Dinosaur remains are among the fossils that have been recovered from the Adamantina Formation. According to some studies, More recent studies lean into the latter category and an unpublished article abstract revealed at the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology in 2017 also argues that the
Allen Formation, Loncoche, and
Los Alamitos Formation are all contemporaries and are no later than 72.1Ma in age. A zircon was found dating to 87.8 Ma, so this represents a maximum age.
Geological setting During the
Early Jurassic, the supercontinent
Pangea started to drift apart due to the breakup of
Gondwana and
Laurasia. The breakup of Gondwana caused the formation of the large Parana Basin. This basin has a size of ~1,100,000km2 and can be found not only in Brazil but also in Paraguay, Uruguay, and Argentina. The separation of the supercontinent and the breakup of Brazil and Africa was accompanied by volcanism that caused large eruptions of
flood basalts. These volcanic rocks formed the Serra Geral Formation which underlies the deposits of the Bauru Group. evolved due to "thermo-mechanical subsidence" during the Late Cretaceous, probably due to the breakup of Africa and India. The Bauru Group can be subdivided into five different formations from bottom to top: Caiua, Santo Anastacio, Adamantina, and Uberaba. Not all formations are equally well represented in the different states and differences occur according their sedimentary composition and therefore also in their naming. == Vertebrate paleofauna ==