Santa Maria (Rio Grande do Sul)

Santa Maria is a municipality in the central region of Rio Grande do Sul, the southernmost state of Brazil.

Paleontology
The city is the birthplace of Paleorrota and paleontology in Rio Grande do Sul and Brazil. In 1902, a Rhynchosaur was collected in Santa Maria, on what is considered to be the first fossil to be found in South America. Llewellyn Ivor Price, a Santa Maria-born paleontologist and one of the first Brazilian ones, collected a Staurikosaurus, the first Brazilian dinosaur. The city is located on a huge deposit of fossils, with more than 20 Paleontological Sites.

Paleontological Sites of the City

 * 1) Paleontological Site Arroio Cancela.
 * 2) Paleontological Site Largo Padre Daniel Cargnin.
 * 3) Paleontological Site Bela Vista.
 * 4) Paleontological Site Jazigo Cinco.
 * 5) Paleontological Site Sanga da Alemoa.