Fossil peccaries of Late Pleistocene/Holocene (Cetartiodactyla, Tayassuidae) from underwater caves of Serra da Bodoquena (Mato Grosso do Sul State, Brazil)

Abstract

New records of Catagonus stenocephalus and Tayassu pecari are reported from the karst of Serra da Bodoquena, located at a south-western portion of Brazil near the border with Paraguay. Skull and lower jaw fragments at different stages of mineralisation were retrieved from two limestone underwater caves, Japonês and Nascente do Formoso, associated with clay and sand deposits with no retrievable stratigraphy. C14 dating of fossil mammals from these caves was attempted, but so far no success was achieved, but the inferred age for the associated paleofauna of these caves is Late Pleistocene and Holocene. The morphology of these fossil peccaries, from the most south-western known population in Brazil, is detailed and paleoecological implications are considered.

Scientific diving in Brazil: history, present and perspectives

“…Due to the shallow depth and low visibility of rivers and streams, where most studies requiring diving are conducted, biodiversity studies traditionally used snorkeling instead of scuba diving. Studies using scuba diving are usually performed in caves, in the field of speleology and fossil collecting (Parisi et al, 2016). In this field, studies on the natural history and behavior of freshwater fish stand out as they continue to contribute to recent publications on ecological interactions and the habitat effects on stream fauna (Casatti and Castro, 1998;Sabino et al, 2011;Teresa et al, 2011;Nunes et al, 2020).…”

<i>Selenogonus narinoensis</i> Stirton, 1947 (Tayassuidae, Cetartiodactyla, Mammalia): taxonomic status and paleobiogeographic implications

“…The greatest specific diversity and abundance of tayassuids is documented during the Middle Pleistocene to Late Pleistocene-Early Holocene in South America (e.g., Argentina,Brazil,Uruguay,Bolivia,Peru,Colombia,and 72 G. M. Gasparini et al: S. narinoensis: taxonomic status and paleobiogeography Venezuela) represented by Catagonus, Parachoerus, Brasiliochoerus, Tayassu, and Dicotyles (Gasparini, 2013;Parisi Dutra et al, 2017b). In the Middle Pleistocene the genera Brasiliochoerus, Tayassu, and Dicotyles and probably the species Parachoerus carlesi and C. bonaerensis appear for the first time in the South American fossil record (Gasparini, 2013).…”

“…Tayassuids have been found in late-Cenozoic deposits mainly in Argentina and Brazil but also in Uruguay, Bolivia, Colombia, Peru, and Venezuela (Rincón et al, 2009;Gasparini, 2013;Montellano-Ballesteros et al, 2014;Parisi Dutra et al, 2017b), with 6 genera and 12 species (Gasparini, 2013;Parisi Dutra et al, 2017c (Rusconi, 1930) (Middle Pleistocene? Late Pleistocene; Argentina), and Parachoerus wagneri (Rusconi, 1930) (Late Pleistocene/Early Holocenerecent; fossil records in Argentina and Uruguay and currently endemic to the Dry Chaco in Argentina, Bolivia, and Paraguay).…”

Practice and prospects in underwater palaeontology

“…Nevertheless, circumstances favouring the preservation of collagen appear not to be the norm for underwater deposits, at least based on reported dating efforts these sites. For example, radiocarbon dating of fossil peccaries from Caverna do Japonês and Nascente do Formoso (Dutra et al, 2017), presumed to be Late Pleistocene or Holocene in age on the basis of associated faunas, produced no reliable ages (although the details of the dating attempts were not provided, and Dutra et al (2017) further noted that their fossil remains displayed different levels of mineralisation, implying some measure of time-averaging of the deposit). Likewise, bones from a drowned continental shelf setting did not preserve sufficient collagen for radiocarbon dating despite most likely being only ca.…”

“…Stiva Cave, a marine cave system situated off the coast of Bali, has preserved several large-bodied mammals from the surface of the cave sediments including deer and elephants (Harbowo et al, 2017). Medium-and large-bodied species, including fossil tayassuids (peccaries) were recovered from Caverna do Japonês and Nascente do Formoso in Brazil (Dutra et al, 2017;Salles et al, 2006). On the Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico, in addition to several underwater human burial sites, four flooded palaeontological sites have been recorded preserving horses, camelids, giant armadillos, tapirs, and proboscideans (González González et al, 2008).…”