Nothrotheriops sp. (Mammalia, Xenarthra) from the Late Pleistocene of Argentina: implications for the dispersion of ground sloths during the Great American Biotic Interchange

Boreas ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 48 (4) ◽  
pp. 879-890 ◽  
Author(s):  
Diego Brandoni ◽  
Raúl I. Vezzosi
Keyword(s):  
Late Pleistocene ◽  
Great American Biotic Interchange ◽  
Ground Sloths

New Late Miocene Dromomerycine Artiodactyl from the Amazon Basin: Implications for Interchange Dynamics

2014 ◽  
Vol 88 (3) ◽  
pp. 434-443 ◽  
Author(s):  
Donald R. Prothero ◽  
Kenneth E. Campbell ◽  
Brian L. Beatty ◽  
Carl D. Frailey
Keyword(s):  
North America ◽  
South America ◽  
Late Miocene ◽  
Amazon Basin ◽  
New Taxon ◽  
Isthmus Of Panama ◽  
Great American Biotic Interchange ◽  
American Immigrant ◽  
Early Late ◽  
Ground Sloths

A new dromomerycine palaeomerycid artiodactyl, Surameryx acrensis new genus new species, from upper Miocene deposits of the Amazon Basin documents the first and only known occurrence of this Northern Hemisphere group in South America. Osteological characters place the new taxon among the earliest known dromomerycine artiodactyls, most similar to Barbouromeryx trigonocorneus, which lived in North America during the early to middle Miocene, 20–16 Ma. Although it has long been assumed that the Great American Biotic Interchange (GABI) began with the closure of the Isthmus of Panama in the late Pliocene, or ca. 3.0–2.5 Ma, the presence of this North American immigrant in Amazonia is further evidence that terrestrial connections between North America and South America through Panama existed as early as the early late Miocene, or ca. 9.5 Ma. This early interchange date was previously indicated by approximately coeval specimens of proboscideans, peccaries, and tapirs in South America and ground sloths in North America. Although palaeomerycids apparently never flourished in South America, proboscideans thrived there until the end of the Pleistocene, and peccaries and tapirs diversified and still live there today.

A monodominant late-Pleistocene megafauna locality from Santa Elena, Ecuador: Insight on the biology and behavior of giant ground sloths

2020 ◽  
Vol 544 ◽  
pp. 109599 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emily L. Lindsey ◽  
Erick X. Lopez Reyes ◽  
Gordon E. Matzke ◽  
Karin A. Rice ◽  
H. Gregory McDonald
Keyword(s):  
Late Pleistocene ◽  
And Behavior ◽  
Santa Elena ◽  
Ground Sloths

scholarly journals Multiproxy evidence for leaf-browsing and closed habitats in extinct proboscideans (Mammalia, Proboscidea) from Central Chile

2018 ◽  
Vol 115 (37) ◽  
pp. 9258-9263 ◽  
Author(s):  
Erwin González-Guarda ◽  
Alia Petermann-Pichincura ◽  
Carlos Tornero ◽  
Laura Domingo ◽  
Jordi Agustí ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
South America ◽  
Late Pleistocene ◽  
Feeding Habits ◽  
South American ◽  
Dental Microwear ◽  
Central Chile ◽  
Great American Biotic Interchange ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Individual

Proboscideans are so-called ecosystem engineers and are considered key players in hypotheses about Late Pleistocene megafaunal extinctions. However, knowledge about the autoecology and chronology of the proboscideans in South America is still open to debate and raises controversial views. Here, we used a range of multiproxy approaches and new radiocarbon datings to study the autoecology of Chilean gomphotheres, the only group of proboscideans to reach South America during the Great American Biotic Interchange (∼3.1 to 2.7 million years before present). As part of this study, we analyzed stable isotopes, dental microwear, and dental calculus microfossils on gomphothere molars from 30 Late Pleistocene sites (31° to 42°S). These proxies provided different scales of temporal resolution, which were then combined to assess the dietary and habitat patterns of these proboscideans. The multiproxy study suggests that most foraging took place in relatively closed environments. In Central Chile, there is a positive correlation between lower δ13C values and an increasing consumption of arboreal/scrub elements. Analyses of dental microwear and calculus microfossils have verified these leaf-browsing feeding habits. From a comparative perspective, the dietary pattern of South American gomphotheres appears to be constrained more by resource availability than by the potential dietary range of the individual taxa. This multiproxy study is aimed at increasing knowledge of the life history of gomphotheres and thus follows an issue considered one of the greatest challenges for paleontology in South America, recently pointed out by the need to thoroughly understand the role of ecological engineers before making predictions about the consequences of ecosystem defaunation.

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