Dinosaur Tracks from Brazil

GIUSEPPE LEONARDI is an Associate Senior Researcher in the Department of Geology at Federal University of Rio de Janeiro and an Associate Curator of the Museo della Scienza-MUSE of Trento (Italy). He is the author of Annotated Atlas of South America Tetrapod Footprints and of Glossary and Manual of Tetrapod Footprint Palaeoichnology.ISMAR DE SOUZA CARVALHO is a Professor in the Department of Geology at Federal University of Rio de Janeiro and a Researcher in the Geosciences Center at University of Coimbra, the Brazilian National Research Council (CNPq), and Rio de Janeiro Scientist Program (FAPERJ).

"There is a South American lost world waiting to be explored, one which allows at least indirect glimpses of living dinosaurs. It comprises the Rio do Peixe Basins of northeastern Brazil, which preserve one of the world's great assemblages of fossil footprints and trackways of dinosaurs and other Mesozoic land animals. Such trace fossils hold a special fascination for paleontologists like myself who so desperately want to know what living dinosaurs were like, because they record moments in the lives of the long-dead animals, revealing how they moved and interacted with each other. Leonardi and Carvalho will be our guides, leading us through the lost world of the Rio do Peixe Basins. We will see many wonders: the traces made by dinosaurs and other long-dead animals with our physical eye, and in our mind's eye the fearfully great reptiles themselves. Prepare yourself for a scientific adventure!"—James O. Farlow, author of Noah's Ravens: Interpreting the Makers of Tridactyl Dinosaur Footprints"This is an incredibly comprehensive, detailed, look at the dinosaur tracks discovered from Brazil. Leonardi and Carvalho draw on their decades of experience to methodically describe the tracks and tracksites from the country. Tracksites and specimens are systematically detailed with numerous photos, drawings, and reconstructions, and are placed in their wider geological and palaeobiological context. The authors are able to discuss dinosaur footprints that might have been first documented decades ago, while remaining cognizant of the most recent advances in dinosaur ichnology. The result is a volume that will form the basis of much future research, providing data and prompting new hypotheses."—Peter L. Falkingham, Liverpool John Moores University"When it comes to paleobiology, no fossil brings you closer to the organism than its tracks—those muddy marks of Cretaceous dinosaurs standing, striding, plodding, and even running amount to a rich record of ecosystems brought lovingly detailed by Leonardi and Carvalho. Dinosaur Tracks from Brazil lovingly combines all the detailed context that a specialist craves with beautiful artwork that brings the Brazilian dinosaurs to life."—Andrew B. Heckert, Appalachian State University

• Foreword, by James O. FarlowAcknowledgments1. Introduction2. Methods3. Geological Context of the Footprints4. The Ichnofaunas of the Rio do Peixe Basins and Their Trackmakers5. Data Tables and Statistics6. The Trackmakers of the Ichnofaunas of the Rio do Peixe Basins7. Behavior of the Rio do Peixe Basins Dinosaurs8. The Dinosaur Community9. Invertebrate Trails and Traces10. Localities Visited Without Vertebrate Ichnological Results11. Protections ActsFarewellReferencesAppendix A: Glossary of Brazilian Geographical Names and TermsAppendix B: Dates of the Discovery of the Tracksites and Their DiscoverersAppendix C: Codes and LocalitiesIndex