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 s ...

, in

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

. It belongs to the Caturrita Formation 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 othe ...

. 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 /ˌstɔɹ̠ikoʊˈsɔɹ̠ʌs/, '' STOR-ree-koh-SOR-ruhs''; "Southern Cross lizard") is a genus of herrerasaurid dinosaur from the Late Triassic of Brazil, found in the Santa Maria Formation. Description Colber ...

'', 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 rel ...

, the eminent paleontologist at the

British Museum The British Museum is a Museum, public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is the largest in the world. It documents the story of human cu ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. 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, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

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 a Brazilian paleontologist. Biography Munari was born in Santa Maria, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. He lived near the Sanga da Alemoa, and when he was 14 years old, he lived with the scientist H. Lot ...

, 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, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...

Porto Alegre Porto Alegre (, ; , ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Brazilian Federative units of Brazil, state of Rio Grande do Sul. Its population of roughly 1.4 million inhabitants (2022) makes it the List of largest cities in Brazil, 11th-most p ...

and Santa Maria. Llewellyn Ivor Price, was born in Santa Maria in 1905, and completed his studies at

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

, 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 expected, required, or given by one party to another in return for goods or services. In some situations, especially when the product is a service rather than a ph ...

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 Halle-Wittenberg (), also referred to as MLU, is a public research university in the cities of Halle and Wittenberg. It is the largest and oldest university in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt. MLU offers German and 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 Cynodontia () is a clade of eutheriodont therapsids that first appeared in the Late Permian (approximately 260 Megaannum, mya), and extensively diversified after the Permian–Triassic extinction event. Mammals are cynodonts, as are their extin ...

'' 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 structure, composition, and History of Earth, history of Earth. Geologists incorporate techniques from physics, chemistry, biology, mathematics, and geography to perform research in the Field research, ...

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

Friedrich von Huene Baron Friedrich Richard von Hoyningen-Huene (22 March 1875 – 4 April 1969) was a German nobleman paleontologist who described a large number of dinosaurs, more than anyone else in 20th-century Europe. He studied a range of Permo-Carbonife ...

visited the area, accompanied by Dr. Rudolf Stahlecker. 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 lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

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 (; ), is a public research university located in the city of Tübingen, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. The University of Tübingen is one of eleven German Excellenc ...

. During this period had been staying at the home of Guilherme Hübner, located within the site. Fossils of '' Cerritosaurus'' were collected in 1941 by the Jesuit Antonio Binsfeld, of ''Seminary São José'' in Santa Maria. In the 1940s and 1950s, expeditions organized by Llewellyn Ivor Price, 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, 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''. 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) * Rudolf Stahlecker (1928) *

* Llewellyn Ivor Price *

* Daniel Cargnin (1968–1973) * Carlos de Paula Couto * 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'' * '' Cerritosaurus'' * '' Saturnalia tupiniquim''

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