Anatomy, possible sexual dimorphism, and phylogenetic affinities of a new mylodontine sloth from the late Pleistocene of intertropical Brazil

Cartelle, Cástor; Iuliis, Gerardo De; Boscaini, Alberto; Pujos, François

doi:10.1080/14772019.2019.1574406

Cited by 33 publications

(64 citation statements)

References 38 publications

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“…Varela et al () position the lestodontine sloths as the sister group of a clade that includes Pleurolestodon , Simomylodon , Glossotherium and Paramylodon , with Mylodon as an external taxon to this clade and the lestodontines. A similar result is obtained by Cartelle et al (), suggesting that the lestodontines could occupy a different position than that observed in previous phylogenetic studies (e.g., Gaudin, , ).…”

Section: Introductionsupporting

confidence: 88%

“…The earliest well‐documented osteoderms in mylodontids are those of S. uccasamamensis , which have been recovered in association with an almost complete skull (MNHN‐Bol V 3726) from the early Pliocene of Casira (southern Bolivia). The presence of dermal ossicles is reported for later well‐known mylodontines, such as the genera Paramylodon , Glossotherium and Mylodon , but also for Ocnotherium , Oreomylodon and Mylodonopsis , whose phylogenetic affinities are still under study (Cartelle et al, ; McDonald, ). Osteoderms have never been detected in any other mylodontid lineage (with the exception of Valgipes , as noted above), including lestodontine sloths (Cartelle et al, ; McDonald, ; Webb, ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

“…We maintained the same ordination of the craniodental features (1-286) as Gaudin (2004). Only five of the 286 features were modified from the original formulation, following Cartelle et al (2019). Characters 6 (ordered) and 25 (unordered) were modified as follows: "char.…”

Section: Charactersmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In these studies, lestodontines are considered the most derived subgroup of Mylodontinae, thus constituting the tribe Lestodontini (sensu Gaudin, 2004). However, this result is not reflected in other recent studies (Cartelle et al, 2019;Haro et al, 2016Haro et al, , 2017Varela et al, 2018). In Haro et al (2016Haro et al ( , 2017, Lestodontini is not even retrieved as a monophyletic group, a probable consequence of the lack of phylogenetic signal in their matrices, the analyses of which provide an extremely high number of most parsimonious trees (MPTs).…”

mentioning

confidence: 93%

“…BOSCAINI et Al. Argentina;Brambilla & Ibarra, 2019) and Glossotherium phoenesis (late Pleistocene of intertropical Brazil; Cartelle et al, 2019), performing phylogenetic analyses largely based on the craniodental data set of Gaudin (2004).…”

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confidence: 99%

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A reappraisal of the phylogeny of Mylodontidae (Mammalia, Xenarthra) and the divergence of mylodontine and lestodontine sloths

2019

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The phylogeny of mylodontid sloths has recently been the subject of multiple studies. Contrasting hypotheses have been proposed, especially for the relationships among late Miocene–Pleistocene mylodontines and lestodontines. In this paper, a new and detailed phylogenetic analysis is conducted, after adding new characters and taxa previously unexplored from a phylogenetic point of view. New features derived from postcranial skeletal anatomy are added to previous studies based on craniodental evidence. In this way, the current reappraisal represents the first exhaustive phylogenetic study on the Mylodontidae that incorporates features coded for the entire skeleton. When available, multiple specimens of each bony element are observed for each operational taxonomic unit, in order to take into account intraspecific variation. The taxonomic sample of this study considers Mylodontinae at the specific level. However, many other Mylodontidae are considered, and their phylogenetic relationships tested. The taxonomic sample of this study is enriched with new taxa from central and northern South America, with the aim of compensating for the knowledge bias in favour of austral mylodontids, which have historically been more extensively studied than those from tropical latitudes. Special emphasis is given to the phylogenetic relationships of Mylodontinae, and particularly to the mylodontine and lestodontine sloths, that are recovered in the present study as monophyletic clades, and together form a larger monophyletic group. According to the present results, the Mylodontini–Lestodontini split occurred at the middle–late Miocene transition, giving rise to independent adaptive radiations across South and North America.

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Section: Introductionsupporting

confidence: 88%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Section: Charactersmentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 93%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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A reappraisal of the phylogeny of Mylodontidae (Mammalia, Xenarthra) and the divergence of mylodontine and lestodontine sloths

2019

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The dermal armor of mylodontid sloths (Mammalia, Xenarthra) from Cueva del Milodón (Última Esperanza, Chile)

Toledo

Boscaini

Pérez

2021

Journal of Morphology

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Dermal ossifications (osteoderms, dermal ossicles, osteoscutes) appear independently in various tetrapod lineages. In mammals, however, dermal ossifications are only present in some members of Xenarthra. This clade includes Cingulata (armadillos and their relatives), and Pilosa, including Vermilingua (anteaters) and Folivora (sloths). In extant xenarthrans, osteoderms are invariably present in cingulates whereas they are absent in pilosans. Among extinct sloths, however, a limited number of taxa possessed dermal ossifications. Records of mummified skins of ground sloths bearing osteoderms found in Cueva del Milodón (Southern Chile), with a late Pleistocene age, allowed us to analyze their micro‐ and macroscopic morphology. The main goal of this study is to closely examine a portion of a mylodontid skin portion using radiography. The arrangement, morphology and internal structure of the ossicles are analyzed and the results are discussed in the context of previous research. The results we obtained indicate that ossicles vary in shape and size, and the integument has four different patterns of arrangement of the ossicles: that is, areas without ossicles, disorganized ossicles, rows, and mosaic areas. The latter has two variants, with clusters of ossicles forming rosettes or stars. Thin sections of the ossicles allowed us to recognize and describe anatomical features of the bone and its mode of growth. Finally, paleobiological and functional considerations of the dermal armor are discussed along with its phylogenetic and chronological implications.

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Inferences of the ecological habits of extinct giant sloths from the Brazilian Intertropical Region

Santos

McDonald²,

Dantas

2023

J Quaternary Science

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Three indices estimated from measurements of the humerus and ulna were used to suggest possible ecological habits of eight extinct giant sloths from the Late Pleistocene of the Brazilian Intertropical Region. To make these inferences, data from extant primates and xenarthras representing suspensory, climbing and digging forms were compared. The results indicate niche differentiation existed between these species; Ahytherium aureum, Australonyx aquae and Nothrotherium maquinense could have been climbers, Catonyx cuvieri, Ocnotherium giganteum and Glossotherium phoenesis were diggers, while Valgipes bucklandi and Eremotherium laurillardi were strictly terrestrial in their habits. These results suggest a general pattern in which members of the Megalonychidae and Nothotheriidae were mainly climbers, whereas mylodontines were mainly diggers, and scelidotheres were strictly terrestrial along with members of the giant Megatheriidae.

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Anatomy, possible sexual dimorphism, and phylogenetic affinities of a new mylodontine sloth from the late Pleistocene of intertropical Brazil

Cited by 33 publications

References 38 publications

A reappraisal of the phylogeny of Mylodontidae (Mammalia, Xenarthra) and the divergence of mylodontine and lestodontine sloths

A reappraisal of the phylogeny of Mylodontidae (Mammalia, Xenarthra) and the divergence of mylodontine and lestodontine sloths

The dermal armor of mylodontid sloths (Mammalia, Xenarthra) from Cueva del Milodón (Última Esperanza, Chile)

Inferences of the ecological habits of extinct giant sloths from the Brazilian Intertropical Region

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