Late Pleistocene echimyid rodents (Rodentia, Hystricognathi) from northern Brazil

Abstract

Echimyidae (spiny rats, tree rats and the coypu) is the most diverse family of extant South American hystricognath rodents (caviomorphs). Today, they live in tropical forests (Amazonian, coastal and Andean forests), occasionally in more open xeric habitats in the Cerrado and Caatinga of northern South America, and open areas across the southern portion of the continent (Myocastor). The Quaternary fossil record of this family remains poorly studied. Here, we describe the fossil echimyids found in karst deposits from southern Tocantins, northern Brazil. The analyzed specimens are assigned to Thrichomys sp., Makalata cf. didelphoides and Proechimys sp. This is the first time that a fossil of Makalata is reported. The Pleistocene record of echimyids from this area is represented by fragmentary remains, which hinders their determination at specific levels. The data reported here contributes to the understanding of the ancient diversity of rodents of this region, evidenced until now in other groups, such as the artiodactyls, cingulates, carnivores, marsupials, and squamate reptiles.

A new echimyid genus (Rodentia, Caviomorpha) in Central Argentina: uncovered diversity of a Brazilian group of mammals in the Pleistocene

“…Most of the extant genera of Echimyidae, Clyomys , and Euryzygomatomys are known by fossils since the Pleistocene (McKenna and Bell, 1997; Ferreira et al, 2016). However, molecular and paleontological evidence indicate that the divergence of most extant echimyid genera occurred in the Miocene (e.g., Galewski et al, 2005; Fabre et al, 2013; Courcelle et al, 2019).…”

Imigrantes em um continente perdido: O registro fossilífero de roedores Caviomorpha (Mammalia: Rodentia: Ctenohystrica) do Cenozoico do Brasil

“…Além de táxons não extintos, a partir de fósseis oriundos das cavernas de Lagoa Santa, Peter W. Lund (1839) descreveu a espécie extinta Coendou magnus (Lund, 1839) (Fig. 6) (Ferreira et al 2012, Oliveira et al 2013, Kerber et al 2016a, Ferreira et al 2016, embora identificados somente em nível genérico dado aos problemas taxonômicos das espécies atuais, bem como o estado fragmentário dos fósseis. (Toledo et al 1999).…”

“…Seu registro como fóssil se deu apenas recentemente quando Ferreira et al (2016) (Fig. 10) e Cavia lamingnae Locks & Montenegro, 1985 (Fig.…”