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The Laboratorio de Paleontología de Vertebrados de la Universidad Nacional de la Patagonia San Juan Boscofor more than three decades has been systematically working in Cretaceous outcrops from the southcentral of Chubut and north of Santa Cruz. During all this time, the laboratory added to the knowledge on the paleoecologic dynamic of the vertebrate fauna, particularly, dinosaurs. The work and effort, not only allowed increasing the knowledge, but also the interaction with local and foreign colleagues and institutions. Thus, the laboratory, trough new research lines and projects continue working with the aim to contribute to the development of the Paleontology in general and the Paleoherpetology in particular of Argentina.

Paleontology in Northern Patagonia and the Museo Municipal “Argentino Urquiza” (Rincón de los Sauces, Neuquén) began practically together with the discovery of a specimen of a titanosaur sauropod dinosaur, considered one of the most complete ever found. This important event revealed the great paleontological potential of the area, attracting the attention of several paleoherpetologists who began to carry out fieldwork in search of new specimens. The successive findings subsequently made by the community residents in the town vicinity revealed the need to have a repository to protect the hundreds of jackets that were being recovered year after year in different fieldworks. The creation of a paleontological museum and the incorporation, some years later, of a permanent professional, were the relevant facts that allowed carrying out different projects and lines of research, which still continue today. The multidisciplinary development of research carried out with the support of paleoherpetologists from other national and international institutions favored the recovery of a diverse fauna of paleovertebrates from the Upper Cretaceous, allowing studies with systematic, evolutionary, paleoecological, sedimentological, paleobiogeographic, and taphonomic approaches, among others. The recently opened new museum building offers the possibility to grow not only in its infrastructure but also in an institutional aspect, making it a thriving research paleontological center of Patagonia.

Since the creation of the CRILAR (Centro Regional de Investigaciones Científicas y Transferencia Tecnológica) more than 20 years ago in the province of La Rioja, paleoherpetology has been present throughout its research and outreach history. In this paper, the details of its creation, its initial objectives, and the difficult first years are narrated. It will describe how and when the institute’s paleoherpetological studies began, as well as the discovery ofthe Sanagasta nesting site, the rediscovery of the Cretaceous of Los Llanos, the paleontological works in Quebrada Santo Domingo, and theinvestigations in the Triassic of the extraordinary Ischigualasto-Villa Unión Basin. In addition to the different lines of research, various colleagues who collaborate with CRILAR and the inter-institutional networks generated during its history are mentioned. CRILAR is the only CONICET research center in La Rioja Province, but it is also an institution for scientific outreach. These aspects are addressed in detail throughout this paper.

The beginnings of Argentine paleoherpetologydate back to the origins of science in the country. In its first decades, the “Bernardino Rivadavia” Argentine Museum of Natural Sciences in the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires and the La Plata Museum in the same province were key. To these two, a significant number of scientific institutions were added in different provinces, such as municipal and provincial museums, national universities or new research institutes of the CONICET, which were developed based on the increase in new lines of study and the formation of collections. Likewise, the institutions were strengthened with the incorporation of young paleoherpetologists from those same provinces or from other parts of the country and abroad. Currently, a significant number of researchers and technicians, including illustrators and paleoartists, are dedicated to the development of the discipline, not only contributing to the increase of paleoherpetological knowledge, both scientific and outreach, but also to the maintenance of natural parks and the promotion of tourism.

The study of marine reptiles in Argentina in gen-eral, and in the Museo de La Plata in particular, began with some brief descriptions by European researchers. The first local contributions date from the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century. During the latter period, contributions on marine reptiles from this institution were the result of fortuitous findings from geological surveys and not from specific paleontological fieldwork. In the 1970s, the situation changed when Zulma Brandoni de Gasparini started a research program at the Museo de La Plata, which is currently continued by some of her students. Since then and within the framework of this program, Mesozoic marine formations were prospected in several provinces of Argentina and in the Antarctic Peninsula as well. Also, numerous students were trained, many of whom are currently developing their research on Mesozoic marine reptiles at the Museo de La Plata and other renowned national scientific institutions.

In this contribution we survey the amphibian specimens that belong to the paleontological collection of the La Plata Museum, with focus on the significance of these finds. Most specimens have been collected in fossil sites where amphibian remains had previously been discovered and often during geological explorations and fieldtrips in search for other vertebrates. Notwithstanding, most amphibian specimens in this collection provide information that has contributed immensely to shed light on the evolution of the phylogenetic branches to which they belong, as well as on the taxonomic composition and distribution of the South American amphibian faunas. Materials include representatives of Triassic Temnospondyli, Jurassic Salientia, and Cretaceous and Cenozoic crown group Anura.

The museums and scientific institutions of Río Negro played an important role in the development of paleoherpetological studies. These were conducted mostly by professionals from different institutions of the country. However, most of the institutions from Río Negro constitute an important support, both as repositories of the collected materials as well as in their actions as logistical support in the organization of field work and assistance to research. Many of the Río Negro institutions have their own research staff. A large part of the studies carried out focused on Cretaceous herpetofauna, although also involving some materials from the Cenozoic.

In this study, we present a review of the stratigraphy and paleontological remains discovered during the last years in the Campo Chico Formation (Devonian), Sierra de Perijá, Venezuela. The Campo Chico Formation is composed of grey/white, sandstones and conglomerates, interbedded with mudstones and some thin localized coals. The formation is interpreted as a marginal continental cycle with some marine influence towards the top. The thickness of the Campo Chico Formation is about 450 meters. Campo Chico Formation was dated based upon miospore assemblages as middle Givetian–middle Frasnian. The fossil fauna has provided the first Devonian record for Venezuela, of three major fish groups: antiarch, placoderms, and dipnoans, with endemic elements of Gondwana affinities. The floral fossil, dominated by lycophytes, is the most diverse of mid–late Devonian age from Gondwana, and closely resemble the eastern North America (Euramerica). Plotting the Sierra de Perijá and New York floral occurrences onto the more recent palaeocontinental reconstructions for the Late Devonian, shows that the two localities were located in a warm temperate belt, between Gondwana and Euramerica. A narrow marine barrier separating the two continents is postulated for Campo Chico time.  

The Late Cretaceous theropod fauna of South America is composed of Abelisauridae, Noasauridae, Spinosauridae, Carcharodontosauridae, Megaraptora, and Coelurosauria. These groups include mostly small (Noasauridae and Coelurosauria) and medium- to large-sized taxa (Carcharodontosauridae, Abelisauridae, and Megaraptora). Some of these lineages are predominantly Gondwanic (Abelisauridae, Noasauridae, Carcharodontosauridae, Megaraptora) and poorly represented in Laurasian landmasses. Particularly, several theropods have been reported from Patagonia, known either due to distinct anatomical features or due to their high degree of preservation, such as Carnotaurus, Skorpiovenator, Giganotosaurus, Megaraptor, Alvarezsaurus, and Unenlagia. here we describe a new incomplete tibia (MAU-PV-CM-653) from the Sierra Barrosa Formation (middle Coniacian, Upper Cretaceous), Patagonia, Argentina. MAU-PV-CM-653 shows an anteroposteriorly reduced cnemial crest that is strongly curved laterally. Finally, the tibia lacks a proximal extension of the fibular crest. These traits are reminiscent of tetanuran morphology and, together with the stratigraphic provenance of MAU-PV-CM-653, they allow us to assign it to an allosauroid theropod, thus improving the Allosauroidea global record for the middle Late Cretaceous.

The freshwater mussels of the family Hyriidae (Bivalvia) are widespread in the Neotropical region, including several fossil and living species of the genus Diplodon Spix. A specimen assigned to Diplodon sp., recovered from the “Conglomerado osífero” (late Miocene) at La Toma Vieja, north of Paraná City (Entre Ríos Province, Argentina), is described herein. The report of Diplodon sp. in the “Conglomerado osífero” would support the traditional interpretation of a fluvial paleoenvironment for this horizon. This is the first accurate fossil record of the genus for the Entre Ríos Province, extending the occurrence of the family Hyriidae to the late Miocene of the Mesopotamian region.