Análise e comparação tafonômica-paleoecológica de três assembléias triássicas do Rio Grande do Sul

Abstract

The paleontology of the Rio Grande do Sul state, southern Brazil, is known mainly by the studies of Triassic materials that had initiated in the beginning of the 20th century with the expeditions of Von Huene and Price in the decades of 20 and 40, respectively. Since then, new outcrops constantly are discovered, some of them with a rich paleofauna. In this paleofauna, the archosaurs, rhynchosaurs, cynodonts, dicynodonts and procolophonids are the most representative and more studied groups, mainly in its morphology, systematic and evolution. However, little attention is given to the paleoecological aspects of these groups. Thus, this work aims to describe the taphonomy and the paleoecology of three outcrops of the Middle Triassic of the RS – Cortado, Linha Várzea and Picada do Gama. By integrating the material collected until the moment, some specific conclusions for each assembly can be achieved, as well as on the paleoecological representation of these for the time period that contains the Therapsida Cenozone. The quantification and taphonomical characterization of the bones and coprolites had an important role for diagnosing the studied outcrops, as they record both paleofaunistic and paleoenvironmental features. The mortality of the studied outcrops was natural (disease or predation) and the assemblies had formed through time, allowing the preservation of: different ontogenetical stages; ichnofossils of different groups and environmental conditions; and paleoclimatological features of the place. The Cortado and Linha Várzea outcrops represent autochthonous assemblages while the Picada do Gama outcrop presents a para-autochthonous assemblage, with some well preserved autochthonous elements. The Cortado and Linha Várzea outcrops are characteristic of distal flooding plains and the Picada do Gama outcrop records both channel deposits and proximal flooding plain facies. The pattern of fossil fragmentation and the high level of disarticulation indicate a prolonged period of exposition to weathering and superficial eodiagenetic alterations. The rate of herbivorous and carnivores in all outcrops indicate that the patterns of trophic control of the food chains already showed complex models, established in great biomasses of herbivorous supporting carnivorous on top. In the Therapsida Cenozone, the food chains bases are represented by first-level consumer dicynodonts (herbivorous) and archosaurs in the top (carnivorous). Cynodonts, although presenting food specializations, had not been attributed to any position in the chain, as these animals would be less selective, and depending on the time of the year, they could behave as opportunists, occupying diverse positions inside of the food chains.