Late middle Miocene caviomorph rodents from Tarapoto, Peruvian Amazonia

Miocene deposits of South America have yielded several species-rich assemblages of caviomorph rodents. They are mostly situated at high and mid- latitudes of the continent, except for the exceptional Honda Group of La Venta, Colombia, the faunal composition of which allowed to describe the late middle Miocene Laventan South American Land Mammal Age (SALMA). In this paper, we describe a new caviomorph assemblage from TAR-31 locality, recently discovered near Tarapoto in Peruvian Amazonia (San Martín Department). Based on mammalian biostratigraphy, this single-phased locality is unambiguously considered to fall within the Laventan SALMA. TAR-31 yielded rodent species found in La Venta, such as the octodontoid Ricardomys longidens Walton, 1990 (nom. nud.), the chinchilloids Microscleromys paradoxalis Walton, 1990 (nom. nud.) and M. cribriphilus Walton, 1990 (nom. nud.), or closely-related taxa. Given these strong taxonomic affinities, we further seize the opportunity to review the rodent dental material from La Venta described in the Ph.D. volume of Walton in 1990 but referred to as nomina nuda. Here we validate the recognition of these former taxa and provide their formal description. TAR-31 documents nine distinct rodent species documenting the four extant superfamilies of Caviomorpha, including a new erethizontoid: Nuyuyomys chinqaska gen. et sp. nov. These fossils document the most diverse caviomorph fauna for the middle Miocene interval of Peruvian Amazonia to date. This rodent discovery from Peru extends the geographical ranges of Ricardomys longidens, Microscleromys paradoxalis, and M. cribriphilus, 1,100 km to the south. Only one postcranial element of rodent was unearthed in TAR-31 (astragalus). This tiny tarsal bone most likely documents one of the two species of Microscleromys and its morphology indicates terrestrial generalist adaptations for this minute chinchilloid.

Meter in Traditional Kakataibo Chants

This paper studies the principal aspects of meter of three traditional Kakataibo chants (a Panoan group of Peruvian Amazonia). Regarding meter, Kakataibo chants exhibit patterns relevant for the cross-linguistic study of line and meter typology. I describe the Kakataibo system of versification as a quantitative meter that counts an exact number of moras and regulates the distribution of these by imposing grouping restrictions; also, it establishes weight differences between light, heavy and superheavy syllables, and vowel lengthening plays an important role for meter purposes. In addition, the average duration of lines tends to last less than three seconds and decreases progressively during performance.

A Sociogenetic Approach to Migration and Urbanization in Peruvian Amazonia

This chapter addresses what is termed “sociogenetic cosmopolitanism,” the dynamic interplay of social and genetic forces underpinning migration and urbanization. The constant movement of people and communities in Peru’s Huallaga River Valley is influenced by the variegated ecosystems of the Amazon, the vagaries of regional labor markets, and the exigencies of sociopolitical life in Peru. Four primary causes of migration in the Huallaga Valley are addressed: (1) environment and political economy, (2) infrastructure, (3) lifeways, and (4) violence and social upheaval. The consequences of modern migration and urbanization in Peruvian Amazonia include a marked transition in biodemography, an increase in genetic diversity markers, and a discernable shift in nucleotide-level population architecture. Profound sociocultural transformations, namely a move from rural and agrarian-based lifeways to urban, market-driven experiences, have accompanied such trends.

Everyday enacting of agents through bodily simulation, voicing, and familiarization of artifacts among the Arabela (Peruvian Amazonia)

The Arabela – a group of Zaparoan origin from the Peruvian Amazonia – often claim to adopt other (human and nonhuman) persons’ ways of performing actions, referring to things and expressing emotions. They do it through a variety of speech acts – from announcements of their own actions, to third-person comments about other people’s actions, to exclamations – and to accomplish various interactional ends (from avoidance to teasing). This paper shows that these different forms of enacting of others actualize a society consisting of human and nonhuman persons with different bodily ethograms, where relations between bodies and affects follow a scheme of familiarizing predation. Also, a specific concept of the Arabela agent emerges from this analysis, where the Other is individualized as a static ethogram of gestures and voices, while the speaking or acting subject has to prove his/her ability to singularize Others, using their presumably typical verbal expressions and actions. The ultimate goal of this paper is to stimulate reflection on the links between everyday interactions and ontologies in Amazonia.

New host record for the enigmatic Neotropical mantidfly genus Anchieta Navás, 1909 (Neuroptera, Mantispidae), a mimic of wasps and stingless bees

Species of Symphrasinae (Neuroptera: Mantispidae) are ectoparasitoids of larvae and pupae of holometabolous insects, primarily of Hymenoptera in their larval stages. Herein we present the third case of an association between the mantidfly genus Anchieta Navás, 1909 with the order Hymenoptera. The hymenopteran species attacked by the as of yet undescribed species of Anchieta is Montezumia dimidiata Saussure, 1852 (Vespidae: Eumeninae), a predacious wasp that constructs mud nests. The association was observed in Peruvian Amazonia (near Tarapoto, San Martín), after rearing the mantidflies from a wasp nest. The biology and mimicry pattern with stingless bees of the reared Anchieta species is discussed.