Shell beds as paleoecological puzzles: A case study from the Upper Permian of the Parana Basin, Brazil

Microstratigraphic, sedimentological, and taphonomic features of the Ferraz Shell Bed, from the Upper Permian (Kazanian-Tatarian?) Corumbatai Formation of Rio Claro Region (the Parana Basin, Brazil), indicate that the bed consists of four distinct microstratigraphic units. They include, from bottom to top, a lag concentration (Unit 1), a partly reworked storm deposit (Unit 2), a rapidly deposited sandstone unit with three thin horizons recording episodes of reworking (Unit 3), and a shell-rich horizon generated by reworking/winnowing that was subsequently buried by storm-induced obrution deposit (Unit 4). The bioclasts of the Ferraz Shell Bed represent exclusively bivalve mollusks. Pinzonella illusa and Terraia aequilateralis are the dominant species. Taphonomic analysis indicates that mollusks are heavily time-averaged (except for some parts of Unit 3). Moreover, different species are time-averaged to a different degree (disharmonious time-averaging). The units differ statistically from one another in their taxonomic and ecological composition, in their taphonomic pattern, and in the size-frequency distributions of the two most common species. Other Permian shell beds of the Parana Basin are similar to the Ferraz Shell Bed in their faunal composition (they typically contain similar sets of 5 to 10 bivalve species) and in their taphonomic, sedimentologic, and microstratigraphic characteristics. However, rare shell beds that include 2-3 species only and are dominated by articulated shells preserved in life position also occur. Diversity levels in the Permian benthic associations of the Parana Basin were very low, with the point diversity of 2-3 species and with the within-habitat and basin-wide (alpha and gamma) diversities of 10 species, at most. The Parana Basin benthic communities may have thus been analogous to low-diversity bivalve-dominated associations of the present-day Baltic Sea. The 'Ferraz-type' shell beds of the Parana Basin represent genetically complex and highly heterogeneous sources of paleontological data. They are cumulative records of spectra of benthic ecosystems time-averaged over long periods of time (10(2)-10(4) years judging from actualistic research). Detailed biostratinomic reconstructions of shell beds can not only offer useful insights into their depositional histories, but may also allow paleoecologists to optimize their sampling designs, and consequently, refine paleoecological and paleoenvironmental interpretations.

Permian bivalve molluscs from the Gai-As Formation, northern Namibia: systematics, taphonomy and biostratigraphy

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

First record of petrified Permian pecopterids from the Parana Basin, Brazil (Corumbatai Formation, Passa Dois Group, northeastern State of São Paulo): Morphology, anatomy and paleoecological implications

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Conchostráceos com linhas de crescimento recurvadas junto à margem dorsal (famílias Palaeolimnadiopseidae e Perilimnadiidae) da formação rio do rasto, Permiano superior, bacia do Paraná, Brasil

Some Upper Permian conchostracans from the Rio do Rasto Formation (Parana Basin, South Brazil) have very characteristic recurved growth lines at the dorsal margin. All previously described specimens were classified as Palaeolimnadiopsis subalata (Reed) Raymond. However, a re-analysis of these fossils and of additional recently- collected specimens demonstrated that not all can be included in a single species, nor only in the Family Palaeolimnadiopseidae. According to their shape and the size of the umbo, they are classified into three species. The sub-elliptic carapaces with small anterior umbo are maintained in Palaeolimnadiopsis subalata (Reed, 1929) Raymond, 1946. The sub-circular carapaces with small sub-central umbo correspond to the new species Palaeolimnadiopsis riorastensis. The small size of the umbo is a character of the Family Palaeolimnadiopseidae. The small elliptic valves with large anterior umbo are assigned to the new species Falsisca brasiliensis of the Family Perilimnadiidae, which is characterized by large umbos. Palaeolimnadiopsis has a wide chronostratigraphic distribution, but Falsisca is restricted to the Upper Permian-Lower Triassic of Europe and Asia. This interval is in agreement with the probable Late Permian age of the respective strata of the Rio do Rasto formation. Falsisca was not previously recorded in Gondwana.

Leaiid conchostracans from the uppermost Permian strata of the Parana Basin, Brazil: Chronostratigraphic and paleobiogeographic implications

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Conchostráceos com linhas de crescimento recurvadas junto à margem dorsal (Famílias Palaeolimnadiopseidae e Perilimnadiidae) da Formação Rio do Rasto, permiano superior, Bacia do Paraná, Brasil

Some Upper Permian conchostracans from the Rio do Rasto Formation (Paraná Basin, South Brazil) have very characteristic recurved growth lines at the dorsal margin. All previously described specimens were classified as Palaeolimnadiopsis subalata (Reed) Raymond. However, a re-analysis of these fossils and of additional recently- collected specimens demonstrated that not all can be included in a single species, nor only in the Family Palaeolimnadiopseidae. According to their shape and the size of the umbo, they are classified into three species. The sub-elliptic carapaces with small anterior umbo are maintained in Palaeolimnadiopsis subalata (Reed, 1929) Raymond, 1946. The sub-circular carapaces with small sub-central umbo correspond to the new species Palaeolimnadiopsis riorastensis. The small size of the umbo is a character of the Family Palaeolimnadiopseidae. The small elliptic valves with large anterior umbo are assigned to the new species Falsisca brasiliensis of the Family Perilimnadiidae, which is characterized by large umbos. Palaeolimnadiopsis has a wide chronostratigraphic distribution, but Falsisca is restricted to the Upper Permian-Lower Triassic of Europe and Asia. This interval is in agreement with the probable Late Permian age of the respective strata of the Rio do Rasto Formation. Falsisca was not previously recorded in Gondwana.

Othonella araguaiana (Bivalvia, Megadesmidae) from the Corumbataí formation (Midlle Permian), eastern margin of the Paraná Basin: Systematic, evolutionary and biostratigraphic significances

In this study, the occurrence of Othonella araguaiana Mendes, a rare bivalve species is reported for the fi rst time in the Pinzonella illusa biozone, Middle Permian Corumbataí Formation, in the State of São Paulo. This species was originally described in coeval rocks of the Estrada Nova Formation (= Corumbataí) from the Alto Araguaia and Alto Garças regions, State of Mato Grosso. The specimens of O. araguaiana were found in the base of a bioclastic sandstone bed, a proximal tempestite, in the middle of the Corumbataí Formation, in the city of Rio Claro, São Paulo State. The silicifi ed shells and internal molds are well preserved, showing impressions of muscle scars and other internal anatomic characters (e.g., hinge), never illustrated by previous authors. In his original description, Mendes (1963) called attention to the similarity between O. araguaiana and Terraia aequilateralis, a common veneroid of the Corumbataí Formation. Conversely, Runnegar and Newell (1971) suggested that O. araguaiana belongs to Megadesmidae, being a junior synonym of Plesiocyprinella carinata (the commonest megadesmid of the Passa Dois Group). Our study indicates that O. araguaiana is indeed a megadesmid, but is distinct from the P. carinata. The new occurrence of O. araguaiana demonstrates that a) the paleobiogeographic distribution of this species is wider than previously thought (that it was restricted to the northern part of Paraná Basin, Mato Grosso State); b) the molluscan fauna of the Corumbataí Formation (P. illusa biozone) in the State of São Paulo is more diverse and dominated by megadesmids; and c) the composition of the molluscan fauna of the Corumbataí Formation in Alto Garças, State of Mato Grosso, is essentially the same as that of the P. illusa biozone of the eastern margin of the Paraná Basin.

Processos fluviais em barras de soldamento: rio Paraná - PR

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Tafonomia das rochas carbonáticas conchíferas das formações Teresina e Rio do Rasto (Permiano, Bacia do Paraná)

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Argilominerais da porção basal da formação Corumbataí (Bacia do Paraná) na região de Rio Claro/SP

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Entre tradição e modernidade: o lugar das comunidades faxinalenses de Taquari dos Ribeiros (Rio Azul - PR) e Anta Gorda (Prudentópolis - PR)

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Geomorfologia e evolução quarternária da calha do Alto Rio Paraná, no segmento livre de barramentos, entre os reservatórios de Porto Primavera e Itaipu

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Gênese, evolução e geomorfologia das ilhas e planície de inundação do alto Rio Paraná, Brasil

Pós-graduação em Geociências e Meio Ambiente - IGCE