Earth:Paleontological Sites of Santa Maria

Paleontological Sites of Santa Maria
Location	Paleorrota Geopark Santa Maria, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil
Coordinates

The Paleontological Sites of Santa Maria are located in the city of Santa Maria, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil and dating from the Triassic. Are in the Santa Maria Formation and Caturrita Formation.

History

In 1901 the first fossils were found in the town of Santa Maria, which began the Geopark Paleorrota. Since then many sites have been discovered in the city, especially near the Hill Cerrito, with outstanding attention to Sanga da Alemoa that have rich history.

Tourism

The city of Santa Maria is a major road junction, with several highways across the city. The Hill Cerrito is surrounded by highways BR-287, BR-158 and RS-509. You should be prepared to receive tourists.

Museums

Santa Maria has two museums that contain fossils of the region:

• Museum Vincente Pallotti
• Educational Museum Gama D'Eça

Description of sites

Seq.	Sitio	Coordinates	Formation	Description
1	Arroio Cancela	Santa Maria Formation	See: Paleontological Site Arroio Cancela.
2	Cabeceira do Raimundo	Sanga do Cabral Formation	Disarticulated from Procolophon pricei.
3	Arroio Passo das Tropas	Santa Maria Formation	Vegetables prints Dicroidium flora, fish scales and wings of insects.
4	Olaria Campus UFSM	Santa Maria Formation	Vegetables prints Dicroidium flora.
5	Colégio Militar	Santa Maria Formation	Hyperodapedon.
6	Largo Padre Cargnin	Santa Maria Formation	Therioherpeton cargnini.
7	Cerrito I	Santa Maria Formation and Caturrita Formation	Hyperodapedon, Stagonolepis and undetermined Cynodonts.
8	Cerrito II	Santa Maria Formation and Caturrita Formation	Hyperodapedon.
9	Cerrito III	Santa Maria Formation and Caturrita Formation	Hyperodapedon.
10	Sanga Alemoa	Santa Maria Formation and Caturrita Formation	See: Paleontological Site Sanga of Alemoa
11	Jazigo Cinco	Santa Maria Formation	See: Paleontological Site Jazigo Cinco.
12	Sanga do Armário	Santa Maria Formation	Hyperodapedon.
13	Vila dos Sargentos	Santa Maria Formation	Bioturbation Verticalized.
14	Cidade dos Meninos	Santa Maria Formation	Hyperodapedon, osteoderms of Stagonolepis and undetermined Cynodonts.
15	Vila Kennedy	Santa Maria Formation	Hyperodapedon.
16	Vila Caturrita	Santa Maria Formation and Caturrita Formation	Hyperodapedon.
17	Bela Vista	Caturrita Formation	Fragments of indeterminate skulls.
18	Jardim Berleze	Caturrita Formation	Petrified wood.
19	Esc. Xavier da Rocha	Caturrita Formation	Petrified wood.
20	Silva Jardim	Caturrita Formation	Petrified wood.

Notes and references

Young Exaeretodon, collected by Sergio Kaminski, in the Paleontological Site Arroio Cancela

See also

• Paleorrota Geopark
• Museum Vincente Pallotti
• Educational Museum Gama D'Eça
• Paleontological Site Arroio Cancela
• Paleontological Site Sanga of Alemoa
• Paleontological Site Jazigo Cinco