Vertebrate taphonomy in loess-palaeosol deposits: A case study from the late Miocene of central Argentina

Exceptional Skull of Huayqueriana (Mammalia, Litopterna, Macraucheniidae) From the Late Miocene of Argentina: Anatomy, Systematics, and Paleobiological Implications

“…It is important to note that Huayquerian age assignments have frequently been made for Neotropical mammal associations recovered from a wide variety of other contexts throughout South America, such as Urumaco in Venezuela (Linares, 2004) and Acre in Brazil (Cozzuol, 2006;Ribeiro et al, 2013). This also applies to the correlation of presumed age-equivalent stratigraphic units, such as the Cerro Azul and Epecuén Formations in the Pampean area (Goin et al, 2000;Montalvo et al, 2008;Verzi et al, 2011), the Chiquimil or Andalhuala formations in northwestern Argentina (e.g., Reguero and Candela, 2011; see also Esteban et al, 2014, for a discussion on the topic and references herein cited). However, it should be noted that the evidence for some of these faunal and temporal correlations with the Huayquerian SALMA as presently understood is notably slim.…”

Palaeoenvironmental and faunal inferences based on the avian fossil record of Patagonia and Pampa: what works and what does not

“…data). The Formation seems to have been deposited under a semi‐arid, probably warm and seasonal climate (Montalvo et al ., 2008, and references cited therein). This avian assemblage includes nine taxa representing at least six families, two of which do not have living representatives (Fig.…”

“…Accordingly, the oldest Neornithes (or modern) birds from Patagonia (and the whole of Argentina) come from the San Jorge Gulf Basin (Chubut and Santa Cruz Provinces), corresponding fundamentally to the Riochican (middle to late Palaeocene), Casamayoran (late Eocene) and Deseadan (late Oligocene) periods (Fig. 1A), whereas the Neogene records originate from the Santacrucian (late early Miocene) of the Austral Basin, up to the most modern Huayquerian (late Miocene), located on the northern San Jorge Gulf Basin, in Chubut Province (Dozo et al ., 2010), as well as north of Patagonia, in La Pampa Province (Montalvo et al ., 2008; M. N. Cenizo, C. P. Tambussi & C. Montalvo, unpubl. data).…”

Peer Review #1 of "Large mammal burrows in late Miocene calcic paleosols from central Argentina: paleoenvironment, taphonomy and producers (v0.1)"

“…Vertebrate remains of the Cerro Azul Formation, mainly notoungulates and rodents, suggest that these sediments were deposited in open landscapes like steppes or herbaceous plains (Montalvo et al, 2008). Carbon isotope composition from late Miocene herbivorous enamel teeth from Salinas Grandes de Hidalgo and nearby localities indicates a dominance of C3 plants in lowland areas (MacFadden, Cerling & Prado, 1996), which are favoured in climates with cool growing season (Ehleringer, Cerling & Helliker, 1997)…”