A New Glyptodont (Xenarthra: Cingulata) from the Late Miocene of Argentina: New Clues About the Oldest Extra-Patagonian Radiation in Southern South America

Barasoain, Daniel; Zurita, Alfredo Eduardo; Croft, Darin A.; Montalvo, Claudia I.; Contreras, Víctor Hugo; Miño-Boilini, Ángel R.; Tomassini, Rodrigo Leandro

doi:10.1007/s10914-021-09599-w

Cited by 16 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 70 publications

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“…5C) also show a "rosette" ornamentation pattern. This pattern is identified in all specimens and is similar to that described by Barasoain et al (2022) for glyptodonts from CAF levels cropping out in the Chasicó creek (e.g., PV-UNS-260). These authors suggested the existence of a single morphotype for the Chasicoan assemblages from central Argentina, which corresponds to Kelenkura castroi, recently described and not linkable with any of the known Glyptodontidae tribes (Barasoain et al, 2022).…”

Section: Taxonomic and Biostratigraphic Analysessupporting

confidence: 83%

“…This pattern is identified in all specimens and is similar to that described by Barasoain et al (2022) for glyptodonts from CAF levels cropping out in the Chasicó creek (e.g., PV-UNS-260). These authors suggested the existence of a single morphotype for the Chasicoan assemblages from central Argentina, which corresponds to Kelenkura castroi, recently described and not linkable with any of the known Glyptodontidae tribes (Barasoain et al, 2022). The slight variations in the ornamentation of osteoderms probably led to the identification of several taxa in previous works, but it would be the result of taphonomic processes (e.g., abrasion, weathering, soil corrosion), that modified their external surface.…”

Section: Taxonomic and Biostratigraphic Analysessupporting

confidence: 83%

“…Most of the recovered specimens correspond to osteoderms of the dorsal carapace, caudal rings, and caudal tube fragments of xenarthran cingulates (67.44%; MNE=234); this predominance is related to its great preservation potential due to the high number of osteoderms present in a single dorsal carapace (Gillette and Ray, 1981;Montalvo et al, 2016). This characteristic was reported in several late Cenozoic deposits of the Pampean region (Montalvo, 2004;Sostillo, 2016;Montalvo et al, 2016Montalvo et al, , 2022, including the Chasicoan levels of the CAF in the Chasicó creek (Barasoain et al, 2022). The remaining specimens (32.56%; MNE=113) include cranial and postcranial elements corresponding to other mammal groups.…”

Section: Taphonomic Analysismentioning

confidence: 55%

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On the validity of the Macrochorobates scalabrinii Biozone (early Huayquerian Stage/Age, Late Miocene). Multi-proxy analysis of the enigmatic Arenas Blancas site (Buenos Aires Province, Argentina)

Tomassini¹,

Montalvo²,

Beilinson³

et al. 2023

andgeo

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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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Section: Taxonomic and Biostratigraphic Analysessupporting

confidence: 83%

Section: Taxonomic and Biostratigraphic Analysessupporting

confidence: 83%

Section: Taphonomic Analysismentioning

confidence: 55%

See 1 more Smart Citation

On the validity of the Macrochorobates scalabrinii Biozone (early Huayquerian Stage/Age, Late Miocene). Multi-proxy analysis of the enigmatic Arenas Blancas site (Buenos Aires Province, Argentina)

Tomassini¹,

Montalvo²,

Beilinson³

et al. 2023

andgeo

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“…Most of the taxonomic and phylogenetic arrangements proposed for fossil cingulates are mainly based on morphological features of the exposed surface of dorsal carapace osteoderms, such as shape, ornamentation pattern, and number, size, and location of foramina. However, the almost exclusive use of osteoderms as diagnostic elements to differentiate species (in several cases, isolated osteoderms without data on their provenance or certainty about their location in the dorsal carapace, among other factors) has led to several species being named that were later recognized to be invalid and an overestimation of the diversity of the clade (Zurita et al 2016(Zurita et al , 2017Barasoain et al 2022). Recently, taphonomic analyses have begun to be applied as a complementary tool to understand how osteoderms have been modified by taphonomic processes and, on this basis, to solve taxonomic issues involving Cenozoic representatives of this group.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Recently, taphonomic analyses have begun to be applied as a complementary tool to understand how osteoderms have been modified by taphonomic processes and, on this basis, to solve taxonomic issues involving Cenozoic representatives of this group. These studies have proposed that some taxa of glyptodonts (Urotherium antiquum, U. simplex, Paraglyptodon chapadmalensis, Trachycalyptus chapadmalensis, Lomaphorus chapalmalensis) were identified and characterized based on osteoderms affected by different processes (i.e., weathering, abrasion, soil corrosion) that modified the original ornamentation patterns and, therefore, resulted in taxonomic misidentifications (Zurita et al 2016(Zurita et al , 2017Barasoain et al 2022;Tomassini et al 2023).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Armadillo Osteoderms Altered by Digestion and How Taphonomy Can Help Taxonomy

Tomassini

Marin-Monfort

García-Morato

et al. 2023

Palaios

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Diverse modifications of the original morphological features occur throughout the taphonomic history of osteological remains, which may lead in erroneous interpretations about the formation of an accumulation as well as taxonomic misidentifications. Here, we present a neo-taphonomic study in order to analyze and interpret the modifications generated by digestion on osteoderms of the armadillo Dasypus novemcinctus obtained from scats produced by Puma concolor. Results reveal intense breakage and modifications of the articular and broken edges, dorsal surface, bone tissues, and ornamentation pattern of the osteoderms. This work describes for the first time the modifications caused by digestion in armadillo osteoderms, improving the knowledge of preservation of this type of skeletal element and providing a modern analog that can be used to distinguish archeological and paleontological accumulations formed by predators from those generated by other processes. The recognition that digestion modifies the original ornamentation pattern is particularly significant because ornamentation features are used in nearly all taxonomic and phylogenetic studies of fossil cingulates. We use this new information to re-evaluate osteoderms recovered from carnivore coprolites of the classic Middle Miocene La Venta site (Colombia), which formed the basis for recognizing and characterizing the dasypodid species Nanoastegotherium prostatum. We highlight the importance of knowing with certainty the origin and taphonomic history of remains since, in the particular case of cingulates, taxonomic identification also has important biostratigraphic, paleoecological, paleoenvironmental, and paleobiogeographical implications.

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The last horned armadillos: phylogeny and decline of Peltephilidae (Xenarthra, Cingulata)

Barasoain

Croft

Zurita

et al. 2023

Papers in Palaeontology

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Peltephilidae (Xenarthra, Cingulata) is an ancient lineage of medium–large‐sized ‘armadillos’ from South America, characterized by chisel‐shaped molariforms, a U‐shaped dental arcade, and cephalic osteoderms modified into hornlike structures. Although the biochron of the group extends from the early Eocene to the Late Miocene, the most abundant and complete records come from the Early Miocene of Patagonia. Remains from the Late Miocene are very scarce, and the last records of the group are from the Chasicoan Stage (Tortonian). The only taxon known from this interval is Epipeltephilus kanti from the Arroyo Chasicó Formation (9.23 ± 0.09 Ma; Buenos Aires Province, Argentina), a species previously represented only by a few isolated osteoderms. Here we report new remains assigned to E. kanti from the Late Miocene of Loma de Las Tapias Formation (c. 9.0–7.8 Ma; San Juan Province, Argentina), including a hemimandible and several fixed and mobile osteoderms. These new specimens constitute the youngest record of Peltephilidae. The inclusion of E. kanti within Epipeltephilus and the monophyly of the genera Peltephilus and Epipeltephilus are corroborated for the first time through a cladistic analysis. The decline and eventual disappearance of this ‘armadillo’ group in the Late Miocene is chronologically coincident with the replacement of subtropical/tropical environments by more open and arid ones and with the proliferation of other large armadillos such as Vetelia, Macrochorobates, and Macroeuphractus.

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A New Glyptodont (Xenarthra: Cingulata) from the Late Miocene of Argentina: New Clues About the Oldest Extra-Patagonian Radiation in Southern South America

Cited by 16 publications

References 70 publications

On the validity of the Macrochorobates scalabrinii Biozone (early Huayquerian Stage/Age, Late Miocene). Multi-proxy analysis of the enigmatic Arenas Blancas site (Buenos Aires Province, Argentina)

On the validity of the Macrochorobates scalabrinii Biozone (early Huayquerian Stage/Age, Late Miocene). Multi-proxy analysis of the enigmatic Arenas Blancas site (Buenos Aires Province, Argentina)

Armadillo Osteoderms Altered by Digestion and How Taphonomy Can Help Taxonomy

The last horned armadillos: phylogeny and decline of Peltephilidae (Xenarthra, Cingulata)

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