Bolellffi do 6° Simp6sio sobre 0 Creliklo do Brasil I 2110 Slffiposio sobre el Crelacico de America del Sur (2002): 61-65
ISSN 1516·8239
o ESTADO D'ARTE DA TAFOFLORA DO MEMBRO CRATO,
FORMACAo SANTANA, EOCRETAcEO DA
BACIA DO ARARIPE, NORDESTE DO BRASIL
CRATO MEMBER TAPHOFLORA, SANTANA FORMATION, LOWER
CRETACEOUS OF THE ARARIPE BASIN,
NORTHEASTERN BRAZIL: STATE OF THE ART
Mary E. BERNARDES-DE-OLIVEIRA 1.2
David DILCHER 3
A/cina M. Franca BARRETO 4
Fresia RICARD/-BRANCO 5
Barbara MOHR 6
Maria Cristina de CASTRO-FERNANDES 1,2
ABSTRACT
paleofloraL assemblages are ferns (Schizeaceae) alld sphenopsids (Schizoneura). The predominance oj We list the main plant IClxa identified from the fossil gymnosperms in rhis taphoflora as indicated by rich Lower Cretaceous sediments oj the Crato palynological analyses suggesrs a lale Aprian age Member oj the Santana Formation Located at the Jor the assemblages. Both palynomorph and plant Araripe, Basin in northeastern BraziL. We report, megaJossiL assemblages suggesr dry climatic among lhe various pLant fossils encountered the condilions. Together wirh the plant .fossils lhe CralO presence oj specimens belonging to the Gnetales Member oj the Santana FormatIOn is also very rich Order (Welwitschiaceae and Ephedraceae),
in ostracods, mollusks, insects, arachnids. bivalves,
cOllsldered a possible ancestral group of the gastropods, fish, amphybia, crocodiles, pterosallrllS,
angiosperms. Mega-remais oj aquatic (Nymphaeites chofJati) and terrestrial angiosperms (seeds, Jruits, lizards, birds, coprolites and stromalolites.
leaves and flowers) also occur with gymnosperm
branches and leaves (Brachyphyllum and Keywords: Paleobotany, Sanrana Formatioll, Amnpe Basin.
Lower Cretaceous. Aptian, Gnetales, angiosperms
Podozamites). Also present in these Jossil Mesozoic
'.Instituto de Geocienclas. Universidade de Sao Paulo - Rua do Lago, 562, Sao Paulo, SP, CEP 0550B-900, tel. (0055) (11) 3091-4118/3091 4665. e-mail:
[email protected]. 2. Laboral6rio de Geociimcias, Universidade Guarulhos, Guarulhos, SP.
3 Flonda Museum of Natural History. University of Florida, Gainsville, EUA, FL 32611·7800.
4. Inslilulo de Geocll~nclas, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Recife, PE. 5 Inslilulo de Geociencias, UNICAMP, Campinas, SP'
6 Institut ruer Palaeontologie, Museum ruer NaturKunde, Berlim, Alemanha.
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8 OLiVEIRA el
INTRODUc;Ao No presente trabalho, e apresentada uma sintese de todo conhecimento paleobot
