The ''Sanga da Alemoa'' paleontological site is located in the city of Santa Maria,

Rio Grande do Sul Rio Grande do Sul (, , ; "Great River of the South") is a Federative units of Brazil, state in the South Region, Brazil, southern region of Brazil. It is the Federative_units_of_Brazil#List, fifth-most-populous state and the List of Brazilian st ...

, in

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

. It belongs to the

Caturrita Formation The Caturrita Formation is a geological formation, rock formation found in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. Its sediments were deposited in the Paraná Basin. The formation is from the Upper Triassic and forms part of the Santa Maria Supersequence in th ...

and the

Santa Maria Formation The Santa Maria Formation is a sedimentary rock formation found in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. It is primarily Carnian in age (Late Triassic), and is notable for its fossils of cynodonts, "rauisuchian" pseudosuchians, and early dinosaurs and oth ...

. It is located in the neighborhood of ''Castelinho''. The site belongs to the paleorrota region.

History

Historically the Sanga da Alemoa is one of the most important paleontological sites in

. It was this site that came out ''

Staurikosaurus ''Staurikosaurus'' (Pronounced "STORE-ee-koh-SAWR-us", "Southern Cross lizard") is a genus of herrerasaurid dinosaur from the Late Triassic of Brazil, found in the Santa Maria Formation. Description Colbert (1970) described ''Staurikosaurus' ...

'', the first Brazilian dinosaur and one of the oldest found in the world. Researchers collected fossil in this site that drew attention of international researchers who later visited the region. These local researchers shaped the paleontological research in the region and

. For all these contributions and historical factors, the Sanga da Alemoa is now known internationally. The site was discovered by Professor and geographer Antero de Almeida, in 1901, when the first fossil was found at the site and also the first fossil of paleorrota. In 1902, Dr. Jango Fischer, born in Santa Maria, collected fossils on site that were sent to

Arthur Smith Woodward Sir Arthur Smith Woodward, FRS (23 May 1864 – 2 September 1944) was an English palaeontologist, known as a world expert in fossil fish. He also described the Piltdown Man fossils, which were later determined to be fraudulent. He is not relate ...

, the eminent paleontologist at the

British Museum The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. The

rhynchosaur Rhynchosaurs are a group of extinct herbivorous Triassic archosauromorph reptiles, belonging to the order Rhynchosauria. Members of the group are distinguished by their triangular skulls and elongated, beak like premaxillary bones. Rhynchosaurs ...

found, '' Scaphonyx fischeri'' was named in honor of Jango Fischer. In May 1906 the Brazilian engineer Cicero Campos collected fossils that were sent to

. Between 1915 and 1917, Dr. Guilherme Rau, a German who took up residence in Santa Maria, helped the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

scientist Dr. H. Lotz, who collected 200 pieces on the Site. This material was sent to Von Huene, Germany. During this time a boy of 14 years of age,

Atílio Munari Atílio Munari (1901 – 19 October 1941) was born in Santa Maria, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. Biography He lived near the Sanga da Alemoa, and when he was 14 years old, he lived with the scientist H. Lotz, a German paleontologist, who taught h ...

, who lived near the site (''Schirmer village''), went to live with the scientist H. Lotz, who taught him to collect and prepare the fossils. Many of his works are now in

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a b ...

Porto Alegre Porto Alegre (, , Brazilian ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul. Its population of 1,488,252 inhabitants (2020) makes it the List of largest cities in Brazil, twelfth most populous city in the country ...

and Santa Maria.

Llewellyn Ivor Price Llewellyn Ivor Price (October 9, 1905 – June 9, 1980) was one of the first Brazilian paleontologists. His work contributed not only to the development of Brazilian but also to global paleontology. He collected '' Staurikosaurus'', the first ...

, was born in Santa Maria in 1905, and completed his studies at

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

, USA. He returned to Santa Maria in 1936, bringing along his colleague Theodore E. White. Both came into contact with the Munari who helped in their excavations at this site. This year was collected ''

'', the first Brazilian dinosaur.

Price A price is the (usually not negative) quantity of payment or compensation given by one party to another in return for goods or services. In some situations, the price of production has a different name. If the product is a "good" in the c ...

was the first totally Brazilian paleontologist and helped define the whole structure of paleontological research in

. In 1925, the German paleontologist Dr. Bruno von Freyberg,

University of Halle-Wittenberg Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg (german: Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg), also referred to as MLU, is a public, research-oriented university in the cities of Halle and Wittenberg and the largest and oldest university i ...

, visited the site. That same year Dr. G. Florence and Pacheco of the ''Geological and geographical Commission of Sao Paulo'' were in place. In 1927, Guilherme Rau collected the

cynodont The cynodonts () (clade Cynodontia) are a clade of eutheriodont therapsids that first appeared in the Late Permian (approximately 260 mya), and extensively diversified after the Permian–Triassic extinction event. Cynodonts had a wide variety ...

'' Gomphodontosuchus brasiliensis''. In 1927, geologists Paulino Franco de Carvalho and Nero Passos visited Santa Maria. This year also the

geologist A geologist is a scientist who studies the solid, liquid, and gaseous matter that constitutes Earth and other terrestrial planets, as well as the processes that shape them. Geologists usually study geology, earth science, or geophysics, althou ...

Alex Löfgren joined, who was here for a year and a half, helped by Munari. In 1928 the German paleontologist

Friedrich von Huene Friedrich von Huene, born Friedrich Richard von Hoinigen, (March 22, 1875 – April 4, 1969) was a German paleontologist who renamed more dinosaurs in the early 20th century than anyone else in Europe. He also made key contributions about v ...

visited the area, accompanied by Dr.

Rudolf Stahlecker Rudolf Stahlecker (25 November 1898 in Sternenfels near Pforzheim – 26 October 1977 in Urach) was a German geologist and biology teacher. Biography He studied with the German paleontologist Friedrich von Huene at the University of T� ...

. They spent six months at the site and returned to

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

with many tons of fossils. Many fossils that were collected are housed at the

University of Tübingen The University of Tübingen, officially the Eberhard Karl University of Tübingen (german: Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen; la, Universitas Eberhardina Carolina), is a public research university located in the city of Tübingen, Baden-Wü ...

. During this period had been staying at the home of Guilherme Hübner, located within the site. Fossils of ''

Cerritosaurus ''Cerritosaurus'' is a genus of proterochampsid archosauromorph from the Late Triassic. It has been found in the Santa Maria Formation, in the Geopark of Paleorrota, Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Bra ...

'' were collected in 1941 by the Jesuit Antonio Binsfeld, of ''Seminary São José'' in Santa Maria. In the 1940s and 1950s, expeditions organized by

, the ''Division of Paleontology at the National Department of Mineral Production'' of

, arriving in the region. Price has worked in the area along with

Edwin Harris Colbert Edwin Harris "Ned" Colbert (September 28, 1905 – November 15, 2001)O'Connor, Anahad ''The New York Times'', November 25, 2001. was a distinguished American vertebrate paleontologist and prolific researcher and author. Born in Clarinda, Iowa, he ...

Carlos de Paula Couto Carlos de Paula Couto, (Porto Alegre, August 30, 1910 – November 15, 1982) was a Brazilian paleontologist. Biography Paula Couto was a researcher at the National Museum of Brazil in Rio de Janeiro, specialized in paleontology of mammals. ...

, Mackenzie Gondon, Fausto Luis de Souza Cunha and Theodore E. White. In Santa Maria, Price stayed at Centenário College. Between 1968 and 1973, priest Daniel Cargnin collected many fossils at the site, which were sent to several research institutions and museums. In 1999, Max Cardoso Langer and colleagues collected on the spot the dinosaur ''

Saturnalia tupiniquim ''Saturnalia'' is an extinct genus of basal sauropodomorph dinosaur known from the Late Triassic Santa Maria Formation of Rio Grande do Sul, southern Brazil and possibly the Pebbly Arkose Formation, Zimbabwe. Discovery and naming ''Saturnal ...

''. In honor of the researchers

and Daniel Cargnin, streets near the site received their names.

's body rests in ''São José Cemetery'', near the site.

Researchers who were at the site

* Antero de Almeida (1901) * Jango Fischer (1902) * Guilherme Rau (1915–1917, 1927) *

(1928) *

* Daniel Cargnin (1968–1973) *

* H. Lotz * Theodore E. White * Bruno von Freyberg (1925) * Paulino Franco de Carvalho * Nero Passos * Alex Löfgren * Antonio Binsfeld * Mackenzie Gondon * Fausto Luís de Souza Cunha * Cícero Campos

Fossil fauna found

* ''

'' *

Rhynchosaur Rhynchosaurs are a group of extinct herbivorous Triassic archosauromorph reptiles, belonging to the order Rhynchosauria. Members of the group are distinguished by their triangular skulls and elongated, beak like premaxillary bones. Rhynchosaurs ...

('' Scaphonyx fischeri'') * '' Gomphodontosuchus brasiliensis'' * ''

'' * ''

Paleontological tourism

Historically this is the most important paleontological site of

this location was found the first fossil of Geopark Paleorrota and also the first Brazilian dinosaur

and one of the oldest found on the planet. Great researchers have gone through this site and helped form the Brazilian paleontology. The site is known internationally for his outstanding contributions and is in the urban area of Santa Maria city, near a major road junction, with great handling car, and even then, there is a project to make the place a tourist spot. Lack responsibility and political involvement on the part of municipal and state authorities.

References

External links