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Objectives: Platyrrhines constitute a diverse clade, with the modern Atelidae exhibiting the most variation in cranial and endocast morphology. The processes responsible for this diversification are not well understood. Here, we present a geometric morphometric study describing variation in cranial and endocranial shape of 14 species of Alouatta, Ateles, Brachyteles, and Lagothrix and two extinct taxa, Cartelles and Caipora. Methods: We examined cranial and endocranial shape variation among species using images reconstructed from CT scans and geometric morphometric techniques based on three-dimensional landmarks and semilandmarks. Principal components analyses were used to explore variation, including the Procrustes shape coordinates, summing the logarithm of the Centroid Size, the common allometric component, and residual shape components. Results: Differences in endocranial shape are related to a relative increase or decrease in the volume of the neocortex region with respect to brainstem and cerebellum regions. The relative position of the brainstem varies from a posterior position in Alouatta to a more ventral position in Ateles. The shape of both the cranium and endocast of Caipora is within the observed variation of Brachyteles. Cartelles occupies the most differentiated position relative to the extant taxa, especially in regards to its endocranial shape. Conclusions: The pattern of variation in the extant species in endocranial shape is similar to the variation observed in previous cranial studies, with Alouatta as an outlier. The similarities between Caipora and Brachyteles were unexpected and intriguing given the frugivorous adaptations inferred from the fossil's dentition. Our study shows the importance of considering both extant and fossil species when studying diversification of complex traits. Fil: Arístide, Leandro. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo. Departamento Científico de Antropología; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata; Argentina Fil: Strauss, André. Universidade de Sao Paulo; Brasil. Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen.; Alemania Fil: Halenar Price, Lauren B.. University of New York; Estados Unidos Fil: Gilissen, Emmanuel. Université Libre de Bruxelles; Bélgica Fil: Cruz, Francisco W.. Universidade de Sao Paulo; Brasil Fil: Cartelle, Castor. Pontificia Universidade Catolica de Minas Gerais.; Brasil Fil: Rosenberger, Alfred L.. City of New York Graduate Cente; Estados Unidos. New York Consortium in Evolutionary Primatology; Estados Unidos Fil: Lopes, Ricardo T.. Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro; Brasil Fil: dos Reis, Sergio F.. Universidade Estadual de Campinas; Brasil Fil: Perez, Sergio Ivan. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo. Departamento Científico de Antropología; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata; Argentina. Universidade Estadual de Campinas; Brasil

Glossotherium phoenesis sp. nov. from the late Pleistocene of intertropical Brazil is described and compared with Glossotherium robustum and Glossotherium tropicorum. Compared to these two species,...

In this work, new fossils of Hydrochoerinae rodents (Caviomorpha: Caviidae: Hydrochoerinae) from the Quaternary of the intertropical region of Brazil are described, almost 180 years after the first fossils of these animals were found in Lagoa Santa, Minas Gerais. The fossils studied herein were collected in caves of States of Bahia (Toca dos Ossos and Lapa dos Brejoes) and Minas Gerais (Lapa Vermelha cave, Lagoa Santa karst). The analyzed material is assigned to the extinct large rodent Neochoerus sulcidens and is composed of skull portion, upper and lower cheek teeth, mandible, humerus, innominate, femur, tibia, and calcaneus. The specimens were assigned to this taxon based on the presence of an M3 with 14 prisms; incisor alveolus reaching the pr. II do m2; anteriormost level of the palatine at the level of the Pr. II of the M2; and larger size than the living species. The p4 is mesiodistally longer than the m1 and m2, distinct from previous interpretations in which the mesiodistal length of the p4 of N. sulcidens would be smaller than the m2, indicating the presence of a variable character. Except for the differences in size, the postcranial bones of N. sulcidens are quite similar to H. hydrochaeris.

The use of diagnostic methods that prevent irreplaceable samples (from museum collections, archaeological and paleontological samples) of being consumed or that increase their yield is relevant. For museum collections, archaeological and paleontological samples it is essential to conserve samples, subsamples or portions for future research. We are addressing methods for conservation of irreplaceable samples that could be fully consumed. Innovations in methodologies that are used in studies of Paleoparasitology and Paleomicrobiology will contribute to the preservation of collections. Therefore, to the development of archaeology and paleontology in the future, we evaluated whether the discarded material of the immunochromatography test could be used for molecular diagnosis and vice versa. We used a genotyped experimental coprolite positive for Giardia duodenalis. The diagnosis was positive for giardiasis in both cases. This methodology can be corroborated with the coprolite of a Paleolama maior (extinct llama) previously diagnosed for G. duodenalis with an immunoenzymatic test. The residue of the pre-digestion step of the DNA extraction before adding Proteinase K was confirmed positive with the immunochromatographic test. Also, the DNA extraction residue from a coprolite of Nothrotherium maquinense (ground sloth) was tested positive with immunochromatographic test for G. duodenalis. These are the oldest findings for G. duodenalis confirming that this intestinal parasite occurred among Northeastern Brazilian Megafauna animals from the late Pleistocene period, correlated to human occupation. The relevance of these results will allow the study by different methodological approaches from a small amount of material, reusing discarded materials.

In Brazil, the majority of fossils of Quaternary tetrapods were found in caves. Among the fossil sites, the Lagoa Santa Karst stands out, especially regarding mammal paleontology. This chapter aims to present a review of the paleontological research in the area, which started in the beginning of the nineteenth century with Danish naturalist Peter Wilhelm Lund. Besides having discovered 22 extinct mammal species, Lund also described eight living species. Lund also performed studies about other vertebrates such as birds. He was also the first to discover remains of humans associated with the extinct megafauna. It took nearly one hundred years before systematic paleontological research in Lagoa Santa was resumed, through the work of members of the Academia Mineira de Ciencias (Minas Gerais Academy of Sciences) and National Museum at Rio de Janeiro. Among the scientists, the names of Anibal Mattos, H.V. Walter, Fausto Souza Cunha, and Carlos de Paula Couto stand out. Up to now, the life and works of Peter Lund are still being researched. In the 2000s, more sophisticated techniques were applied to Lagoa Santa fossil sites, including radiometric dating and a taphonomical approach, allowing the confirmation of the contemporaneity between humans and the extinct fauna. Efforts were also made toward understanding the mechanisms associated with the formation of the fossiliferous cave deposits in the area.

The late Pleistocene mylodontine sloth Glossotherium wegneri (Spillmann, 1931) (Interandean ­region, Ecuador) has been assigned to Glossotherium Owen, 1839 and Oreomylodon Hoffstetter, 1949 (the latter ranked as a subgenus or genus), and synonymized with G. robustum (Owen, 1842). However, the phylogenetic and comparative analyses conducted here, which include previously undescribed remains, strongly suggest specific distinction for G. wegneri and that there is little, if any, support for generic or subgeneric distinction for Oreomylodon. Among the notable features of this species are the ­presence of an internasal element, marked expansion of the rostrum anteriorly, and dorsoventrally and the palatal region transversely, increased separation of the caniniform tooth from the anterior edge of maxilla, increased relative braincase width, relatively enlarged hypoglossal foramen, and greatly elongated zygomatic process of the squamosal. The resulting single MPT recovered a monophyletic Glossotherium, with the following phylogenetic arrangement of the species of this genus (G. robustum + ((G. wegneri + G. tropicorum Hoffstetter, 1952) + (G. phoenesis Cartelle, De Iuliis, Boscaini & Pujos, 2019 + G. tarijense Ameghino, 1902))).

New mylodontine (Xenarthra, Pilosa) sloth remains from the late Pleistocene tar seep localities of Corralito (Ecuador) and Talara (Peru) are described, and the taxonomic history of the extinct ground sloth genus Glossotherium is reviewed. Based on the new material and comparisons with Glossotherium robustum, Glossotherium wegneri, and the North American taxon, Paramylodon harlani, the species Glossotherium tropicorum is considered to be valid and a new definition of its diagnostic characters is provided. Glossotherium tropicorum is similar in size to Glossotherium robustum and Glossotherium wegneri but differs in several respects from these species, such as having a more elongated and slender skull. In this respect it more closely resembles Paramylodon harlani in North America, which is also similar in size. Glossotherium tropicorum is one of two mylodontine sloths found in the upper Pleistocene of north-western South America, the other being Glossotherium wegneri. While both are present in this region their individual distributions did not overlap and the two species have not been recovered together in a fauna. The distribution of Glossotherium tropicorum is restricted to lowland coastal areas whereas Glossotherium wegneri is found inland and in the highland areas of the Andes, suggesting significant differences in their ecology. Fil: De Iuliis, Gerardo. University of Toronto; Canadá. Royal Ontario Museum; Canadá Fil: Cartelle, Cástor. PUC Minas; Brasil Fil: McDonald, H. Gregory. Utah State Office; Eslovaquia Fil: Pujos, François Roger Francis. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mendoza. Instituto Argentino de Nivología, Glaciología y Ciencias Ambientales. Provincia de Mendoza. Instituto Argentino de Nivología, Glaciología y Ciencias Ambientales. Universidad Nacional de Cuyo. Instituto Argentino de Nivología, Glaciología y Ciencias Ambientales; Argentina

Litopterna is represented in the Pleistocene of the Brazilian Intertropical Region by a monospecific genus of Macraucheniidae, Xenorhinotherium. Although most of the knowledge about this family is derived from the dentition, some dental features still remain unknown. This study describes the eruption sequence of permanent dentition and classifies the hypsodonty status of X. bahiense. The specimens studied are from Toca dos Ossos, a limestone cave located in Bahia State. We perform qualitative macroscopic analysis to describe the eruption dental sequence. Additionally, we perform quantitative analysis to determine the hypsodonty index. The dental eruption sequence of the juvenile specimen is M1, M2, I1, I2, M3, I3, P1, P2, P3, and P4. In addition, the analysis of tooth wear in adult specimens provides similar results. The hypsodonty index assigns a mesodont tooth crown for X. bahiense. The dental eruption sequence is most similar to a rapid-growth extant mammal. Moreover, our results do not support afrotherian-like delayed dental eruption to Litopterna. The hypsodonty index can be related to data on vegetation of the Brazilian Intertropical Region and the shape of the premaxilla of X. bahiense, both of which suggest a browsing diet for this macraucheniid.

Modern sloths are among the more characteristic mammals of South and Central American faunas. Recent discovery in four Paleogene, 22 Neogene, and dozens of Pleistocene fossiliferous localities in the tropics has revealed an unexpected paleobioversity constituted by some 81 fossil sloth species. Probably originating in southern South America near the Eocene/Oligocene transition, sloths were represented in the tropics during the late Oligocene by Pseudoglyptodon, Mylodontidae, and Megalonychidae. The latter occupied the West Indies between at least the late early Miocene and late Pleistocene, and two mylodontid clades, Octodontobradyinae and Urumacotheriinae, were characteristic of Amazonian localities from the Colhuehuapian and the Laventan periods, respectively, until the end of the Miocene. Megatheriinae and Nothrotheriidae appeared during the middle Miocene, colonizing the tropics and then North America, where Mylodontidae and Megalonychidae had already been present since the early late Miocene. Nothrotheriids are more abundant and diversified during the late Miocene in the tropics than in southern South America. Remains closely related to either of the modern sloths are absent from the fossil record, including those in the tropics. The characteristic suspensory posture of Bradypus and Choloepus appeared independently and likely after the Miocene epoch, and thus well after the hypothesized split suggested by molecular studies of the respective clades of these genera. Given their current widespread distribution in and reliance on the tropics, prospecting efforts for the direct fossil kin of suspensory sloths should concentrate on deposits in the Amazonian region, as this area has shown promise in producing fossil sloths. Fil: Pujos, François Roger Francis. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mendoza. Instituto Argentino de Nivología, Glaciología y Ciencias Ambientales. Provincia de Mendoza. Instituto Argentino de Nivología, Glaciología y Ciencias Ambientales. Universidad Nacional de Cuyo. Instituto Argentino de Nivología, Glaciología y Ciencias Ambientales; Argentina Fil: De Iuliis, G.. University of Toronto; Canadá. Royal Ontario Museum; Canadá Fil: Cartelle, C.. Pontifícia Universidade Católica de Minas Gerais ; Brasil

Recent reports (Faure et al., 2014; Guérin and Faure, 2000, 2008) describe the existence, in intertropical Brazil, of a small (“dwarf”) megatheriine sloth, Eremotherium laurillardi (Lund, 1842), and a giant-sized megatheriine, Eremotherium rusconii (Schaub, 1935). This view is in marked contrast to that advanced by Cartelle and De Iuliis (1995, 2006), who demonstrated the presence of a single Late Pleistocene giant Eremotherium species, for which the valid name is Eremotherium laurillardi (Lund, 1842), in intertropical Brazil and elsewhere in America. These authors dubbed this species the Panamerican giant ground sloth. The present contribution reviews the material discussed by Faure et al. (2014) and demonstrates that it belongs to a juvenile (as did the material from Guérin and Faure, 2000) of the Panamerican giant ground sloth (i.e., E. laurillardi sensu Cartelle and De Iuliis, 1995, 2006) and that there is no evidence of a dwarf megatheriine in the Late Pleistocene of intertropical Brazil. Plusieurs études récentes (Faure et al., 2014 ; Guérin et Faure, 2000, 2008) signalent l’existence, dans la région intertropicale du Brésil, d’un paresseux mégathère « nain », Eremotherium laurillardi (Lund, 1842), ainsi que d’un mégathère géant, Eremotherium rusconii (Schaub, 1935). Ce point de vue diffère de celui avancé par Cartelle et De Iuliis (1995, 2006), qui démontrent l’existence d’une seule espèce, Eremotherium laurillardi (Lund, 1842) durant la fin du Pléistocène, rencontrée dans la région intertropicale du Brésil et plus généralement en Amérique. Ces derniers auteurs surnomment cette espèce le paresseux géant panaméricain. La présente contribution correspond à une révision du matériel examiné par Faure et al. (2014) tendant à montrer que ce fossile appartient à un spécimen juvénile (tout comme le matériel présenté par Guérin et Faure, 2000) du paresseux géant panaméricain (i.e. E. laurillardi sensu Cartelle et De Iuliis, 1995, 2006) et qu’aucun indice de l’existence d’un mégathère nain n’est à ce jour disponible durant la fin du Pléistocène dans la région intertropicale brésilienne. Fil: Cartelle, Cástor. Pontificia Universidad Catolica Do Rio de Janeiro; Brasil Fil: De Iuliis, Gerardo. University of Toronto; Canadá. Royal Ontario Museum; Canadá Fil: Pujos, François Roger Francis. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mendoza. Instituto Argentino de Nivología, Glaciología y Ciencias Ambientales. Provincia de Mendoza. Instituto Argentino de Nivología, Glaciología y Ciencias Ambientales. Universidad Nacional de Cuyo. Instituto Argentino de Nivología, Glaciología y Ciencias Ambientales; Argentina. Instituto Francés de Estudios Andinos; Perú

The genius of naturalist P. W. Lund is clearly revealed in his masterly publications addressing animal physiology, zoology botany, and especially paleomammal zoology. Other contributions include the identification of extant and extinct species. His discoveries have served as the basis and inspiration for many researchers. Outstanding among them is H. Winge and his monumental 1,370-page work E Museo Lundii, published in the years from 1888 to 1915. This exceptional work was the result of studies of Lund’s discoveries in Lagoa Santa. After Winge, in the mid-twentieth century, there was a new wave of research and publications addressing the area Lund had investigated, most notably the work of Carlos de Paulo Couto, who, in addition to studying a series of extinct species identified by Lund, published in Portuguese the scientific memorials of that most Brazilian of all Danes, making his work accessible to Brazilians. Lund has been the starting point for very many of the subsequent research efforts unfolded in that region. In addition to morphological aspects, they continue to produce phylogenetic, paleoenvironmental, taphonomic, and chronological information and interpretations. P. W. Lund must be credited with being the pioneer of these new efforts and perspectives, including archaeological research.

Myocastor Kerr, 1792 is a semi-aquatic caviomorph rodent that lives in southern South America. Pleistocene fossils of Myocastor are known from Argentina, Bolivia, Uruguay, and Brazil. This contribution is intended to clarify the taxonomic situation of the specimens of this taxon from the Brazilian Quaternary. The material was collected in late Quaternary localities from the states of Bahia, Minas Gerais, and Rio Grande do Sul. We assign these specimens to Myocastor coypus ( Molina, 1782 ). Although some variation was seen, we do not consider it significant enough to include the fossil specimens in other extinct previously described taxa or in a new taxon. The modern original range of Myocastor encompasses only southern South America, but in the late Pleistocene/early Holocene, its distribution was displaced, at least to Bahia (∼10°S), northeast Brazil. This fact could be related to the presence of more humid environments in the the late Pleistocene/early Holocene of this region in comparison with the modern days, where the Caatinga is predominant.

Pitana, V.G., Esteban, G.I., Ribeiro, A.M. & Cartelle, C. 2013. Cranial and dental studies of Glossotherium robustum (Owen, 1842) (Xenarthra: Pilosa: Mylodontidae) from the Pleistocene of southern Brazil. Alcheringa, 1–16. ISSN 0311-5518. Mylodontine ground sloths were studied from several Pleistocene localities of Rio Grande do Sul State: Sao Gabriel (central region), Quarai, Uruguaiana and Alegrete (western region) and Santa Vitoria do Palmar (coastal region) municipalities. The cranial and mandibular material is assigned to Glossotherium robustum based on the enlargement of the anterior portion of the maxilla, a rounded and ventrolaterally arched fossa for the estylohyal, an elliptical occipital condyle, a spatulate symphyseal region of the mandible, together with the size and degree of lobulation of the teeth. Comparison with specimens from the Pampean region of Argentina, western Uruguay and northeastern Brazil revealed that the Rio Grande do Sul material is most similar morphologically to that of th...

The Pleistocene fossil sloth Australonyx aquae De Iuliis, Cartelle, and Pujos, 2009 (Mammalia, Xenarthra, Megalonychidae) was described from the intertropical region of Brazil. However, its mandible was not known and only cursory descriptions of the ear ossicles were included. The mandible was subsequently recognized among the remains originally collected from the type locality, and belongs to the holotype individual. As a particularly important skeletal element for specific recognition, it requires description to complement our understanding of this species. The ossicles, usually poorly represented in the fossil record, require further description to allow differentiation from those of other sloths. Comparisons of the mandible and ossicles are conducted with homologous elements of the contemporaneous and sympatric Ahytherium aureum Cartelle, De Iuliis, and Pujos, 2008, the only other megalonychid sloth known from intertropical Brazil, and reinforce the distinction between these two species detailed in their initial descriptions. Comparisons with other sloths (e.g., Acratocnus, Megalonyx, Neocnus) also reveal differences with Au. aquae in such features as form and size of the caniniform tooth, angular process, and mandibular condyle. Differences among the malleus and incus of Au. aquae and several species of other sloth clades reveal clade level distinctions among Megatheriidae, Nothrotheriidae, and Megalonychidae. A well-preserved skull from the Brazilian state of Rondônia is noted as probably belonging to Au. aquae. This skull cannot be assigned formally to this species because it is not deposited in a recognized institution, but it does extend considerably the known range of the species. Fil: De Iuliis, Gerardo. University of Toronto; Canadá Fil: Cartelle, Cástor. Pontifíca Universidade Católica de Minas Gerais; Brasil Fil: Pujos, François Roger Francis. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mendoza. Instituto Argentino de Nivología, Glaciología y Ciencias Ambientales. Provincia de Mendoza. Instituto Argentino de Nivología, Glaciología y Ciencias Ambientales. Universidad Nacional de Cuyo. Instituto Argentino de Nivología, Glaciología y Ciencias Ambientales; Argentina

In South America, one of the most important themes is the effort to discover the diet of the extinct giant mammals that lived in this continent. This paper presents new data for the species Palaeolama major, acquired by the analysis of plant fragments found in coprolites. This species possibly lived in an open area, feeding on shrubs, in the forest border.

The occasion of the Xenarthra Symposium during the ICVM 9 meeting allowed us to reflect on the considerable advances in the knowledge of sloths made by the "X-community" over the past two decades, particularly in such aspects as locomotion, mastication, diet, dental terminology, intraspecific variation, sexual dimorphism, and phylogenetic relationships. These advancements have largely been made possible by the application of cladistic methodology (including DNA analyses) and the discovery of peculiar forms such as Diabolotherium, Thalassocnus, and Pseudoglyptodon in traditionally neglected areas such as the Chilean Andes and the Peruvian Pacific desert coast. Modern tree sloths exhibit an upside-down posture and suspensory locomotion, but the habits of fossil sloths are considerably more diverse and include locomotory modes such as inferred bipedality, quadrupedality, arboreality or semiarboreality, climbing, and an aquatic or semi-aquatic lifestyle in saltwater. Modern tree sloths are generalist browsers, but fossil sloths had browsing, grazing, or mixed feeding dietary habits. Discovery of two important sloth faunas in Brazil (Jacobina) and southern North America (Daytona Beach and Rancho La Brea) have permitted evaluation of the ontogenetic variation in Eremotherium laurillardi and the existence of possible sexual dimorphism in this sloth and in Paramylodon harlani. A new dental terminology applicable to a majority of clades has been developed, facilitating comparisons among taxa. An analysis wherein functional traits were plotted onto a phylogeny of sloths was used to determine patterns of evolutionary change across the clade. These analyses suggest that megatherioid sloths were primitively semiarboreal or possessed climbing adaptations, a feature retained in some members of the family Megalonychidae. Pedolateral stance in the hindfoot is shown to be convergently acquired in Mylodontidae and Megatheria (Nothrotheriidae + Megatheriidae), this feature serving as a synapomorphy of the latter clade. Digging adaptations can only be securely ascribed to scelidotheriine and mylodontine sloths, and the latter are also the only group of grazing sloths, the remainder being general browsers. © 2012 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC. Fil: Pujos, François Roger Francis. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mendoza. Instituto Argentino de Nivología, Glaciología y Ciencias Ambientales. Provincia de Mendoza. Instituto Argentino de Nivología, Glaciología y Ciencias Ambientales. Universidad Nacional de Cuyo. Instituto Argentino de Nivología, Glaciología y Ciencias Ambientales; Argentina. Institut Français d’Etudes Andines; Perú Fil: Gaudin, Timothy. University of Tennessee at Chattanooga; Estados Unidos Fil: de Iuliis, Gerardo. University of Toronto; Canadá Fil: Cartelle, Cástor. PUC Minas; Brasil

New ground sloths (Mammalia, Xenarthra, Mylodontidae) from the Neogene of the Bolivian Altiplano. Two new Mylodontinae (Xenarthra, Tardigrada, Mylodontoidea) from the Bolivian Altiplano are described. One of them, Pleurolestodon dalenzae n. sp., was discovered a few meters below a volcanic tuff, Toba 76, that may be used as a reference stratigraphic level and is dated at 5.4 Ma; it could be Huayquerian (late Miocene) or at the Huayquerian-Montehermosan boundary in age. The other taxon, Simomylodon uccasamamensis n. gen., n. sp., was recovered from many localities of a horizon bounded below by Toba 76 and above by another volcanic level, the 2.8 Ma Ayo Ayo tuff; its age is Montehermosan-Chapadmalalan (early and middle Pliocene). Analysis of these taxa indicates that they are Mylodontidae more closely related to Glossotherium, Glossotheridium, Kiyumylodon and Paramylodon than to Lestodon or Thinobadistes.

The record of South-American Pleistocene Megalonychidae is scarce. Of the species described for intertropical Brazil, including Megalonyx sp., Ocnopus gracilis, Valgipes deformis, Xenocnus cearensis and Ahytherium aureum, only the last, recently described, is valid. The new megalonychid species described here was recovered from the same locality as Ah. aureum. The latter is apparently more closely linked to the North-American Pleistocene forms whereas Australonyx aquae may be more closely related to the Antillean sloths. The fossil remains of extant taxa recovered in association with the new sloth species suggest that the region, currently within the Caatinga biome, was a mosaic of the Atlantic Forest and Savannah biomes during the final stages of the Pleistocene.

The analysis of recently recovered ground sloth remains from Minas Gerais, Bahia, and Piaui (Brazil) results in a major reinterpretation of the Scelidotheriinae and Megalonychidae of tropical Brazil. Among the specimens collected from Lagoa Santa (Minas Gerais) by Lund during the first half of the 19th century are skeletal elements attributable to two scelidotheriine species, as Lund himself determined and Winge corroborated. This is in contrast to the interpretation of these remains as representing a scelidotheriine and the postcranial remains of a peculiar megalonychid, as most authors, following Hoffstetter, have believed. A new combination is proposed here for one of the species. Another scelidotheriine recently described from Piaui by Guerin and Faure is a synonym of this species.

The new genus and species Ahytherium aureum (Mammalia, Xenarthra, Megalonychidae) from the Quaternary of Poco Azul (Bahia, Brazil) is described. It is the first Brazilian megalonychid known from reasonably complete and well-preserved remains. Purported Brazilian megalonychids described in the past, such as Ocnopus gracilis and Xenocnus cearesis , are noted as belonging to other sloth clades, and the acceptance by past paleontologists of the existence of ‘strange’ megalonychids in Brazil is shown to be erroneous. Ahytherium aureum , in fact, exhibits typical megalonychid morphology. It differs from other known members of Megalonychidae in several characters, including a markedly shortened, but high rostral region, with dorsally inflated frontals, wide zygomatic processes of the frontal, narrow, blade-like and anterolaterally oriented lacrimals, curved, slender and oval caniniforms, gracile humerus with less developed deltopectoral shelf, and relatively distal position of the greater trochanter of the femur. A second specimen from Sao Paolo state is tentatively assigned to the new genus and species.

Synopsis For most of the past 150 years the presence of only giant megatheriine ground sloths in the Pleistocene of Brazil has been recognised. However, it has recently been claimed that a dwarf Eremotherium species was present sympatrically with the large‐sized giant ground sloth in northeastern and southeastern Brazil during the late Pleistocene and that the concept of a single Panamerican species was improbable. Based on analysis of the ontological sequence of skull suture closure and dental development of remains from a single locality, we demonstrate that the ‘dwarf’ species is based on the remains of immature individuals, at very early ontogenetic stages, of the large‐sized species. Further, we reaffirm that the most parsimonious hypothesis is to consider all large‐sized Eremotherium remains as belonging to a single species of Panamerican distribution.

The giant megatheriine ground sloth Eremotherium eomigrans is described based on remains from the late Blancan to early Irvingtonian (late Pliocene to early Pleistocene) of Florida. It resembles the other giant megatheriines E. laurillardi and Megatherium americanum in size, but is clearly distinguished by a pentadactyl manus. It is assigned to the genus Eremotherium based on two synapomorphies shared with E. laurillardi: a coarse and rugose ectotympanic that ventrally is prominently expanded mediolaterally, and contiguous articular facets of the axis for the atlas. E. eomigrans is the earliest megatheriine known to have migrated to North America across the Panamanian Land Bridge during the Great American Interchange.

A nearly complete skeleton of a robust-bodied New World monkey that resembles living spider monkeys was recovered from undisturbed Pleistocene deposits in the Brazilian state of Bahia. The skeleton displays the highly specialized postcranial pattern typical of spider and woolly spider monkeys and shares cranial similarities to the spider monkey exclusively. It is generically distinct on the basis of its robustness (>20 kg) and on the shape of its braincase. This new genus indicates that New World monkeys nearly twice the size of those living today were part of the mammalian biomass of southern Amazonia in the late Pleistocene. The discovery of this specimen expands the known adaptive diversity of New World monkeys and demonstrates that they underwent body size expansion in the terminal Pleistocene, as did many other types of mammals.

Remains of Eremotherium, representing a large-sized megatheriid ground sloth, are known from localities in North, Central, and South America. Usually these remains are currently assigned to the following three species, based largely on geographic provenance: E. laurillardi (Lund), E. mirabile (Leidy), and E. rusconii (Schaub). However, two large, recently recovered collections of Eremotherium remains from Jacobina, Bahia, Brazil, and Daytona Beach, Florida, USA, do not support the separation of these species. Instead, these collections demonstrate the existence of a single Panamerican species. The range of variation is larger than was suspected and the morphological characteristics used in species distinction are not diagnostically valid. The valid name for this species is E. laurillardi (Lund, 1842). The type is a juvenile molariform (ZMUC 1130) from the Pleistocene of Lagoa Santa, Minas Gerais, Brazil. E. mirabile (Leidy, 1855) and E. rusconii (Schaub, 1935) fall as junior synonyms.

Anatomical comparisons suggest that the medial element of the proximal carpal row of Eremotherium and Megatherium is a scaphoid, homologous with that of other Tardigrada, and not a scapho-trapezium. The medial process of the scaphoid overhangs the distal carpal row in all sloths. The metacarpal-carpal complex (MCC) is composed of fused elements present medially in the manus of many Tardigrada. In most genera the MCC is a small nodular element incorporating the trapezium and metacarpal I (Mc I). Comparisons of the MCCs of Megatherium and Eremotherium with other sloths suggest that the MCC of Megatherium comprises the trapezium and Mc I, and that of Eremotherium the reduced Mc II, Mc I, trapezium, and trapezoid. The morphological similarity of the MCC in the three large size Eremotherium species (E. laurillardi, E. mirabile, and E. rusconii) currently recognized in the literature is evidence that species are conspecific.

Peter W. Lund (1801-1880) graduated in Natural History at the University of Copenhagen. His solid and eclectic education included knowledge of medicine, philosophy and music. When Lund finished his undergraduate course in 1824, he published two pieces of his work, one on medicine and another on zoology (Lund-Paula Couto, 1950). [Continues...]

A COMPLETE skeleton of a large-bodied New World monkey has been found in Pleistocene cave deposits in the Brazilian state of Bahia. It demonstrates an unprecedented combination of body size, locomotor and cranial morphology. Skeletal features indicate an animal of approximately 25 kg, more than twice the mass of any living South American monkey. We refer the specimen to Protopithecus brasiliensis Lund, 1838, a large Pleistocene primate originally represented by only a proximal femur and distal humerus1–4. The skeleton resembles species of two distinct New World monkey lineages. The cranium is modified for an enlarged vocal sac typical of living howler monkeys5–7, and the postcranium includes suspensory and brachiating components of locomotion as seen in living spider and woolly spider monkeys8. This skeleton confirms that adaptive diversity in neotropical primates was greater in the recent past, and that current interpretations of how their distinctive adaptations evolved should be revised.

Twenty-seven taxa of bats from late Pleistocene fossils originated from five caves in Bahia, Brazil. In one cave, humeri of Mormoops megalophylla were dated radiometrically to 20,060 ± 290 years ago. In another cave, a cranium of Desmodus rotundus was found adhering to the underside of a coprolite of a sloth ( Nothrotherium ) that had a radiometric age of 12,200 ± 120 radiocarbon years ago. Among taxa represented by the fossils were one extinct species ( Desmodus draculae ), the first South American fossil records for Mimon bennettii, Furipterus horrens , and Tadarida brasiliensis , and the first Brazilian fossil records for M. megalophylla, Phyllostomus discolor, Diphylla ecaudata , and Nyctinomops macrotis . All caves but one occur within the semiarid Caatinga biome today. However, fossil occurrences of several species ( M. megalophylla, M. bennettii , and Eptesicus fuscus ), which today select moister habitats or humid caves, suggest that conditions in the area during part of the late Pleistocene were wetter than at present.

CAPES - Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior Este trabalho abrange aspectos relacionados à paleontologia de cavernas no Brasil. A tese foi elaborada com o objetivo principal de propor um método mais eficaz de se avaliar o potencial paleontológico de cavernas, no que se refere aos estudos que compõe as etapas do licenciamento ambiental. Neste sentido, os resultados são apresentados na forma de cinco artigos e um capítulo de livro: (i) proposta de um método mais eficaz para a avaliação paleontológica das cavernas, (ii) descrição de novas feições de interesse paleontológico preservados em cavernas, (iii) estudos de caso envolvendo dois trabalhos técnicos onde foram aplicados métodos mais detalhados durante o levantamento do potencial paleontológico. (vi) Devido ao valor científico e histórico do Carste de Lagoa Santa, também é apresentada uma revisão taxonômica dos mamíferos coletados por Peter Lund, nos seus 10 anos de pesquisas nesta região. Em linhas gerais, o desenvolvimento desses trabalhos teve como objetivo responder as seguintes questões: (i) como os trabalhos técnicos desenvolvidos nas cavernas podem contribuir para o conhecimento sobre os fósseis ali preservados? (ii) é possível aplicar métodos mais detalhados nos trabalhos técnicos que não prejudiquem sua execução? O método testado se mostrou eficaz para ser aplicado nos trabalhos técnicos, e apresenta potencial para ser mais uma ferramenta para o acúmulo de conhecimento sobre a paleontologia nas cavernas brasileiras. Nele, são abordadas as características julgadas essenciais na avaliação do levantamento paleontológico, como as feições gerais da caverna, de seus depósitos sedimentares e dos restos orgânicos ali preservados. Essas características são detalhadas, com o objetivo de se recolher o máximo de informações pertinentes para que os resultados de diferentes trabalhos técnicos, sobre paleontologia em cavernas, possam ser comparados. Para sistematizar essa coleta de dados, é proposta uma ficha de campo para ser preenchida durante a inspeção das cavernas. Além do detalhamento da verificação da potencialidade fossilífera sem intervenção no sedimento, propõe-se também, uma complementação desse método. Resultados aqui apresentados apontam que esse tipo de intervenção possibilita o reconhecimento mais aproximado da real potencialidade paleontológica das cavidades. Os dois métodos foram testados durante trabalhos técnicos de paleontologia. Ambos se mostraram factíveis, sendo seus resultados satisfatórios. Para que a implementação desse método seja realmente eficaz, é imprescindível a elaboração de um banco de dados abrangendo as características relevantes das cavernas brasileiras para a paleontologia. Para isso se faz necessária a participação dos especialistas que elaboram os relatórios técnicos, e principalmente, a colaboração dos órgãos ambientais.

Esta investigação propõe caracterizar a incorporação da informação paleontológica nas narrativas expositivas em museus de história natural por meio da utilização de imagens. A iconografia paleontológica, vulgarmente referenciada como \"paleoarte\", é contextualizada na esfera do objeto museal. Objetiva-se aqui a caracterização do estado-de-arte das técnicas e modalidades iconográficas aplicadas às narrativas expositivas. Para tanto, três casos distintos são analisados: o do Museu Americano de História Natural (Estados Unidos), o do Museu da Evolução da Academia Polonesa de Ciências (Polônia) e o do Museu de Zoologia da Universidade de São Paulo (Brasil). Além de aspectos ligados à materialidade, técnicas artísticas, precisão e escala, foram investigadas a proporção de sua inserção na composições das expografias, bem como as expectativas curatoriais em relação a sua contribuição comunicacional para as narrativas expositivas. Apesar de notáveis diferenças entre todas as instituições investigadas, evidenciamos a convergência da iconografia paleontológica - especialmente a paleontografia, uma abordagem sofisticada que combina técnica artística e epistemologia científica - como um recurso estratégico adotado pelos museus na comunicação de conceitos paleontológicos complexos para o grande público. Esta pesquisa também evidenciou que para além das decisões conceituais, a concepção, formulação e aplicação da iconografia paleontológica em exposições de história natural são diretamente influenciadas pelas políticas de comunicação institucional, enfrentam desafios práticos e são suscetíveis a restrições financeiras. Esta análise, que oferece possibilidades a desdobramentos futuros de pesquisa, busca oferecer subsidio para o planejamento de exposições em museus de história natural, de modo a contribuir à consolidação dessas instituições como espaços privilegiados para o diálogo e a prática da educação para a ciência, para a preservação do patrimônio e para a sustentabilidade. This research proposes to characterize the incorporation of paleontological information in natural history museums exhibition narratives through the use of images. The paleontological iconography, commonly referred to as \"paleoart\", is contextualized in the realm of the museum object. The goal is featuring the techniques and iconographic modalities state-of-art applied in exhibition narratives. Three different cases are being analyzed: the American Museum of Natural History (United States), the Museum of Evolution of the Polish Academy of Sciences (Poland) and the Museum of Zoology of the University of São Paulo (Brazil). Besides aspects of iconography\'s materiality, artistic techniques, accuracy and scale, it was investigated the proportion of its insertion in expography compositions, as well as the curatorial goals regarding its communication contribution to exhibition narratives. Despite notable distinctions between all the institutions investigated, we evidenced the convergence of the paleontological iconography - especially the paleontography, a sophisticated approach that combines artistic technique and scientific epistemology - as a strategic resource of museum exhibitions to assist the communication of high complex paleontological concepts to broader audiences. This research also evidenced that in addition to conceptual decisions, the design, making and implementation of paleontological iconography in natural history exhibitions are direct influenced by institutional communication policies, face practical challenges and are susceptible to financial constraints. This analysis, which offers possibilities for future research developments, intends to provide subsidies for exhibitions planning at natural history museums, to contribute to their consolidation as privileged spaces for dialogue and the practice of education for science, for heritage preservation and sustainability.

Dentre a fauna de vertebrados fósseis, o grupo de mamíferos é o melhor representado no registro fóssil do Quaternário e por apresentar uma grande similaridade com a fauna atual, possibilita a realização de estudos taxonômicos, de relações ecológicas, reconstituição climática, dentre outros, com maior precisão. Do ponto de vista tafonômico, os fósseis de vertebrados podem ser utilizados como ferramenta para reconstruir os processos ocorridos com seus restos desde a morte até o soterramento final, através das assinaturas macroscópicas neles impressas. A análise do depósito da cavidade ES-08, localizada no maciço Escrivânia, Prudente de Morais, MG, foi conduzida de forma a compreender os mecanismos de transporte e sedimentação atuantes para a formação do depósito sedimentar que consiste de um solo carbonatado suspenso (paleopiso) com fósseis; a identificar taxonomicamente os restos de vertebrados coletados; a relacionar as alterações tafonômicas com seus agentes causadores e a propor um método de coleta tafonômica para restos fósseis dispostos solos carbonatados preservados em cavernas. O estudo tafonômico dos fósseis mostrou que a formação do depósito em momento anterior a cimentação por carbonatos se deu através de enxurradas que carrearam aportes de lama e ossos por fluxos gravitacional e/ou trativo e que eventos posteriores, de novas enxurradas poderiam ter retrabalhado o material. A falta de padrão da distribuição e direção dos bioclastos, o alto grau de fragmentação, abrasão, a significativa mistura de diferentes peças esqueletais, a ausência de peças esqueletais articuladas e de seleção hidráulica das peças, bem como a mistura dos grupos de Voorhies, corroboram este modelo deposicional. A análise taxonômica do material foi feita em 40 ossos dos 191 recuperados, tendo identificados os seguintes táxons: Família Mylodontidae Gill, 1872, Dasypus novemcinctus (Lineaus, 1758), Ordem Lagomorpha Brandt 1885, Eira barbara Linnaeus 1758, Speothos sp., Cuniculus major Lund, 1837 e Tayassu pecari (Link, 1795). The mammals are best representedin the Quaternary fossil record among vertebrates. Due to its close similarity with extant faunas, the discovery of fossil mammals allows accurate studies on taxonomy, ecological relationships and climate reconstructions. In addition, macroscopic signatures printed on the bones may help to infer the taphonomic history of the organic remains from death to burial. This works aims at analyzing the cave ES-08, located in the outcrop Escrivânia, Prudente de Morais Municipality, Minas Gerais, searching: 1) to understand by which mechanisms the sedimentary deposit within it (a fossiliferous suspended carbonated soil) was formed; 2) to identify the mammal taxa in its fossil content; 3) to assess the taphonomic alteration and their causative agents and 4) to propose a method for taphonomic analysis of fossil remains in carbonated soils preserved in caves. The results showed that the deposit formation has occurred prior to carbonates cementation, probably conducted by flood currents that carried mud and bones by gravity and/or tractive flow. Subsequent floods could have reworked the material. This depositional model was corroborated by other observations, such as the lack of preferential distribution or direction of the bioclasts; the high degree of fragmentation, abrasion and significant mixing of the different skeletal parts; the absence of articulated skeletal parts and the mixing of taphonomic Voorhies groups. Taxonomic analysis of the material was made in 40 of the 191 recovered bones. The following taxa have been identified: Mylodontidae Gill, 1872; Dasypus novemcinctus (Lineaus, 1758); Lagomorpha Brandt 1885; Eira barbara Linnaeus 1758; Speothos sp.; Cuniculus major Lund, 1837 and Tayassu pecari (Link, 1795).

Submitted by Alberto Vieira (martins_vieira@ibest.com.br) on 2018-08-13T23:57:33Z No. of bitstreams: 1 459046.pdf: 9742495 bytes, checksum: c8314d42cbc3a01b2a42bf635da27a52 (MD5) Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-13T23:57:33Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 459046.pdf: 9742495 bytes, checksum: c8314d42cbc3a01b2a42bf635da27a52 (MD5) Previous issue date: 1990-03-22 CAPES Tratamos aqui da revisão e organização dos fósseis de mamíferos pleistocênicos que foram coletados em tanques, no Município de Itapipoca, Estado do Ceará. Estes encontram-se depositados na Coleção de Vertebrados do Departamento de Geologia e Paleontologia do Museu Nacional do Rio de Janeiro. A partir deste material identificamos 14 espécies, 1 gênero e 1 tribo, distribuímos em 12 famílias e 5 ordens. São os seguintes: Northotherium maquinense, Xenocus cearensis, Eremothrium laurillardi, Scelidodon cuvieri, Holmesina paulacoutoi, Glyptodon sp., Cerdocyon thous, Protocyon troglodytes, Smilodon populator, Haplomastodon waringi, Hippidion principale, Equus (Amerhippus) neogaeus, Tayassu pecari, Palaeolama major, Mazama gouazubira, Ozotoceros bezoarticus, Odocoilene, Cingulata, Edenata, Artiodactyla e Mammalia. Estes grupos assemelham-se aos dos demais estados nordestinos. Dentre os edentados, excetua-se a espécie Xenocnus cearensis Paula Couto, 1980, que até o presente momento foi apenas encontrada em Itapipoca. Baseado no conjunto faunístico identificado, acreditamos que o clima e a vegetação reinantes na época, eram diversos dos encontrados atualmente. Esta área teria sido coberta por uma rica savana, com clima semiúmido e temperatura amena. Ao avaliarmos as hipóteses acerca das circunstâncias de deposição de animais e/ou seus restos nos tanques, concluímos que estes teriam ali sucumbido ao buscarem água, sem depois saírem, os que morreram nos arredores, teriam seus restos carreados para o interior dos tanques na ocasião das grandes enxurradas, que caracterizam este período de mudança. In this work we intended to review and organize the pleistocenic mammals material found inside tanks, in Itapipoca city, Ceará state. Nowadays, those fossils are included in the vertebrate Paleontological Collection of Museu Nacional, Rio de Janeiro. After the revision, we identified 14 species, 1 genus and 1 tribe, belonging to 12 families and 5 orders. Here are identified taxa: Northotherium maquinense, Xenocus cearensis, Eremothrium laurillardi, Scelidodon cuvieri, Holmesina paulacoutoi, Glyptodon sp., Cerdocyon thous, Protocyon troglodytes, Smilodon populator, Haplomastodon waringi, Hippidion principale, Equus (Amerhippus) neogaeus, Tayassu pecari, Palaeolama major, Mazama gouazubira, Ozotoceros bezoarticus, Odocoileini, Cingulata, Edentata, Artiodactyla an Mammalia. These extinct groups are similar to those of other northeastern states of Brasil except x. cearensis, which has only been found in Ceará state. Based on such fauna we concluded that demi-humid climate and savannah vegetation found in Ceará state, doring the Pleistocene, do not exist there anymore. Analysing the hipothesis that try to explain the presence of these fossils remains inside Itapipoca tanks, we picked out two of them possible to occur ; some animals slipped into these tanks while looking for water, and could not go out; Others died in the surroundings and thair remains were carried into the tanks by flood.