1. Taxonomy, paleoecology and taphonomy of ground sloths (Xenarthra) from the Fairmead Landfill locality (Pleistocene: Irvingtonian) of Madera County, California
- Author
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H. Gregory McDonald, James C. Chatters, and Robert G. Dundas
- Subjects
0106 biological sciences ,010506 paleontology ,Taphonomy ,biology ,Pleistocene ,Ecology ,Fauna ,Nothrotheriops ,Xenarthra ,biology.organism_classification ,010603 evolutionary biology ,01 natural sciences ,Archaeology ,Arts and Humanities (miscellaneous) ,Paleoecology ,General Earth and Planetary Sciences ,Paramylodon ,Megalonyx ,0105 earth and related environmental sciences ,Earth-Surface Processes - Abstract
The Fairmead Landfill locality contains a diverse middle Irvingtonian, (0.78–0.55 Ma), vertebrate fauna that includes three sloths, Megalonyx wheatleyi, Nothrotheriops shastensis and Paramylodon harlani. The co-occurrence of these three genera in a single fauna is relatively rare in both the Irvingtonian and Rancholabrean and this is only the fourth documented Irvingtonian fauna to contain all three sloth genera. The presence of the three different sloths, each of which had different ecological requirements, indicates the presence of a variety of different habitats at this time and a heterogeneous landscape. Preliminary analysis of pollen from the site supports the interpretation of the existence of a mosaic of plant communities, but a landscape dominated by a mesic grassland. This interpretation is also supported by the total faunal diversity that includes taxa associated with woodlands as well as open habitat and taphonomic differences in the preservation and relative abundance of the different sloths. Evolutionarily the Fairmead Landfill sloths show a suite of morphological, size and proportional characters that indicate they represent transitional populations between older and younger members of their respective lineages.
- Published
- 2013
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