Page 42 - DINOSOUR ATLAS

araripe basin

did you know?

. When paleontologists examined the
Irritator skull, they found the snout had
been faked from bits of bone and car
body filler. This annoyed the experts so
much, they named the dinosaur Irritator!

u araripe today
The greater part of the Araripe Basin lies in
the south of the Brazilian state of Ceará. It
is an area of fertile soil, where small, thorny
trees, cacti, and grasses grow. There are , mirischia
plans to make the area into a National
Geopark, which would help to protect the This small-sized carnivore prowled the coast,
area’s environment and its unique fossils. searching for lizards and other bite-sized prey. When
paleontologists studied it, they found that its intestines had
been fossilized—a rare discovery because soft tissue is not
usually preserved. From this, scientists were able to confirm
arms were small, the exact location of its intestines within its pelvis.
like those found
on Compsognathus

Jaws were
lined with
small, sharp
teeth

, Fossilized Tail was held off the
crane Fly ground when moving fingers with
sharp claws
Altogether, more than 200
different Cretaceous insect species
legs are still have been identified from the Araripe Basin,
attached to the including this crane fly (known as tipulid).
thorax (chest region)
, santanaraptor
legs designed for Santanaraptor is known from
running at speed a partial skeleton. A small
Fossilized Fish .
carnivore, it was only about
Fish are the most famous fossils 6½ ft (2 m) in height, and
from the Santana Formation. weighed about 65 lb (30 kg).
Even their eyes, muscles, and Impressions of its skin were also
intestines are well preserved, found, and holes within its bones reveal
along with their bones. the positions of blood vessels.

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