Special volume 'Cretaceous tetrapods from South America'.

The article focuses on the significance of South American Cretaceous tetrapod fossils in advancing palaeontological knowledge, highlighting the continent’s unique faunal assemblages shaped by geographic isolation during the Cretaceous Period (145–66 million years ago). It discusses the marked increase in discoveries and research over the past four decades, particularly in Argentina and Brazil, while noting persistent geographic and taxonomic sampling biases in databases like the Paleobiology Database (PBDB). The article emphasizes the importance of expanding research to underexplored regions such as Chile and Colombia to gain a more comprehensive understanding of South American tetrapod biodiversity and evolution. This special volume presents eight studies addressing systematics, phylogeny, palaeoecology, and other aspects to fill key gaps in the knowledge of South American Cretaceous tetrapods.