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The most northern fossil record of Panthera onca (Linnaeus, 1758) from Argentina is here reported. The specimen, PVE-F 130, represented by an articulated and well preserved cranium and mandible, atlas and a fragment of left humerus, was... more
The most northern fossil record of Panthera onca (Linnaeus, 1758) from Argentina is here reported. The specimen, PVE-F 130, represented by an articulated and well preserved cranium and mandible, atlas and a fragment of left humerus, was exhumed from levels assigned to the Río Bermejo Formation (late Pleistocene-early Holocene; ca. 12.0-9.7 ka), near Villa Escolar, Formosa Province. The associated paleofauna, comprised mostly of large and megafaunal mammals, has a clear taxonomic similarity to that of the Pampean region of Argentina, and suggests open arid to semiarid environments. Indeed, previous analyses of plant remains associated with these vertebrates support the predominance of mega/mesothermal grasslands characterized by C 3 /C 4 grass species.
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Research Interests: Taxonomy and Quaternary
Paleogene records of Cingulata Glyptodontidae are scarce. The only well described comes from the Paleogene of Argentine Patagonia. Two subfamilies have been reported for that period: Glyptatelinae and Propalaehoplophorinae. Until this... more
Paleogene records of Cingulata Glyptodontidae are scarce. The only well described comes from the Paleogene of Argentine Patagonia. Two subfamilies have been reported for that period: Glyptatelinae and Propalaehoplophorinae. Until this contribution, the latter taxon was geographically restricted to the locality of El Pajarito (Late Oligocene, Deseadan SALMA), Chubut province, Argentina. Here we present and describe the northernmost record of a Paleogene Propalaehoplophorinae. The material is represented by three associated osteoderms of the dorsal carapace from the Fray Bentos Formation (Late Oligocene, Deseadan SALMA) in the locality of Cueva del Tigre, Chajarí, Entre Ríos province, Argentina. Morphologically, these remains are almost identical to those reported from the late Oligocene of the Patagonian region, showing that during the Paleogene the Propalaehoplophorinae had a larger latitudinal distribution than previously known.
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Se lleva a cabo un estudio sistemático de los Glyptodontidae Hoplophorinae Hoplophorini (=Sclerocalyptini) y se evalúa su importancia como indicadores paleoambientales, paleobiogeográficos y bioestratigráficos. De este modo, se ha... more
Se lleva a cabo un estudio sistemático de los Glyptodontidae Hoplophorinae Hoplophorini (=Sclerocalyptini) y se evalúa su importancia como indicadores paleoambientales, paleobiogeográficos y bioestratigráficos. De este modo, se ha elaborado un moderno esquema nomenclatural, sistemático, paleobiogeográfico y bioestratigráfico de las diferentes especies reconocidas como válidas. Desde una perspectiva nomenclatural, este estudio ha conducido, siguiendo las disposiciones del Código Internacional de Nomenclatura Zoológica vigente, al reemplazo de los nombres de la subfamilia Sclerocalyptinae, de la tribu Sclerocalyptini y del género Sclerocalyptus por Hoplophorinae, Hoplophorini y Neosclerocalyptus, respectivamente. De igual modo, el uso prolongado de Glyptodontidae por sobre Hoplophoridae justifica su mantenimiento en carácter de nomen protectum. Previamente a esta contribución, era posible reconocer en la bibliografía ocho géneros y 26 especies de Glyptodontidae Hoplophorini. Eonaucum ...
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Research Interests: Geology and Geophysics
The Mylodontidae Scelidotheriinae (Mammalia, Xenarthra, Tardigrada) are a diversified clade of South American fossil ground sloths, with a wide geographic distribution, especially in high and middle latitudes. According to the last... more
The Mylodontidae Scelidotheriinae (Mammalia, Xenarthra, Tardigrada) are a diversified clade of South American fossil ground sloths, with a wide geographic distribution, especially in high and middle latitudes. According to the last revision, the Quaternary diversity includes the genera Scelidotherium, Catonyx, and Valgipes. The clade Scelidotheriinae is well represented in the Pleistocene of the Tarija-Padcaya basin, and the first mention of these ground sloths correspond to the middle of the XIX Century. Since then, several species (i.e., Scelidotherium tarijensis, Scelidodon tarijensis, Scelidotherium capellini) have been reported as inhabiting the Tarija-Padcaya basin during the Pleistocene. Despite the abundance of fossil records of Scelidotheriinae in this area, no modern taxonomic revisions are available. In consequence, in this contribution a revision of the remains assigned to Scelidotheriinae from the Tarija-Padcaya basin is accomplished, and some biostratigraphic and geogr...
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During the mid-19th century, the German naturalist Hermann Karsten conducted a 12-year exploration (1844–1856) in the territories of Ecuador, New Granada (now Colombia) and Venezuela, allowing him to produce important botanic, geographic... more
During the mid-19th century, the German naturalist Hermann Karsten conducted a 12-year exploration (1844–1856) in the territories of Ecuador, New Granada (now Colombia) and Venezuela, allowing him to produce important botanic, geographic and geologic descriptions with valuable information that permits us to refer to him as a pioneer in many of these topics. With his return to Europe, abundant geological, paleontological and living plant specimens were brought and housed in European museums and botanical gardens. The Karsten collection included an important invertebrate collection from the Cretaceous of the Andes of Colombia and Venezuela, which was studied and published by himself and the renowned German paleontologist Leopold von Buch, filling a large void in the knowledge about ancients faunas. H. Karsten's vertebrate collection was never illustrated or subjected to a detailed taxonomic study, being mentioned in scientific publications in a repetitive manner and with incorrect...
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Within the Late Neogene Glyptodontidae of the Pampean region of Argentina, “Urotheriumantiquum” was described on the basis of some associated osteoderms of the dorsal carapace,which in addition include a partial skull and left... more
Within the Late Neogene Glyptodontidae of the Pampean region of Argentina, “Urotheriumantiquum” was described on the basis of some associated osteoderms of the dorsal carapace,which in addition include a partial skull and left hemimandible. The diagnostic charac-ters are located on the exposed surface of the osteoderms of the dorsal carapace whichsomewhat resembles those of the Pleistocene genus Neuryurus. Although the relation-ship of “U. antiquum” to the remaining Glyptodontidae has never been clarified, somecladistic analyses suggest a close phylogenetic affinity with the clade composed of Plohopho-rus + (Glyptodon + Doedicurus). A careful comparison of “U. antiquum” to well-characterizedtaxa with similar stratigraphic and geographic provenance reveals that no significant skulldifferences are observed from Plohophorus figuratus Ameghino. It seems likely that thealleged ornamentation pattern that characterizes this species was produced by a tapho-nomic alteration of the exposed surface of the osteoderms, a process broadly distributedin glyptodonts having a “rosette” ornamentation pattern. Finally, some characters presentin the osteoderms of the type specimen of “U. antiquum” suggest that it may be a juvenilespecimen. In summary, “U. antiquum” should be considered a junior synonym of P. figuratus.
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A large diversity of Glyptodontidae has been proposed as characterizing the Chapadmalalan Age (Pliocene). Most of these taxa were recognized on the basis of partial dorsal carapaces and/or caudal tubes, whereas the main diagnostic... more
A large diversity of Glyptodontidae has been proposed as characterizing the Chapadmalalan Age (Pliocene). Most of these taxa were recognized on the basis of partial dorsal carapaces and/or caudal tubes, whereas the main diagnostic characteristic is a particular morphology of the exposed surface of the osteoderms. From a biostratigraphic point of view some species are biostratigraphically important. The Upper Chapadmalalan is based on the Paraglyptodon chapadmalensis biozone. Both the re-evaluation of the type and referred materials and new significant findings from the Chapadmalal and El Polvorín Formations indicate that the diversity of Pliocene Glyptodontidae is more limited than previously supposed. The particular morphology of the exposed surface of the osteoderms that characterizes some of the species actually corresponds to a taphonomic alteration, which results in a non-real ornamentation pattern. Thus, the Glyptodontinae P. chapadmalensis must be replaced as a fossil guide b...
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Sitio de la Asociación Peleontológica Argentina.
ABSTRACT NEW SPECIES OF GIANT TORTOISE OF THE GENUS CHELONOIDIS FITZINGER, 1835 (CRYPTODIRA: TESTUDINIDAE), FROM THE LOWER MEMBER OF THE TOROPÍ/ YUPOÍ FORMATION (LATE PLEISTOCENE/ LUJANIAN), BELLA VISTA, CORRIENTES, ARGENTINA. A new... more
ABSTRACT NEW SPECIES OF GIANT TORTOISE OF THE GENUS CHELONOIDIS FITZINGER, 1835 (CRYPTODIRA: TESTUDINIDAE), FROM THE LOWER MEMBER OF THE TOROPÍ/ YUPOÍ FORMATION (LATE PLEISTOCENE/ LUJANIAN), BELLA VISTA, CORRIENTES, ARGENTINA. A new species of giant tortoise from the upper section of the lower member of Toropí/ Yupoí Formation (late Pleistocene, 58–22 ka) is described. The holotype of this new species was recovered at Arroyo Toropí (10 km south from Bella Vista city, Corrientes Province, Argentina). The presence of pectoral scales in the plastron narrower in midline and antero-posteriorly expanded towards the marginal scutes, allow us to assign this tortoise to the genus Chelonoidis Fitzinger. The non parallel lateral margins, the peripheral bones lobed in the bridge, the elliptical depression on both sides of peripheral bones III, and a sub- rhomboidal entoplastron proximally broadening, with distal projections covering the pectoral scales, allow us to recognize a new species, Chelonoidis lutzae sp. nov. The strict consensus tree of the phylogenetic analysis of Chelonoidis shows a polytomy among Ch. lutzae sp. nov., ?Ch. gallardoi (Rovereto), ?Ch. australis (Moreno), and the extant and extinct species assigned to carbonaria and chilensis groups. The carbonaria group includes Ch. denticulata (Linnaeus) and another clade formed by Ch. carbonaria (Spix) and Ch. hesterna (Auffenberg). The chilensis group, includes two subclades, one composed by Ch. chilensis (Gray), Ch. petersi (Freiberg) and Ch. nigra (Quoy and Gaimard), and another formed by YPFBPAL 0932 and Ch. gringorum (Simpson). Using the “pruned tree” option of TNT an “extinct giant continental tortoise” clade (Ch. lutzae sp. nov. and ?Ch. australis) is recovered, clearly differentiated from the giant Galápagos tortoises.
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Research Interests: Geology and Geophysics
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Page 1. Nuevo Gliptodonte Cuaternario de la Provincia del Chaco (Argentina) Zurita, Alfredo E. PRINGEPA y Universidad Nacional del Nordeste. Ruta 5 km. 2.5 - (3400) Corrientes - Argentina. Tel./Fax: +54 (03783) 454417 - E-Mail:... more
Page 1. Nuevo Gliptodonte Cuaternario de la Provincia del Chaco (Argentina) Zurita, Alfredo E. PRINGEPA y Universidad Nacional del Nordeste. Ruta 5 km. 2.5 - (3400) Corrientes - Argentina. Tel./Fax: +54 (03783) 454417 - E-Mail: pringepa@compunort.com.ar ...
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... 1866; see Scillato-Yané & Carlini 1998; Fariña & Vizcaíno 1999). ... MDZA/LE: 0.66) (Table 1). The dorsal profile of skull is convex, with the parieto-occipital region directed downwards as in N.... more
... 1866; see Scillato-Yané & Carlini 1998; Fariña & Vizcaíno 1999). ... MDZA/LE: 0.66) (Table 1). The dorsal profile of skull is convex, with the parieto-occipital region directed downwards as in N. paskoensis and Eosclerocalyptus tapinocephalus ( Cabrera, 1939), although less ...
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Xenarthra is a monophyletic group, characterized by a particular skeletal architecture, different to other placental mammals. Its current distribution is exclusively Neotropical; however, the fossil record indicates a greater... more
Xenarthra is a monophyletic group, characterized by a particular skeletal architecture, different to other placental mammals. Its current distribution is exclusively Neotropical; however, the fossil record indicates a greater distribution. The aim of this paper is to provide an updated list of the Xenarthra of the lower to middle Pleistocene (Ensenadan Stage) of the Pampean Region (Argentina). The most conspicuous anatomical features that allowed the taxonomic identification of fossil remains, especially those of particular biostratigraphic interest, are also briefly described and figured here. We studied more than 700 fossil remains mostly housed in palaeontological collections of Argentina. The study of these specimens (from the Pampean Region), revealed that during the Pleistocene there were marked variations in the composition and distribution of the faunas in general and particularly in xenarthrans. This situation was closely related to the Great American Biotic Interchange and...
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The Xenarthra are a peculiar group of mammals, with a long and successful evolutionary history that took place in America during most of the Cenozoic, from the Early Paleocene to the present (Scillato-Yané 1986; Carlini et al. 2005; Hill... more
The Xenarthra are a peculiar group of mammals, with a long and successful evolutionary history that took place in America during most of the Cenozoic, from the Early Paleocene to the present (Scillato-Yané 1986; Carlini et al. 2005; Hill 2006). Their current diversity (about 13 genera with some 31 species) does not reflect the remarkable diversity that they reached in the past, with more than 160 genera (see McKenna and Bell 1997; Hoffstetter 1958; Paula Couto 1979) that probably included more than 400 species. The origin of this clade was quite probably in America, although fossil forms have also been found in Eocene sediments of Antarctica, from the time when the latter continent was connected to southern South America, during the Early Cenozoic (Carlini et al. 1990; Vizcaíno and Scillato-Yané 1995). In addition, in 1981 Eurotamandua was described for the European Eocene as a Vermilingua (Storch 1981), although the affinities of this species are a matter of controversy (Szalay and...
In the Pleistocene of South America three genera of Tardigrada Scelidotheriinae have been recognized as valid, Scelidotherium Owen, Valgipes Gervais, and Catonyx Lund. Recently, a fourth genus, Scelidodon Ameghino, has been considered of... more
In the Pleistocene of South America three genera of Tardigrada Scelidotheriinae have been recognized as valid, Scelidotherium Owen, Valgipes Gervais, and Catonyx Lund. Recently, a fourth genus, Scelidodon Ameghino, has been considered of uncertain validity. In this contribution we carried out a restudy of the holotype of “Scelidodon copei” (type species of the genus), including a comparison with other quaternary Scelidotheriinae. The evidence shows a remarkable morphological similarity between the holotype and juvenile specimens of Scelidotherium leptocephalum Owen, which in turn explains the small size mentioned by previous authors as a diagnostic feature.
The first records of Glyptodontinae Glyptodontidae come from the Miocene and Pliocene of northern South America (Boreostemma spp.), while the oldest records in southern South America (Argentina) correspond to the "Araucanian"... more
The first records of Glyptodontinae Glyptodontidae come from the Miocene and Pliocene of northern South America (Boreostemma spp.), while the oldest records in southern South America (Argentina) correspond to the "Araucanian" (late Miocene-early Pliocene) (Glyptodontidium tuberifer Cabrera). In this context, the Tertiary taxa of Glyptodontinae from southern South America ("Araucanian"-Marplatan) were scarcely known, and they were limited to a few fragments of the dorsal carapace. More precisely, in the Upper Chapadmalalan Stage/Age (late Pliocene) it is possible to recognise two species: Paraglyptodon dubius Castellanos and P. chapalmalensis (Ameghino in Rovereto); the latter is a guide fossil for this lapse. On the other hand, the "Mesopotamian" (Huayquerian-Montehermosan?; late Miocene-early Pliocene) was characterized by the presence of P. paranensis Castellanos. In this context, the systematic revision suggests that, in the Upper Chapadmalalan, the ...