Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41606015›Full record

ArticleScientific reports2026

The smallest tetrapod from the Middle Triassic of South America: a new procolophonoid parareptile from the Ladinian of Southern Brazil.

Rodrigo T Müller, Lúcio Roberto-da-Silva, Pedro Lucas Porcela Aurélio, Leonardo Kerber

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Article in Scientific reports, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

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3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Article
4 · The record

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PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors.

Rodrigo T MüllerCentro de Apoio À Pesquisa Paleontológica da Quarta Colônia, Universidade Federal de Santa Maria, Rua Maximiliano Vizzotto, 598, São João do Polêsine, Rio Grande do Sul, 97230-000, Brazil. rodrigotmuller@hotmail.com.
Lúcio Roberto-da-SilvaEscola Estadual de Ensino Médio Virgilino Jayme Zinn, 24ª Coordenadoria Regional de Educação, Cachoeira do Sul, Rio Grande do Sul, 96505-110, Brazil.
Pedro Lucas Porcela Aurélio, Cachoeira do Sul, Brazil.
Leonardo KerberCentro de Apoio À Pesquisa Paleontológica da Quarta Colônia, Universidade Federal de Santa Maria, Rua Maximiliano Vizzotto, 598, São João do Polêsine, Rio Grande do Sul, 97230-000, Brazil.

Funding

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico 303034/2022-0
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

The Middle Triassic fossil record of South American parareptiles is scarce, with only a few procolophonoid specimens known. Here, we describe Sauropia macrorhinus gen. et sp. nov., a procolophonoid from the Ladinian (Pinheiros-Chiniquá Sequence of the Santa Maria Supersequence) of southern Brazil. The holotype, a nearly complete skull measuring only 9.5 mm in length, represents the smallest tetrapod known from these deposits. Its unique combination of features includes a proportionally large external naris, slender dorsal ramus of the maxilla, broad interorbital space, and three premaxillary teeth. Phylogenetic analyses consistently recover Sauropia macrorhinus gen. et sp. nov. as an early-diverging procolophonid, although its phylogenetic placement is complicated by its putatively immature ontogenetic stage. Its morphology provides valuable insight into early developmental stages of parareptiles and contributes to the understanding of Middle Triassic terrestrial ecosystems. Based on size and dentition, the new taxon was likely insectivorous or fed on other small invertebrates, possibly being predated upon by small carnivorous organisms. This discovery expands the taxonomic and ecological diversity known for Middle Triassic faunas of South America and enhances our understanding of the structure and complexity of terrestrial food webs in Middle Triassic ecosystems, preceding the Carnian Pluvial Episode and the rise of dinosaurs.

Indexed as

FossilsReptilesAnimalsBiological EvolutionBrazilPhylogenySkullTooth

Identifiers

PMID41606015
PMCPMC12852135

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.