Estudos morfo-taxonômicos de discinídeos (Brachiopoda, Lophotrochozoa) da Sub-bacia Alto Garças, Formação Ponta Grossa, Mato Grosso do Sul, Brasil

Abstract

The Devonian strata of the Paraná Basin in Brazil are represented in the northwestern (Alto Garças sub-basin) and eastern (Apucarana sub-basin) portions, which presents a considerable variety of fossil organisms, including representatives of the Discinidea family. This work aims to analyze the morphology of the discinids Gigadiscina collis, Orbiculoidea baini, Orbiculoidea bodenbenderi and Orbiculoidea excentrica, found in the surrounding areas of the Rio Verde de Mato Grosso city - MS, Brazil. The fossils were collected in rescue fashion from the mining pits in the region, then identified through comparative morpho-taxonomic analysis with previous works, including a brief analysis of taphonomic patterns, and organized in a stratigraphic analysis compared with the occurrences of the same species in other regions. This study resulted in the creation of a visual representation in the form of an ID table to depict the diagnostical characters of the identified species, in addition to the creation of artistic representations of the live appearance of these organisms, through a comparative study with the extant genera Discinisca and Discradisca.