New exoskeletal material from Bahia provides new evidence of geographic distribution and paleopathology for Quaternary cingulates

Abstract

The Cingulata clade has a great taxonomic diversity, and its remains are abundantly found in the fossil record of South America, represented mainly by elements from the exoskeleton. Most of the work on cingulate fossils from the Brazilian Quaternary is restricted to taxonomy, while studies on paleobiology, including pathological aspects, are still scarce. This paper describes new exoskeletal specimens and paleopathological evidence for cingulates from Quaternary deposits in Bahia State, Brazil, among the identified taxa (Pachyarmatheriumbrasiliense, Tolypeutes cf. tricinctus, Propraopussulcatus, Glyptotherium sp., Neuryurus sp., Panochthus sp., Hoplophorus cf. euphractus, Pampatheriumhumboldtii, and Holmesina paulacoutoi). Neuryurus is recorded for the first time in the Quaternary of Bahia. Skin lesions, possibly caused by fungi or bacteria, are identified for Panochthus sp. and Glyptotherium sp. In addition, we identified lesions caused by fleas in Glyptotherium sp. These findings underscore disharmonious interspecific relationships involving microorganisms and parasites with glyptodonts, aligning with previous research conclusions. Keywords: Paleobiology, Paleopathology, Cingulata, Quaternary.