New Steps and New Challenges to the Brazilian Dinosaur Track Researches

TheNew steps Brazilian research on dinosaur tracks is no more than one hundred years. Since the first studies in 1924 in the Rio do Peixe basinsRio do Peixe basins there was a great improvement in the use of the ichnological information to provide new insights into the paleoenvironmental and paleoecological interpretations and also into the paleobiological aspects of the dinosaurs from GondwanaGondwana. There is also the discovery of new tracksites and the comprehension of how the dinosaur footprints can allow a better understanding of the Mesozoic ecosystems. The use of dinosaur footprints as biostratigraphic and correlative tools in the Brazilian Mesozoic basinsMesozoic basins open new opportunities to evaluate the classic stratigraphic framework of some intracratonic and rift basinRift basins. The discovery of new ichnosites, the use of digital technologies, physical and chemical analysis of the footprint matrix allow a glimpse to the potential use in geology and paleobiology. There are many new challengesNew challenges to the continuity of the dinosaur tracks researches to the improvement of a new comprehension about dinosaurs, including their life environments, behavior and geographical distribution.