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D |
Viglino, Mariana; Valenzuela-Toro, Ana M.; Benites-Palomino, Aldo; Hernandez-Cisneros, Atzcalli Ehecatl; Gutstein, Carolina Simon; Aguirre-Fernandez, Gabriel; Velez-Juarbe, Jorge; Cozzuol, Mario A.; Buono, Monica R; Loch, Carolina.
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2023 |
Aquatic mammal fossils in Latin America - a review of records, advances and challenges in research in the last 30 years.
The Latin American Journal of Aquatic Mammals 18(1): 50-66. https://doi.org/10.5597/lajam00295
–ABSTRACT: Records of aquatic mammal fossils (e.g. cetaceans, pinnipeds, sirenians, mustelids, and desmostylians) from Latin America (Mexico to Tierra del Fuego, including Antartica) span since the mid-1800s. Aquatic mammal fossils received little attention from the scientific community, with most of the first studies conducted by Northern Hemisphere researchers. Over the last 30 years, paleontological research in Latin America has increased considerably, with descriptions of several new species and revisions of published original records. The Latin American fossil record of marine mammals spans from the Eocene to the Pleistocene, with formations and specimens of global significance. All three main groups of cetaceans are represented in the continent (Archaeoceti, Mysticeti, and Odontoceti). Pinnipedia are represented by the families Otariidae and Phocidae, with records starting in the Middle Miocene. Both living families of Sirenia (Trichechidae and Dugongidae) are recorded. While less common, but still relevant, records of desmostylians and mustelids are known from Oligocene and Miocene deposits. This review provides a summary of the aquatic mammals known to date, with a special focus on the advances and developments of the last 30 years, since Cozzuol's (1996) review of the South American fossil record. An up-to-date complete list of species based on the literature and unpublished data is also provided. The study also provides future directions for paleontological research in Latin America, and discusses the challenges and opportunities in the field, including the emergence of a strong new generation of Latin American researchers, many of whom are women.
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Benites-Palomino, Aldo; Aguirre-Fernandez, Gabriel; Velez-Juarbe, Jorge; Carrillo-Briceno, Jorge D.; Sanchez, Rodolfo; Sanchez-Villagra, Marcelo R.
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2024 |
Trophic interactions of sharks and crocodylians with a sea cow (Sirenia) from the Miocene of Venezuela.
Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 43(6): e2381505 (6 pp.) 2 figs. https://doi.org/10.1080/02724634.2024.2381505 Nov. 2023. (Published online: 28 Aug 2024).
–ABSTRACT: Evidence of trophic interactions are not scarce in the fossil record, yet these are mostly represented by fragmentary fossils exhibiting marks of ambiguous significance. Differentiating between marks of active predation and scavenging events is therefore often challenging. Here, we report on a dugongine sea cow skeleton (partial skull and vertebrae) from the Lower to Middle Miocene Agua Clara Formation (Venezuela) with shark and crocodylian bite marks. The sirenian is identified as Culebratherium sp. and preserves crocodylian bite marks across the skeleton. The most conspicuous correspond to deep tooth impacts with dragging effect, concentrated in the rostrum of the specimen. We interpret these as the result of active predation because of the similarity with those produced when a crocodylian holds or rolls a prey. Additionally, shark bite marks can be observed throughout the skeleton, also evidenced by the finding of an isolated tiger shark (Galeocerdo aduncus) tooth associated with this skeleton. Because of the irregular distribution of the shark bite marks, these are interpreted as scavenging. Overall, these findings constitute one of the few records documenting multiple predators over a single prey, and as such provide a glimpse of the trophic networks during the Miocene in the region.
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Bibliography and Index of the Sirenia and Desmostylia 