Dr. Simões, holder of a Doctorate (Direct Doctorate, 1992) in Geosciences, specializing in Sedimentary Geology, from IGc/USP. He holds the position of Full Professor (MS 6) of Paleontology at the Institute of Biosciences/UNESP, Campus of Botucatu, where he has been active since March 1990. He is interested in the use of fossil invertebrates, sedimentology, and stratigraphy in solving problems in Regional Geology, particularly for rock successions from the Ediacaran, Devonian, Permian, and Cretaceous periods, both in Brazil and abroad. He also has an interest in Actuopaleontology, particularly along the Brazilian continental margin. As a faculty member and supervisor (Master's/ in the Graduate Program in Geosciences and Environment at IGCE-UNESP, Rio Claro (Capes 5), He is committed to nurturing and guiding the next generation of scholars in the field. For over two decades, he served as a supervisor (Master's/ in the Graduate Program in Geochemistry and Geotectonics.
EDUCATION
Ph.D in Sedimentary Geology, Institute of Geosciences, University of São Paulo, 1992.
RESEARCH, TEACHING, or OTHER INTERESTS
Earth and Planetary Sciences, Paleontology, Geology, Stratigraphy
122
Scopus Publications
5842
Scholar Citations
44
Scholar h-index
128
Scholar i10-index
Scopus Publications
Depositional and stratigraphic evolution of a Permian megalake system: Implications for seiche-influenced models B. Christofoletti, L. V. Warren, F. G. Varejão, M. G. Rodrigues, M. G. Simões, et al. Depositional Record, 2026 The Permian succession of the Paraná Basin records the progressive disconnection from the Panthalassic Ocean that bathed the southwestern Gondwana Supercontinent from the Ordovician to the early Permian. The development of the Gondwanides Belt in the southwestern part of the continent acted as an orographic barrier, restricting marine connections and trapping marine waters in a megalake. In this study, we present a detailed analysis of the transition from marine to continental environments in the Serra Alta and Corumbataí formations, documenting high‐resolution stratigraphic sequences with significant hydrological and salinity changes. Our data illustrate how sedimentation and accommodation dynamics shaped the evolution of this continental‐scale lake system, which was greatly influenced by meteorological phenomena, including storms and seiches. The megalake experienced transitions between overfilled, brackish to freshwater balanced‐fill and saline underfilled stages, associated with distinct fourth‐order transgressive and regressive stratigraphic sequences. These changes in water balance and salinity fostered the development of a unique, endemic bivalve‐dominated fauna derived from marine ancestors, highlighting the basin's response to changing environmental conditions. Notably, this study identifies tectonic events and climate shifts as primary allogenic forces controlling deposition. Meanwhile, local sediment dynamics and episodic events such as storms and seiches originated key autogenic changes in the resulting stacking patterns. Such meteorological phenomena generated an intriguing heterolithic pattern in the fine‐grained lake deposits, which would otherwise be confused with astronomical tides. Our results provide insights into the understanding of sedimentological processes in large lacustrine systems, with implications for paleoclimatic and paleoenvironmental reconstructions in megalakes from the geological record.
Rebuilding Earth's first skeletal animals: The original morphology of Corumbella (Ediacaran, Brazil) Bruno Becker-Kerber, Javier Ortega-Hernández, James D. Schiffbauer, Rudy Lerosey-Aubril, Lucas Verissimo Warren, et al. Royal Society Open Science, 2025 The evolutionary onset of animal biomineralization in the late Ediacaran ( ca 555–538 Ma) is marked by the global appearance of enigmatic tubular fossils with unresolved phylogenetic relationships. Among these, Corumbella werneri from the Tamengo Formation (Corumbá Group, Brazil) has been variously interpreted as affiliated with cnidarians or bilaterians. Using synchrotron imaging and machine learning, we analysed new specimens of C. werneri to reconstruct their original skeletal organization. Our findings reveal that Corumbella’ s tubes were originally conico-cylindrical. Large individuals of Corumbella , including less compacted specimens, and compression experiments with modern annelid tubes all indicate that previous reconstructions of a quadrate outline and midline features were misled by taphonomic artefacts. We also show that the wall of Corumbella is composed of a single layer of ring-shaped elements. Unlike the fourfold symmetry of scyphozoans or the complex cataphract-like structures of Cambrian bilaterians (e.g. halkieriids, tommotiids and wiwaxiids), Corumbella displays structural similarities with other late Ediacaran corumbellomorphs, such as Costatubus . These taxa exhibit a distinctive barrel-on-barrel tube construction, with modular elements stacked on each other rather than nested. Our findings redefine Corumbella ’s morphology and phylogenetic affinities, contributing to a broader understanding of early biomineralizing metazoans and their ecological roles in the Ediacaran biosphere.
Not all shell beds are made equal: Recognizing singular event-concentrations in megalakes Mariza Gomes Rodrigues, Filipe Giovanini Varejão, Franz Theodor Fürsich, Beatriz Christofoletti, Suzana Aparecida Matos, et al. Sedimentology, 2024 Event deposition accounts for a large part of the preserved sedimentary record. Tempestites, tsunamites and turbidites are among the most common event deposits in marine and lacustrine systems. While facies models exist for these deposits, the challenge lies in the fact that diverse triggers can give rise to analogous depositional processes and comparable taphonomic features, making it difficult to pinpoint the precise trigger for an event bed. Hence, five distinct modern‐type shell concentrations are studied in Permian strata from the Paraná Basin, West Gondwana, to access the parameters to discriminate event phenomena, and their associated depositional and taphonomic processes. During this time interval, the basin underwent continuous continentalization due to orogenic events, leading to the entrapment of epeiric marine waters and the transformation of the system into a megalake, supporting a diverse and endemic freshwater bivalve fauna. While sedimentation was primarily influenced by meteorological events, certain stratigraphic intervals were also affected by tectonically active periods and meteor impact events. The different products are categorized into bioclastic sandstone, shell bed, shell‐rich phosclast rudstone and shell‐rich conglomerate that are interpreted as proximal and distal tempestites and tsunamites, respectively. Finally, the products and the processes that lead to the deposition of tempestites and tsunamites are compared to establish diagnostic signatures that may be applied to differentiate these event concentrations in analogous settings from the geological record.
Metacryphaeus rotundatus, a new element of the trilobite fauna Calmoniidae (Phacopida), of the Ponta Grossa Formation (Devonian), Parana Basin, Brazil Geologia USP Serie Cientifica, 2008
Paleobiological significance of clusters (clonal/gregarious) of Conularia quichua Ulrich, 1890 (Cnidaria), Ponta Grossa Formation, Devonian (Pragian-Emsian), Paraná Basin, Brazil Ameghiniana, 2006
Reinterpretation of Malvinoconularia cahuanotensis (Braniša and Vaněk) from the Devonian Altiplano and Western Andean Cordillera, Bolivia, South America Ameghiniana, 2006
Gênese e Classificação da Coquina de Camaquã, Formação Corumbataí (Neopermiano), na Região de Rio Claro, SP Anais Da Academia Brasileira De Ciencias, 1996
Runnegariella, a new genus of Megadesmidae (Pelecypoda) of the Corumbatai Formation (Upper Permian), Parana Basin, Brazil Geociencias Sao Paulo, 1995
RECENT SCHOLAR PUBLICATIONS
PALEOENVIRONMENTAL SIGNIFICANCE OF SAPROXYLIC INVERTEBRATE COPROLITES PRESERVED IN AGATHOXYLON FOSSIL WOOD FROM THE ARARIPE BASIN, BRAZIL A Santa Catharina, DL Nascimento, FG Varejão, MG Rodrigues, ... Evolving Earth, 100137 , 2026 2026
FERRAMENTAS NO ENSINO DE PALEONTOLOGIA JP Neves, LML Campos, MG Simões Paleontology in the classroom/Paleontologia na sala de aula, 454 , 2026 2026
Systematics and palaeogeographical implications of Early Devonian bivalves from the Ponta Grossa Formation, northwest border of the Paraná Basin, Brazil HGD Queiroz, G Kerber, B Becker-Kerber, ML Assine, MG Simões Historical Biology 38 (4), 968-1001 , 2026 2026 Citations: 1
Depositional and stratigraphic evolution of a Permian megalake system: Implications for seiche‐influenced models B Christofoletti, LV Warren, FG Varejão, MG Rodrigues, MG Simões, ... The Depositional Record 12 (2), e70067 , 2026 2026 Citations: 1
Early Cretaceous freshwater bivalves from northeastern Brazil: Insights into the evolutionary history of South American freshwater mussels VR Silva, VB Guerrini, FG Varejão, RC Silva, K Collins, IS Carvalho, ... Cretaceous Research 178, 106212 , 2026 2026
Tides of rebirth: A stratigraphic perspective on the Lazarus effect in freshwater bivalves in the Aptian-Albian Romualdo Formation, Araripe Basin, Brazil MG Simões, VB Guerrini, VR Silva, FG Varejao, SA Matos, MG Rodrigues, ... Cretaceous Research 175, 106165 , 2025 2025 Citations: 1
The record of Scalichnus ichnofabrics in ancient fluvial settings and its paleoecological significance DL Nascimento, RG Netto, MG Simões, FSB Ladeira, ML Assine Scientific Reports 15 (1), 37588 , 2025 2025 Citations: 1
Fossil wonders of anoxic worlds: Linking marine ingressions to early cretaceous Konservat-Lagerstätten from Brazil FG Varejão, LV Warren, ML Assine, MG Rodrigues, FT Fürsich, G Fauth, ... Global and Planetary Change 253, 104959 , 2025 2025 Citations: 3
Rebuilding Earth’s first skeletal animals: the original morphology of Corumbella (Ediacaran, Brazil) B Becker-Kerber, J Ortega-Hernández, JD Schiffbauer, R Lerosey-Aubril, ... Royal Society Open Science 12 (5) , 2025 2025 Citations: 3
Key patterns in exceptional fossil preservation since the rise of metazoans FG Varejão, RI Cerri, LV Warren, MG Rodrigues, SJ Puetz, PP de Lorenso, ... Earth-Science Reviews 262, 105065 , 2025 2025 Citations: 5
Early Cretaceous freshwater bivalves from northeastern Brazil: Insights into the evolutionary history of South American freshwater mussels VR Silva, VB Guerrini, FG Vareja, RC Silva, K Collins, IS Carvalho, ... CRETACEOUS RESEARCH 178, 25 , 2025 2025
Not all shell beds are made equal: Recognizing singular event‐concentrations in megalakes MG Rodrigues, F Giovanini Varejão, FT Fürsich, B Christofoletti, SA Matos, ... Sedimentology 71 (7), 2404-2447 , 2024 2024 Citations: 9
The Ediacaran paleontological record in South America LV Warren, B Becker-Kerber, L Inglez, FG Varejão, LPC Morais, ... Earth-Science Reviews 258, 104915 , 2024 2024 Citations: 4
Early Cretaceous bivalves of the Romualdo Formation, Araripe Basin, northeastern Brazil VB Guerrini, SA Matos, FT Fürsich, MG Rodrigues, FG Varejão, ... Cretaceous Research 161, 105910 , 2024 2024 Citations: 12
Origin and significance of macroscopic organic aggregates from the lacustrine Aptian Crato Konservat-Lagerstätte FG Varejão, LV Warren, MG Rodrigues, ML Assine, MG Simões Sedimentary Geology 470, 106692 , 2024 2024 Citations: 3
The hidden passive margins from the birth of SW Gondwana LV Warren, V Penzo, MJ Arrouy, L Gómez-Peral, RI Cerri, F Caxito, ... Brazilian Journal of Geology 54 (1), e20230063 , 2024 2024 Citations: 3
Ediacaran tectographs from the Itajaí Basin: A cautionary tale from the Precambrian BB Kerber, G Prado, NL Archilha, LV Warren, MG Simões, LM Lino, ... Precambrian Research 403, 107307 , 2024 2024 Citations: 5
Rising mollusk bivalves from the ashes: Geologic, biostratigraphic and evolutionary implications from tuff data in the Permian Corumbataí Formation, Paraná Basin, Brazil B Christofoletti, LV Warren, FG Varejão, MG Simões, LE Gómez-Peral, ... Journal of South American Earth Sciences 134, 104750 , 2024 2024 Citations: 6
A new condensed freshwater-brackish water bivalve-dominated assemblage in the Aptian Crato Formation, Araripe Basin, NE Brazil and its paleoenvironmental significance VR da Silva, FG Varejao, SA Matos, MG Rodrigues, LV Warren, ... Cretaceous Research 154, 105748 , 2024 2024 Citations: 7
The South American conservation paleobiology network MN Ritter, FM Archuby, F Cabrera Curbelo, CGD Francesco, F Erthal, ... Revista del Museo de La Plata. Mar del Plata , 2024 2024
MOST CITED SCHOLAR PUBLICATIONS
Elementos fundamentais de tafonomia M Holz, MG Simões Ed. Universidade , 2002 2002 Citations: 207
The puzzle assembled: Ediacaran guide fossil Cloudina reveals an old proto-Gondwana seaway LV Warren, F Quaglio, C Riccomini, MG Simões, DG Poiré, NM Strikis, ... Geology , 2014 2014 Citations: 199
Quantitative estimates of time-averaging in terebratulid brachiopod shell accumulations from a modern tropical shelf M Carroll, M Kowalewski, MG Simões, GA Goodfriend Paleobiology 29 (3), 381-402 , 2003 2003 Citations: 164
Reassessment of the phylogenetic position of conulariids (? Ediacaran‐Triassic) within the subphylum medusozoa (phylum cnidaria) H Van Iten, J de Moraes Leme, MG Simões, AC Marques, AG Collins Journal of Systematic Palaeontology 4 (2), 109-118 , 2006 2006 Citations: 161
Photography-based taxonomy is inadequate, unnecessary, and potentially harmful for biological sciences LMP Ceríaco, EE Gutiérrez, A Dubois, M Carr Zootaxa 4196 (3), 435-445 , 2016 2016 Citations: 149
Origin and early diversification of the phylum C nidaria V errill: major developments in the analysis of the taxon's P roterozoic–C ambrian history H Van Iten, AC Marques, JDM Leme, MLAF Pacheco, MG Simoes Palaeontology 57 (4), 677-690 , 2014 2014 Citations: 145
The transgressive-regressive cycle of the Romualdo Formation (Araripe Basin): Sedimentary archive of the Early Cretaceous marine ingression in the interior of Northeast Brazil MA Custódio, F Quaglio, LV Warren, MG Simões, FT Fürsich, ... Sedimentary geology 359, 1-15 , 2017 2017 Citations: 109
Mixed siliciclastic–carbonate sedimentation in an evolving epicontinental sea: Aptian record of marginal marine settings in the interior basins of north‐eastern Brazil FG Varejao, LV Warren, MG Simoes, LA Buatois, MG Mangano, ... Sedimentology 68 (5), 2125-2164 , 2021 2021 Citations: 103
Quantitative comparisons and models of time-averaging in bivalve and brachiopod shell accumulations RA Krause Jr, SL Barbour, M Kowalewski, DS Kaufman, CS Romanek, ... Paleobiology 36 (3), 428-452 , 2010 2010 Citations: 101
Towards an actualistic view of the Crato Konservat-Lagerstätte paleoenvironment: A new hypothesis as an Early Cretaceous (Aptian) equatorial and semi-arid wetland AC Ribeiro, GC Ribeiro, FG Varejão, LD Battirola, EM Pessoa, ... Earth-Science Reviews 216, 103573 , 2021 2021 Citations: 95
Exceptional preservation of soft tissues by microbial entombment: insights into the taphonomy of the Crato Konservat-Lagerstätte FG Varejão, LV Warren, MG Simões, FT Fürsich, SA Matos, ML Assine Palaios 34 (7), 331-348 , 2019 2019 Citations: 95
Ediacaran discs from South America: probable soft-bodied macrofossils unlock the paleogeography of the Clymene Ocean MJ Arrouy, LV Warren, F Quaglio, DG Poiré, MG Simões, MB Rosa, ... Scientific Reports 6 (1), 30590 , 2016 2016 Citations: 95
Abundant brachiopods on a tropical, upwelling-influenced shelf (Southeast Brazilian Bight, South Atlantic) M Kowalewski, MG Simões, M Carroll, DL Rodland Palaios 17 (3), 277-286 , 2002 2002 Citations: 94
Colonization of a ‘Lost World’: encrustation patterns in modern subtropical brachiopod assemblages DL Rodland, M Kowalewski, M Carroll, MG Simões Palaios 19 (4), 381-395 , 2004 2004 Citations: 85
Shell beds as paleoecological puzzles: a case study from the Upper Permian of the Paraná Basin, Brazil MG Simões, M Kowalewski Facies 38 (1), 175-195 , 1998 1998 Citations: 84
The dawn of animal skeletogenesis: Ultrastructural analysis of the Ediacaran metazoan Corumbella werneri LV Warren, MLAF Pacheco, TR Fairchild, MG Simões, C Riccomini, ... Geology 40 (8), 691-694 , 2012 2012 Citations: 81
Stromatolites from the Aptian Crato Formation, a hypersaline lake system in the Araripe Basin, northeastern Brazil LV Warren, FG Varejão, F Quaglio, MG Simões, FT Fürsich, DG Poiré, ... Facies 63 (1), 3 , 2017 2017 Citations: 77
Comments on paper by M. Arai" Aptian/Albian (Early Cretaceous) paleogeography of the South Atlantic: a paleontological perspective" ML Assine, F Quaglio, LV Warren, MG Simões Brazilian Journal of Geology 46, 03-07 , 2016 2016 Citations: 77
Paleoecology and evolution of Permian bivalve faunas (Paraná Basin) in Brazil MG Simões, AC Rocha-Campos, LE Anelli Bivalves; an eon of evolution; paleobiological studies hororing Norman D. Newell , 1998 1998 Citations: 75
Drill holes in shells of Permian benthic invertebrates M Kowalewski, MG Simões, FF Torello, LHC Mello, RP Ghilardi Journal of Paleontology 74 (3), 532-543 , 2000 2000 Citations: 74