Banca de DEFESA: REBECCA FERNANDES ERICKSON

Uma banca de DEFESA de MESTRADO foi cadastrada pelo programa.
STUDENT : REBECCA FERNANDES ERICKSON
DATE: 18/11/2025
TIME: 09:00
LOCAL: Videoconferência
TITLE:

Paleoichnology of Crocodylomorpha and their occurrence in the Rio Do Peixe Basin (Lower Cretaceous), Northeastern Brazil

KEY WORDS:

Mesoeucrocodylia; Trace fossils; Ichnology; Rio do Peixe Basin; Gondwana

PAGES: 70
BIG AREA: Ciências Exatas e da Terra
AREA: Geociências
SUMMARY:

The Tapera ichnosite, located in the Rio do Peixe Basin (Paraíba, Brazil), preserves a unique suite of vertebrate trace fossils within fluvio-lacustrine deposits of the Barremian–Hauterivian Sousa Formation. This sedimentary unit, developed under semi-arid climatic conditions with episodic waterlogging and cohesive substrates, provides ideal conditions for exceptional soft-sediment preservation. Through high-resolution 3D modeling and sedimentological analysis, we re-evaluate crocodylomorph traces previously documented at the site, expanding the ichnological dataset and refining behavioral interpretations. The trackways include deep ventral impressions and rhythmic lateral sediment disruption, occasionally accompanied by pes and manus prints, and are interpreted as records of large-bodied crocodyliforms using low-walking and belly-sliding locomotion across a gently inclined, water-saturated substrate. The ichnological features closely align with the ichnogenus Crocodylopodus, though the Tapera traces notably exceed its known size range and present unusually prominent ventral morphology. These findings contribute to the understanding of vertebrate-substrate interaction in continental rift basin environments and provide new data for the paleoenvironmental and paleobiogeographic reconstruction of the Early Cretaceous in central Gondwana.

COMMITTEE MEMBERS:
Presidente - 1283832 - ALINE MARCELE GHILARDI
Externo à Instituição - HERMINIO ISMAEL DE ARAUJO JUNIOR - UERJ
Externo à Instituição - THIAGO DA SILVA MARINHO - UFTM