Amphibian and paleoisciforms from the lower part of the Taquaral Member of the Permian Irati Formation, São Paulo state, Brazil

Abstract

In the east-central region of the State of São Paulo, Brazil, good exposures of Permo-Carboniferous sequences of the Paraná intracratonic basin are found. These sequences start with the Tubarão Supergroup deposits, the Permocarboniferous Itararé Group, and the earliest Permian Guatá Group, of which the Tatuí Formation is the only unit occurring in the State of São Paulo. The Permian Passa Dois Group overlies the Tubarão Supergroup, with the Early Permian Irati Formation and the Middle Permian Corumbataí Formation. Two members are recognized in the Irati Formation, Taquaral and Assistência. Most beds of the Taquaral Member are gray laminated siltic-argillaceous, but sandstone beds are present in lower outcrops of this member. One of these sandstones, 9.5 cm thick unconformably overlying sedimentos of the Tatuí Formation, exhibits diversified vertebrate remains. The present paper deals with a Palaeonisciformes mandible fragment, one amphibian Temnospondyli tooth, and one Temnospondyli mandible fragment. These fossils are associated to Chondrichthyes and Osteichthyes. It is an open question whether the Parnaíba Basin Palaeonisciformes Brasilichthys macrognathus and the Temnospondyli Prionosuchus plummery belong to the same taxa of the Paraná Basin fossils. Only better preserved fossils might solve this question.