First report of pterosaur remains from the Lower Cretaceous Quiricó Formation, São Francisco Basin (Minas Gerais), Brazil

The record of pterosaur fossils in Brazil is significant, however, it remains limited to a few sedimentary basins from the Cretaceous period. This study describes an isolated pterosaur tooth assigned to Ornithocheiriformes, collected from the Quiricó Formation, São Francisco Basin, Early Cretaceous (Aptian), of Minas Gerais State. The tooth was found in association with fossil plants and articulate gonorynchiform fishes. The tooth has a narrow elliptical cross-section, with marked mesial and distal carinae bearing no denticles. In lateral view, the tooth is triangular, being slightly curved lingually. The enamel is thin with no striations. These features, coupled with the Lower Cretaceous age of the deposits it was found, suggest the tooth belongs to an ornithocheiriform pterosaur. This finding represents the first report of pterosaur material from the São Francisco Basin and fills a geographical gap when previous records of ornithocheiriforms in Brazil are considered (Araripe, Bauru, Grajaú, and Recôncavo basins), suggesting a broader distribution of these flying archosaurs in Brazil. Also, this new ornithocheiriform record in the São Francisco Basin strengthen the similarity of its vertebrate fauna to the vertebrates found in Kem Kem Beds in Morocco.