A reassessment of the historical fossil findings from Bahia State (Northeast Brazil) reveals a diversified dinosaur fauna in the Lower Cretaceous of South America

Abstract

ABSTRACT Supposed dinosaur remains were collected between 1859 and 1906 in the Lower Cretaceous Recôncavo Basin (Northeast Brazil). Since these materials remained undescribed, and most were considered lost. Recently, some of these historical specimens were rediscovered in the Natural History Museum of London, providing an opportunity to revisit them after 160 years. The specimens come from five different sites, corresponding to the Massacará (Berriasian-Barremian) and Ilhas (Valanginian-Barremian) groups. Identified bones comprise mainly isolated vertebral centra from ornithopods, sauropods, and theropods. Appendicular remains include a theropod pedal phalanx, humerus, and distal half of a left femur with elasmarian affinities. Despite their fragmentary nature, these specimens represent the earliest dinosaur bones discovered in South America, enhancing our understanding of the Cretaceous dinosaur faunas in Northeast Brazil. The dinosaur assemblage in the Recôncavo Basin resembles coeval units in Northeast Brazil, such as the Rio do Peixe Basin, where ornithopods coexist with sauropods and theropods. This study confirms the presence of ornithischian dinosaurs in Brazil based on osteological evidence, expanding their biogeographic and temporal range before the continental rifting between South America and Africa. Additionally, these findings reinforce the fossiliferous potential of Cretaceous deposits in Bahia State, which have been underexplored since their initial discoveries.