Cretaceous paleogeographic maps of Brazil

Mesozoic dinosaurs from Brazil and their biogeographic implications

“…Evidences supporting this hypothesis (named 'Pan-Gondwana'), include paleogeographic reconstructions (Smith et al 1994) and shared Cretaceous taxa as the crocodyliforms Araripesuchus (Turner 2006, Sereno and Larsson 2009), Sarcosuchus (Buffetaut and Taquet 1977, 1979, Sereno et al 2001, and notosuchians (Sereno et al 2003, Turner 2006 (Hay et al 1999, Sampson et al 1998, Scotese 2002, Krause et al 2006, and geologic data from northeastern Brazil point towards the existence of openly marine deposits in Albian times (Petri 1987, Mohriak 2003. In this scenario ('Africafirst' hypothesis), the closer similarity of the turtle and crocodyliform faunas could be explained by the possibility for semi-aquatic forms to disperse across restrict oceanic barriers.…”

Estratigrafia, arquitetura deposicional e faciologia da formação Missão Velha (Neojurássico-Eocretáceo) na área-tipo, bacia do Araripe, nordeste do Brasil: exemplo de sedimentação de estágio de início de rifte a clímax de rifte

“…A coluna estratigráfi ca da bacia engloba desde depósitos do Mesopaleozoico até do Mesozoico (Neocretá-ceo) (Neumann, Mabesoone, Viana, 2000). A origem e a evolução da Bacia do Araripe relacionam-se com os eventos tectônicos que resultaram na ruptura e fragmentação do Supercontinente Gondwana e na abertura do Oceano Atlântico Sul (Cesero e Ponte, 1972;Asmus e Ponte, 1973;Ponte e Asmus, 1976Ponte e Ponte-Filho, 1996a, 1996bMatos, 1999;Assine, 2007;Fambrini et al, 2007Fambrini et al, , 2008Fambrini et al, , 2009aFambrini et al, , 2009b, e seu preenchimento posterior durante o Mesozoico (Petri, 1987), apesar da evolução policíclica aventada por alguns autores para a bacia (e.g., Brito-Neves, 1990;Hessel e Freitas, 2009). A Bacia do Araripe apresenta estruturação segundo as direções NE--SW (predominantemente falhas normais) a E-W (predominantemente falhas transcorrentes) e, subordinadamente, NW-SE (falhas transcorrentes e normais), coincidentes com descontinuidades do embasamento pré-cambriano, reaproveitadas para a instalação da bacia (Matos, 1992).…”

Stepped Surfaces, Palaeolandforms and Morphostratigraphy: Reconstructing the Long-Term Landscape Evolution Since the Mesozoic

“…The intracontinental basins had also been filled by thick series-up to 4 km in the Potiguar rift-of early Neocomian to Aptian fluvial, deltaic and lacustrine sediments, reflecting deep erosion of the uplifted basement. The regionally unconformable transitional and post-rift series show that widespread erosion of the rift shoulders but also of rift sediments had Petri (1987), Matos (1992Matos ( , 2000, Assine (1994), Claudino Sales (2003), andPessoa Neto (2003). Note that topography in f corresponds to the current landscape.…”

“…During Albian to Cenomanian times, this sedimentary basin was a landscape of lakes and lagoons surrounded by low hills, intermittently connected via shallow seaways to the Parnaiba, Potiguar and/or Tucano-Jatoba basins (Petri 1987;Assine 1994;Arai 1999). The Exu Formation (90 Myear, <200 m thick), which laps onto the basement to the west and northwest, represents the rapid westward progradation through low-relief topography of a braid-plain dominated by flashy flow regimes in a dry palaeoclimate (Martill 1993).…”

“…Moreover, the regional climatic conditions prevailing during the late Cretaceous were warm (Huber et al 2002) and humid, favouring deep kaolinitic weathering (Schmitt 1999) and leaching of carbonates. Because of both syn-and post-rift erosion south and west of the Potiguar basin (Petri 1987) and of sediment aggradation in the basins, the heights of existing rift-flank escarpments were probably quite diminished by Campanian times. In summary, apart from a few upstanding residual massifs the landscape towards the end of the Cretaceous was predominantly flat and low-lying.…”