First record of Eremotherium laurillardi (Lund, 1842) (Mammalia, Xenarthra, Megatheriidae) in the Quaternary of Uberaba, Triângulo Mineiro (Minas Gerais State), Brazil

Martinelli, Agustín G.; Ferraz, Patrícia Fonseca; Cunha, Gabriel Cardoso; Cunha, Isabella Cardoso; Carvalho, Ismar de Souza; Ribeiro, Luiz Carlos Borges; Neto, Francisco Macedo; Cavellani, Camila Lourencini; Teixeira, Vicente de Paula Antunes; Ferraz, Mara Lúcia da Fonseca

doi:10.1016/j.jsames.2012.03.006

Cited by 9 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 22 publications

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“…Besides being the southernmost records of E. laurillardi these are also the only known cases of co-occurrence of both species of megatheriids in the same deposits (Pessegueiro Creek and Chuí Creek). This co-occurrence is remarkable from paleogeographical and paleoenvironmental standpoints, considering that the fossil record of M. americanum is restricted to subtropical-temperate areas of South America, whereas E. laurillardi is a taxon with widespread occurrences from the southeastern and northeastern Brazil (the Brazilian Intertropical Region) up to North America (Cartelle & De Iuliis, 1995;Cartelle, 1999;Martinelli et al, 2012;Dantas et al, 2013).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

On the presence of Megatherium Cuvier, 1796 (Xenarthra, Pilosa) in fossiliferous deposits of the Coastal Plain of Southern Brazil

Lopes¹,

Pereira²

2019

Rev. bras. paleontol.

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The presence of the extinct sloth Megatherium americanum Cuvier in Pleistocene deposits of the Coastal Plain of the State of Rio Grande do Sul, southern Brazil, has been mentioned by several authors for decades, but formal descriptions of skeletal elements with unambiguous diagnostic features have never been published. The recent description of one dentary of the megatheriid Eremotherium laurillardi Lund from deposits in this area raised doubts about the taxonomic affinity of the materials assigned to M. americanum. The present work confirms the presence of the latter in the coastal plain of the state of Rio Grande do Sul (Santa Vitória do Palmar County), from a partial skull collected in fluvial deposits of the Santa Vitória Formation exposed on the banks of the Chuí Creek, plus an incomplete dentary, one tibia, one astragalus found on the shoreline, and another tibia with the fibula fused proximally and distally retrieved from the bottom of the continental shelf by the research vessel "Atlântico Sul". The fossils of both species of megatheriid sloths were found in the same deposits of Rio Grande do Sul (Chuí Creek in the coastal plain and Pessegueiro Creek in the central area of the state), which is remarkable given that E. laurillardi is known mostly from the intertropical Americas, whereas M. americanum is restricted to the subtropical-temperate regions of South America. Such co-occurrence could indicate that both species were sympatric or be related to the mixing by fluvial processes of remains of animals that occupied the same areas at distinct times due to periodic latitudinal shifts of the climatic belts.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

On the presence of Megatherium Cuvier, 1796 (Xenarthra, Pilosa) in fossiliferous deposits of the Coastal Plain of Southern Brazil

Lopes¹,

Pereira²

2019

Rev. bras. paleontol.

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“…The Neogene biogeographical correlations include the pampatheriid genera Plaina , in Mexico and central-southwestern South America; Pampatherium , in Mexico and southeastern South America; and Holmesina , in United States, Mexico and El Salvador, as well as in northwestern and southeastern South America (Woodburne 2010). At the level of species, for instance, the Pleistocene megatheriine Eremotherium laurillardi has occurrence in both sides of the Isthmus of Panama in North- and South America (Cartelle & De Iuliis 1995, 2006; Tito 2008; McDonald & Lundelius, E. L. Jr. 2009; Martinelli et al 2012; Cartelle et al 2015).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Systematic revision and redefinition of the genus Scirrotherium Edmund and Theodor, 1997 (Cingulata, Pampatheriidae): Implications for the origin of pampatheriids and the evolution of the South American lineage including Holmesina

Jiménez-Lara

2019

Preprint

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The intrageneric relationships of the pampatheriid genus Scirrotherium and its affinities with supposedly related genera, i.e., Kraglievichia and Holmesina, are revised through parsimony phylogenetic analyses and new comparative morphological descriptions. For this work, unpublished material of pampatheriids (numerous osteoderms, one partial skull and a few postcranial bones) from Neogene formations of Colombia was analyzed. The results show that Scirrotherium is paraphyletic if we include all its referred species, i.e., Scirrotherium hondaensis, S. carinatum and S. antelucanus. The species S. carinatum is closer to Kraglievichia paranensis than to S. hondaensis or S. antelucanus, therefore the new name K. carinatum comb. nov. is proposed. The relationship among S. hondaensis and S. antelucanus could not be resolved, so these species should be designated in aphyly. In spite of failing to recover S. hondaensis and S. antelucanus as one single clade, here is preferred to maintain the generic name Scirrotherium in both species based on diagnostic evidence. New emended diagnoses for Scirrotherium, S. hondaensis and Kraglievichia are provided. The genus Holmesina was found to be monophyletic and positioned as the sister clade of Scirrotherium + Kraglievichia. The evolutionary and biogeographic implications of the new phylogeny and taxonomic re-arrangements are discussed. A possible geographic origin of the family Pampatheriidae and Scirrotherium in low latitudes of South America as early as Early Miocene times is claimed. The South American ancestor or sister taxon of Holmesina is predicted to be morphologically more similar to Scirrotherium than to Kraglievichia.

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“…Despite some anatomical differences in skull and jaw bones, both species share morphological features of browsers (narrow muzzle) and grazers (hypsodont teeth, Figure 6. A, distribution of fossils of Megatherium americanum and Eremotherium laurillardi with associated isotopic data found across South America; records of Eremotherium without isotopic data are also shown (from Paula Couto, 1979;Cartelle & De Iuliis, 1995;Rossetti et al, 2004;Praderio et al, 2005;Martinelli et al, 2012;Bocherens et al, 2017;Lopes & Pereira, 2019;Pansani et al, 2019;Domingo et al, 2020;Oliveira et al, 2020;Tomassini et al, 2020;Asevedo et al, 2021). B, Comparative δ 13 C data of both megatheriids across the continent.…”

Section: Paleobiology Of the Giant Megatheriidsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Fossils of Megatherium have been discovered along the southwestern part of the continent (in Bolivia, Uruguay, Argentina and southern Brazil), whereas Eremotherium has been recorded from the northwestern continent (from Venezuela to Peru), and from northern to southern Brazil (Cartelle & De Iuliis, 1995;Rossetti et al, 2004;Martinelli et al, 2012). Although both species are recognized as herbivores based on tooth morphology (Cuvier, 1804;Owen, 1861;Cabrera, 1926;Spillmann, 1948), their allopatric distribution across South America has been considered as indicating preference for different plant types and habitats, with Megatherium inhabiting temperate and dry environments and Eremotherium preferring tropical environments (Paula Couto, 1953;1975;1979;Bargo, 2001;Bargo & Vizcaíno, 2008;Naples & McAffee, 2012).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The paleoecology of Pleistocene giant megatheriid sloths: stable isotopes (δ13C, δ18O) of co-occurring Megatherium and Eremotherium from southern Brazil

Lopes

Dillenburg

Pereira³

et al. 2021

Rev. bras. paleontol.

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The Pampa in subtropical Brazil (State of Rio Grande do Sul) is the only area of South America known so far where fossils of the Pleistocene giant megatheriid sloths Megatherium americanum, characteristic of subtropical-temperate areas, and Eremotherium laurillardi, widespread in the tropical zone, were discovered in the same deposits (Pessegueiro Creek and Chuí Creek), but it is not clear whether this co-occurrence is a product of taphonomic mixture, or co-existence, which would imply niche partitioning. In order to understand their paleoecology and reconstruct the associated paleoenvironments, dentin samples of both megatheriids from the two sites were analyzed for their carbon (δ13C) and oxygen (δ18O) isotope ratios. The δ13C values of Megatherium indicate mixed diet of C3-C4 plants with higher content of the latter in Pessegueiro Creek, whereas the δ13C values of Eremotherium indicate C3-dominated diets, the more negative value in Pessegueiro Creek possibly related to the canopy effect. The δ18O of Eremotherium points to 18O-depleted water sources, possibly also influenced by the diet, whereas Megatherium ingested 18O-enriched water. The results show that co-existence of both megatheriids would have been ecologically possible, and that the Pampa was occupied by open grasslands/woodlands, with closed forests in Pessegueiro Creek. The δ13C of Eremotherium from intertropical Brazil indicate a more generalist habit than Megatherium from subtropical Brazil and Argentina, which probably facilitated its dispersion from the tropics up to subtropical areas along two different routes, one along the coastal plain, and the other along the Paraná River Basin across central South America, following the southward expansion of riparian forests during warmer stages. The reduction of those forests during intervening cold stages possibly led to its disappearance in southern Brazil. Keywords: Quaternary, paleobiogeography, stable isotopes, Pampa, coastal plain, megafauna.

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First record of Eremotherium laurillardi (Lund, 1842) (Mammalia, Xenarthra, Megatheriidae) in the Quaternary of Uberaba, Triângulo Mineiro (Minas Gerais State), Brazil

Cited by 9 publications

References 22 publications

On the presence of Megatherium Cuvier, 1796 (Xenarthra, Pilosa) in fossiliferous deposits of the Coastal Plain of Southern Brazil

On the presence of Megatherium Cuvier, 1796 (Xenarthra, Pilosa) in fossiliferous deposits of the Coastal Plain of Southern Brazil

Systematic revision and redefinition of the genus Scirrotherium Edmund and Theodor, 1997 (Cingulata, Pampatheriidae): Implications for the origin of pampatheriids and the evolution of the South American lineage including Holmesina

The paleoecology of Pleistocene giant megatheriid sloths: stable isotopes (δ13C, δ18O) of co-occurring Megatherium and Eremotherium from southern Brazil

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