Fossil amniotic eggs have great informative potential, especially regarding reproductive and evolutionary aspects of vertebrates. However, there are only few intact specimens or with fossilized embryos within, and the rare reported cases are mostly related to dinosaurs. In Brazil, the records of these ichnofossils are practically restricted to the Bauru Basin. This research aims to describe the first amniotic egg found in carbonate concretions in the Romualdo Formation, adding information to the study of these fossils and to the paleontological context of the basin. The specimen was collected at the Sítio Pé da Serra do Félix, in the Municipality of Simões, Piauí State, Brazil. The methodology employed was based on Scanning Electron Microscopy, Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy and Optical Microscopy techniques, as well as computed tomography analyses. The morphological and microstructural characteristics of the shell suggests the identification of the fossil as a crocodylomorph egg. This specimen differs from other fossil eggs assigned to the aforementioned group by its small size and considerably thick shell. The tomographic sections revealed possible basic structures of an embryo inside the egg, suggesting that this is the first fossilized egg with a crocodylomorph embryonic trace found in the world.
Restos de megafauna são muito comuns em depósitos de idade Pleistocênica no Nordeste brasileiro. Para o Ceará, essas ocorrências são registradas para quase todo o estado, incluindo recentes achados no Município de Irauçuba, cujos novos dados taxonômicos de espécimes coletados no distrito de Juá, revelaram a presença de: Eremotherium laurillardi, Glossotherium, Glyptotherium cf. G. cylindricum, Panochthus, Xenorhinotherium baihense, Equus, Toxodontidae e Proboscidea, este último, já descrito anteriormente. Cerca de 300 fragmentos de ossos foram analisados, sendo na maioria material de pós-crânio dos mamíferos gigantes herbívoros. Como o local ainda não foi escavado e devido ao potencial paleontológico apresentado, sugere-se estudo posterior com a exumação do depósito.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.