The predominance of teeth in the non-avian dinosaur record from Cretaceous Brazil: a review

ABSTRACT

Dinosaur fossils are commonly found in Brazilian Mesozoic strata, with teeth being frequently found in Cretaceous outcrops. Many studies have been made with the aim of reviewing the known diversity of Brazilian dinosaurs, mostly focusing solely on their palaeobiogeography. However, few tried to typify these body fossils in order to see which kinds were most prevalent in the fossil record. This study aims to count and identify all occurrences of non-avian dinosaur teeth (isolated or in situ) unearthed from Brazilian Cretaceous strata in order to objectively measure their representativity in the national fossil record. Our literature search showed that almost half of the dinosaur fossil record from the Cretaceous of Brazil is composed by teeth, those being particularly abundant in the Alcântara, Adamantina and Marília formations. Theropod teeth are more abundant in comparison to sauropod teeth, with spinosaurids, deinonychosaurs, and abelisaurids being amply found. Despite representing a large share of the Brazilian fossil record, dinosaur teeth have only recently been studied in depth, with many specimens being reassessed through the current identification methods. Other aspects besides primary taxonomic identification can also be further explored using the latest technologies on dinosaur teeth, allowing a deeper understanding of the palaeobiology of these reptiles.

KEYWORDS:

• Teeth
• Brazil
• Cretaceous
• Dinosauria
• review

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank all researchers and students who collaborated in obtaining the articles and abstracts used for this study. We would also like to thank the two anonymous reviewers, Prof. Carlos Roberto dos Anjos Candeiro and Prof. Maria Alice dos Santos Alves for all the comments suggested for the improvement of this manuscript. This work was supported by the [Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado do Rio de Janeiro] under Grants [E 04 E-26/204.053/2022 to TBR; PDR10 E-26/201.995/2020 to PVLGCP. PMB was partially supported by the Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Cientifico e Tecnologico [#305118/2021-8] and Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado do Rio de Janeiro [#E-26/201.172/2022].

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Supplemental data

Supplemental data for this article can be accessed online at https://doi.org/10.1080/08912963.2023.2238965.

Additional information

Funding

The work was supported by the Fundação Carlos Chagas Filho de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado do Rio de Janeiro [#E-26/201.172/2022 and #PDR10 E-26/201.995/2020]; Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Cientifico e Tecnologico [#305118/2021-8].