Anuário do Instituto de Geociências (Jul 2006)
A Paleoautoecologia de Tijubina pontei Bonfim-Júnior &Marques, 1997 (Lepidosauria, Squamata Basal da Formação Santana, Aptiano da Bacia do Araripe Cretáceo Inferior do Nordeste do Brasil).
Abstract
Tijubina pontei is a basal lizard found in the Crato Member, SantanaFormation, Lower Cretaceous (Aptian), Brazil. It is considered a sister group of Huehuecuetzpalli mixtetus, the only basal lizard previously known, found in Mexico. The paleoautoecology of T. pontei is compatible with a terrestrial animal, omnivorous, which could eventually occupy other ecological niches. Based on their dentition and ecomorphology, their behaviour could be a combination of active forager or a “sit-and-wait” one. It could even perform bipedal locomotion. Comparing T. pontei with Liolaemus lutzae, an extantbrazilian lizard, we find many characters and morphological similarities. This suggests that the L. lutzae habits could be extrapolated to the paleoenvironment of T. pontei which, probably, lived in a sandy habitat, with a vegetation that could support variations in salinity and high temperatures.
