The Passo das Tropas outcrop complex and the Dicroidium Flora in southern Brazil
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Abstract
The Dicroidium flora, composed of different genera of fossil plants, has its first records dating back to the Permian, expanded significantly in diversity in the Triassic, occupying several regions of the Gondwanan territory, becoming a biostratigraphic landmark for the Triassic. In Brazil, this paleoflora is found in the sedimentary rocks of the Santa Maria region, state of Rio Grande do Sul, in locations close to the Passo das Tropas Creek, an informal type section of the Passo das Tropas Member, of the Santa Maria Formation. Pioneering studies on the subject in the region began in 1952, at the Passo das Tropas outcrop, which described the first records of the Dicroidium flora. Over the years, different outcrops were found in this region, which also revealed this paleoflora, such as: “Dom Antônio Reis” outcrop, “Zenir Aita” outcrop and “Espuma” outcrop, where several paleontological collections were carried out. In addition to plant fossils, fish scales and insect wings were recorded in these outcrops. However, these outcrops were totally or partially buried due to the urbanization process in the city of Santa Maria and its surroundings, making further studies impossible. This article presents a historical and stratigraphic review, compiling the work carried out in the last 70 years on the outcrops of the Passo das Tropas Member and presents a new fossil site, the outcrop called Estância dos Montes. A total of 125 specimens were recovered from the Estância dos Montes outcrop, belonging to Dicroidium odontopteroides, D. zuberi, D. lancifolium, Umkomasia sp., Pteruchus sp., Neocalamites sp. and seeds. The fossils presented in this work come from a paleontological rescue carried out at the Estância dos Montes outcrop and are currently deposited in the Paleontological Collection of the Laboratório de Estratigrafia e Paleobiologia of the Universidade Federal de Santa Maria. Not only the importance of preserving and protecting fossil sites and their contents is highlighted, but also the uniqueness of these fossils for the valorization of the regional heritage of Santa Maria and the global relevance of adding more data to understand the biota during the Gondwanan Triassic.
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