The formal description of a liverwort from the Paraná Basin is presented. The fossil was found in the Rio Bonito Formation, Early Permian (Sakmarian), and is identified as a new species of the genus Hepaticites, named H. iporangae n. sp. The samples studied were collected from the macrofossil-rich roof-shale layer of the Quitéria Outcrop in the municipality of Encruzilhada do Sul, state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. H. iporangae is one of the oldest liverworts reported from South America. The fossil described here provides more evidence of the relative diversity of liverworts in Paleozoic Gondwana despite the severe climatic conditions during the glaciations of the Permo-Carboniferous.
Translator Disclaimer
ACCESS THE FULL ARTICLE

Journal of Paleontology
Vol. 85 • No. 2
March 2011
Vol. 85 • No. 2
March 2011
Bryophytes
Hepaticites
Paraná Basin
Permian
Rio Bonito Formation