Abstract Although Permian fossils have been known from the Parnaíba Basin for two centuries, and some faunal and flora elements are well known worldwide, research on the fossil assemblages from this basin has lagged relative to other, more accessible basins. In the last decade, however, there has been a significant increase in the study of fossils from the two Permian units of the basin: the Pedra de Fogo and Motuca formations. The goal of this contribution is to synthesize and update the existing data on the Permian macrofossils from these formations, and to use them to address biostratigraphic, palaeoenvironmental and palaeogeographical questions. The Pedra de Fogo and Motuca formations are likely to be Cisuralian in age. Contrary to previous reports, there is more than one stratigraphic interval that preserves petrified fossil plants. The possible marine influence proposed for the Pedra de Fogo Formation must be reassessed based on the strongly terrestrial character of its fossil assemblages. Palaeoenvironmental and palaeoclimatic conditions are inferred to be wetter than is typically predicted for this region of the globe based on climatic modelling. Despite sharing some taxa with the Euramerican and Gondwanan biogeographical provinces, the Parnaíba Basin was likely to have been part of a distinct biogeographical province, as indicated by the high degree of endemism displayed by its Permian floras and faunas.

Abstract Sir Arthur Smith Woodward published many scientific works on fossil fishes from Brazil, among them the description of 14 new species and the redefinition of two lectotypes. This paper provides an illustrated, taxonomic update on the following taxa, together with comments on their repository and other relevant remarks: Lissodus nitidus ( Woodward, 1888 ), Rhinoptera prisca Woodward, 1907 , ‘ Lepidotes ’ mawsoni Woodward, 1888 , ‘ Lepidotes ’ souzai Woodward, 1908 a , Calamopleurus mawsoni ( Woodward, 1902 ), ‘ Belonostomus ’ carinatus Mawson & Woodward, 1907 , Paleopiquitinga brasiliensis ( Woodward, 1939 ), Lignobrycon ligniticus ( Woodward, 1898 ), Brycon avus ( Woodward, 1898 ), Steindachneridion iheringi ( Woodward, 1898 ), Scombroclupeoides scutata ( Woodward, 1908 a ), Macracara prisca Woodward, 1939 , Mawsonia gigas Woodward, 1907 , Mawsonia minor Woodward, 1908 a ; Vinctifer comptoni ( Agassiz, 1841 ) and Notelops brama ( Agassiz, 1841 ).

Abstract There is general agreement that a tight relationship exists between evolutionary histories of living lineages and the shifting geography of the Earth during the Phanerozoic, but how to depict that link has been much disputed in recent decades. The issue is fundamental, as it involves two supposedly-irreconcilable paradigms for how we interpret past and present distributions: the Darwin–Wallace biogeographic paradigm that involves dispersal from centres of origin, and the vicariance paradigm. When dealing with extinct organisms, for which we have only sparse and fragmentary fossil remains, the limit between the two paradigms becomes blurred. Here, all available data about time (stratigraphy) and space (palaeogeography) need to be gathered in order to detect biogeographical signals. Because of the incompleteness of the fossil record, the analyses may lead to storytelling style descriptions of biogeographic scenarios (phylogenies are often weakly supported, datings are frequently vague and occurrences are sparse). But these scenarios are always open to refutation if new fossils are found and, accordingly, are genuine scientific hypotheses. The Darwin–Wallace biogeographic paradigm and the vicariance paradigm have been described as the extreme points of a pendulum; in this book, examples of relationships between the evolutionary history of fish clades and the break-up of Pangaea are described using approaches that lie between these extreme points of the pendulum.