Scientists have finally recovered a lost fossil record in Brazil, after researchers who first discovered it 70 years ago were unable to trace it back to a distant land. Unique geological conditions in the long-lost area retain paleontological values ​​that can help illuminate one of the greatest extinctions in world history. The recovered area, known as Cerro Chato, is located near the Brazilian-Uruguay border in the southern state of Rio Grande do Sul. About 260 million years ago, by the end of the Permian period (299 to 251 million years ago) conditions in the area were conducive to trapping and storing dead species. As a result, many of the Cerro Chato rocky outcrops are littered with soft fossils – especially plants, which do not burn as hard as animals do because they do not have solid components.
Paleontologists who first discovered Cerro Chato in 1951 were impressed by its well-preserved Permian fossils. Unfortunately, with the exception of memorable landmarks or modern technology, such as GPS, researchers were unable to accurately record the site’s local links, and when they tried to return to the Permian treasures they could not find it. After several attempts to trace their steps, the team stopped searching and declared the site missing. However, a new team of researchers took the blanket and successfully recovered the lost place in 2019.
The area has been unknown for decades, “prompting a new team of researchers to do a” great treasure hunt “to find it,” said Joseline Manfroi, a botanist at Vale do Taquari University in Rio Grande do Sul, and co-author of a new study describing the discovery area. ” Fortunately, after such a long time, we will have the opportunity to continue writing [site] history, with a fossil record, “Manfroi said in a statement. To date, more than 100 fossils – mainly plants, as well as certain fish and molluscs – have been uncovered in Cerro Chato by the first group and co-authors of a new study. Some of the fossilized plants are the ancestors of modern conifers and ferns, researchers say.
However, the new team suspects that the remains are simply the tip of the iceberg. When real researchers discovered the site, they were only able to scratch the Cerro Chato fossil record before losing any trace of its former location, and although it was rediscovered about three years ago, much remains to be discovered. “The area to be explored is huge,” said leading research author Joseane Salau Ferraz, who is studying medicine at the Federal University of Pampa in Rio Grande do Sul, in a statement. “I estimate that we haven’t tested even 30% of the total available space.” Crop fossils in Cerro Chato could help researchers understand more about the powerful climate change that is occurring toward the end of the Permian period, resulting in the extinction event that wiped out nearly 90% of the world’s species.
 “The fossils we study are of global importance, as they are a living testimony to the evolutionary changes that took place during the Permian period,” said Ferraz. “These studies will help us to get information about the distribution of these plants around the world.” The team published their findings online on May 15 in the Brazilian Society of Paleontology journal Paleodest , and the research is available for download free in English and Portuguese. “We have chosen to publish the article in Portuguese directly so that the text is available to the local people,” Ferraz said. “They are very excited about paleontology, which is great to see.”
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