Reappraisal of the giant caviomorph rodent Phoberomys burmeisteri (Ameghino, 1886) from the late Miocene of northeastern Argentina, and the phylogeny and diversity of Neoepiblemidae

RASIA, L., CANDELA, A.

Historical Biology

Taylor & Francis

Año: 2018

0891-2963

Phoberomys is a giant caviomorph rodent included in the extinct Neoepiblemidae. It is recorded inthe late Miocene-Pliocene of South America (Argentina, Venezuela, Brazil and Peru), and is one of thelargest rodents that have ever lived. In this contribution we study specimens of Phoberomys from the?Mesopotamiense?, late Miocene of Entre Ríos Province (Argentina), including several unpublishedspecimens and the holotypes of the five nominal species (Ph. burmeisteri, Ph. praecursor, Ph. insolita, Ph.lozanoi and Ph. minima) previously recognised for this unit. Our study indicates that all Mesopotamianspecimens belong to Phoberomys burmeisteri, and that the differences among them reveal individual andontogenetic variation. Our phylogenetic analysis indicates that Neoepiblemidae is monophyletic andincludes Phoberomys, Neoepiblema, and Perimys. Phoberomys species are recovered as a clade, which ismore closely related to Neoepiblema than to the Patagonian Perimys. In addition, our study shows thatEusigmomys is not a Neoepiblemidae, but a Dinomyidae.