Vetelia is a Miocene genus of armadillos from Argentina and Chile, traditionally included within the subfamily Euphractinae (Chlamyphoridae, Cingulata, Xenarthra). It includes the species Vetelia puncta (early-middle Miocene), Vetelia perforata (middle-late Miocene), and Vetelia gandhii (late Miocene), mostly known by isolated osteoderms. In this contribution, we provide the first description of the skull for this genus, based on new materials here assigned to V. gandhii . A detailed characterization allows us to amend the diagnosis of the three known species, and to include, for the first time, the genus Vetelia into a morphological phylogenetic analysis. Phylogenetic results reveal a closer affinity to the Tolypeutinae, including the extant genera Priodontes (giant armadillos), Cabassous (naked-tailed armadillos), and Tolypeutes (three banded armadillos), and the fossil genera Pedrolypeutes and Kuntinaru, than to the Euphractinae. More specifically, Vetelia is included within the Priodontini, as sister group of the clade composed by Cabassous + Priodontes. Taking into account the scarce record of fossil Tolypeutinae, this new proposal fills an important temporal gap in the evolutionary history of this linage. Finally, we also provide new information on the diagnostic morphological characters of the Priodontini and Tolypeutini.
Arenas Blancas is a poorly known fossiliferous site located in the lower reach of the Chasicó creek (Buenos Aires Province, Argentina), with great relevance from a biostratigraphic viewpoint. The Macrochorobates scalabrinii Biozone was defined in this site, proposed as the biostratigraphic basis of the early Huayquerian Stage/Age (Late Miocene); however, the geological context and faunal record of this site have never been studied in detail. In this work, we perform a multi-proxy analysis of the Arenas Blancas site, as well as a nearby site here called Curva de la Vaca, and provide new interpretations on their origin, age, and biostratigraphy. Sedimentological, stratigraphic, and geomorphological characteristics of both sites suggest that the sequences include fluvial/alluvial deposits that represent Quaternary terraces. The taxonomic analysis of the Arenas Blancas faunal assemblage evidences the presence of 14 mammal taxa, together with some fishes, reptiles, and birds; the assemblage is correlated with the assemblage from the Cerro Azul Formation assigned to the Chasicoan Stage/Age (Late Miocene), also recovered from the lower reach of the Chasicó creek. The use of the taxa proposed in previous works to characterize the Macrochorobates scalabrinii Biozone (including this species) is not supported due to their taxonomic status and/or temporal distribution. Taphonomic evaluation indicates that the assemblage is constituted by reworked specimens; in this frame, it is proposed that fluvio/alluvial events, occurred during the Late Pleistocene-Holocene, eroded the Upper Miocene substrate and reworked fossil remains. Based on the present evidence, the Macrochorobates scalabrinii Biozone is here rejected as a valid biostratigraphic unit.
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