an extinct genus of cynodonts which existed in the Hyperodapedon Assemblage Zone of the Santa Maria Formation in the Paraná Basin in southeastern Brazil during the Late Triassic. The genus contains only the type species Charruodon tetracuspidatus, which is known from a single specimen of uncertain provenance. Upon its first description, Charruodon was tentatively placed within the family Therioherpetidae, but a 2017 study by Agustín G. Martinelli and colleagues instead recovered it as a more basal member of Probainognathia. In 2023, Hoffmann, Ribeiro & de Andrade reinterpreted th
Teyumbaita
Teyumbaita is an extinct genus of hyperodapedontine rhynchosaur from the Upper Triassic of southern Brazil. Its fossils were recovered from the early Norian-age Caturrita Formation, one of several fossiliferous formations exposed at Paleorrota Geopark in the state of Rio Grande do Sul. Teyumbaita is likely the youngest valid genus of rhynchosaur, as other members of the group likely died out before the start of the Norian.
Aetosauroides
Aetosauroides (meaning "Aetosaurus-like") is an extinct genus of aetosaur from the Late Triassic of South America. It is one of four aetosaurs known from South America, the others being Neoaetosauroides, Chilenosuchus and Aetobarbakinoides. Three species have been named: the type species A. scagliai, A. subsulcatus, and A. inhamandensis. Fossils have been found in the Cancha de Bochas Member of the Ischigualasto Formation in the Ischigualasto-Villa Unión Basin in northwestern Argentina and the Santa Maria Formation in the Paraná Basin in southeastern Brazil. The strata date to the late Carnian
Cerritosaurus
Cerritosaurus is a genus of proterochampsid archosauromorph from the Late Triassic. It has been found in the Santa Maria Formation, in the Geopark of Paleorrota, Brazil. It is represented by one species.
Sangaia
Sangaia is an extinct genus of rhytidosteid temnospondyl from the early Triassic period of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. It is known from the holotype UMVT 4302, the left half of a partial skull, a partial palate, from the paratype UMVT 4303, a partial right palatal fragment and from the referred specimens PV 0497 T and MCN PV 2606, skull fragments, recovered from the Sanga do Cabral Formation in the Rośario do Sul Group.
Aetobarbakinoides
Aetobarbakinoides is an extinct genus of stagonolepidid aetosaur known from the Late Triassic of Rio Grande do Sul state, southern Brazil. Fossils have been found from the Santa Maria Supersequence of the late Carnian and early Norian stages, making Aetobarbakinoides one of the oldest aetosaurs. The type species, A. brasiliensis, was named in 2012, and is notable for being described primarily by features of the vertebrae; most other aetosaurs are diagnosed by features in bony plates called osteoderms, which are by far the most common material. Although placed in a basal phylogenetic position a
Dagasuchus
Dagasuchus is an extinct genus of pseudosuchian archosaur from the Late Triassic (Carnian) of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, represented by the type species Dagasuchus santacruzensis. D. santacruzensis was named in 2015 on the basis of specimen UFRGS-PV-1244-T and UFRGS-PV-1245-T, a partial hip (one ilium and a pair of ischia) found in an exposure of the Santa Maria Formation in the Paraná Basin, near the city of Santa Cruz do Sul. Dagasuchus is an early member of a large evolutionary group called Loricata, which originated in the Triassic and includes modern crocodylians and their ancestors. Feat
Parvosuchus
Parvosuchus (meaning "small crocodile") is an extinct genus of gracilisuchid pseudosuchians from the Middle–Late Triassic Santa Maria Formation (Paraná Basin) of Brazil. The genus contains a single species, P. aurelioi, known from a cranium and partial skeleton.
Teyujagua
Teyujagua (named for Teyú Yaguá, a legendary beast from local Guaraní mythology) is an extinct genus of small, probably semi-aquatic archosauromorph reptile that lived in Brazil during the Early Triassic period. The genus contains the type and only known species, T. paradoxa. It is known from a well-preserved skull, and probably resembled a crocodile in appearance. It was an intermediary between the primitive archosauromorphs and the more advanced Archosauriformes, revealing the mosaic evolution of how the key features of the archosauriform skull were acquired. Teyujagua also provides addition
Candelaria
species of reptile (fossil)
Chiropteris
Chiropteris is an extinct genus of plants that existed from the Early Permian (Sakmarian stage) to the Late Jurassic (?Oxfordian stage, maybe latter).
Baieroxylon
Baieroxylon is an extinct prehistoric genus of plants belonging to the Ginkgoaceae family during the Triassic, Jurassic, and Cretaceous Periods.
Santacruzgnathus
Santacruzgnathus is an extinct genus of small cynodonts from the Late Triassic (Carnian) Santacruzodon Assemblage Zone of Brazil. It contains one species, S. abdalai. Santacruzgnathus is known from a single partial lower jaw with four postcanine teeth, only one of which is well-preserved. Some features of the specimen, including the slender shape of the jaw and the incipiently double-rooted teeth, indicate that the animal was an early member of Prozostrodontia, a group that includes mammals and their close relatives.
Alemoatherium
Alemoatherium is an extinct genus of prozostrodontian cynodont which lived in the Late Triassic of Brazil. It contains a single species, A. huebneri, named in 2017 by Agustín Martinelli and colleagues. The genus is based on UFSM 11579b, a left lower jaw (dentary) found in the Alemoa Member of the Santa Maria Formation, preserving the late Carnian-age Hyperodapedon Assemblage Zone. Alemoatherium was among the smallest species of cynodonts found in the rich synapsid fauna of the Santa Maria Formation. Its blade-like four-cusped postcanine teeth show many similarities with those of dromatheriids,
Maehary
Maehary (meaning "one who looks to the sky" in Guaraní) is an extinct genus of gracilisuchid pseudosuchian archosaurs from the Late Triassic (Norian age) Caturrita Formation of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. The genus contains a single species, Maehary bonapartei, known from a partial skull and fragmentary postcrania. Maehary was originally described as the basalmost member of the Pterosauromorpha, but several subsequent studies have suggested pseudosuchian affinities are more likely. If this is correct, it would represent the youngest known member of the Gracilisuchidae.
Elessaurus
Elessaurus is an extinct genus of archosauromorph from the Early Triassic of Brazil. It contains a single species, Elessaurus gondwanoccidens. It possessed a variety of features common to basal archosauromorphs, particularly basal tanystropheids such as Macrocnemus. However, it is uncertain whether Elessaurus was a particularly close relative of tanystropheids, and it might instead be closer to other major archosauromorph clades. The genus name refers to "Elessar", an alternate name of the character Aragorn from J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings trilogy.