REDESCOBERTA DO AFLORAMENTO CERRO CHATO, UM IMPORTANTE SÍTIO FOSSILÍFERO PARA O PERMIANO DA BACIA DO PARANÁ

The Rediscovery of the Cerro Chato Outcrop, an Important Permian Fossil Site of the Paraná Basin. The Cerro Chato outcrop, Dom Pedrito municipality, Rio Grande do Sul (Brazil), represents an important fossil site for the understanding of the environmental changes that occurred throughout the end of the Paleozoic, culminating in the largest extinction event recorded thus far. The sedimentary beds of the Cerro Chato outcrop yield a unique fossil content, documenting a rich association of plants and fish remains. The taphoflora preserved in the outcrop documents an important evolutionary stage of the flora that inhabited lacustrine and lagoon environments during the continentalization of Paraná Basin depositional systems. Here we address the rediscovery of this important fossil site, whose geographic location was unknown for decades, preventing scientific research and the duly preservation of the outcrop. In this sense, the Cerro Chato outcrop is re-introduced to the scientific community and general public through revealing its precise location, its geological context and the discovery of completely new fossiliferous levels. Our work contributes to the expansion of paleontological data recorded for this location and the furtherance of the preservation of this important Brazilian paleontological site. Keywords: Permian, Gondwana, Rio do Rasto Formation, Taphoflora.