North American Glyptodontines (Xenarthra, Mammalia) in the Upper Pleistocene of northern South America.

3- CARLINI A.A., A.E. ZURITA, O. AGUILERA

PALAEONTOLOGISCHE ZEITSCHRIFT

SPRINGER HEIDELBERG

Año: 2008 vol. 82 p. 125 - 138

0031-0220

Abstract: The Glyptodontidae is one of the most conspicuous groups in the Pleistocene megafauna of the Americas. The Glyptodontinae were involved in the Great American Biotic Interchange (GABI) and their earliest records in North America are about 3.7 Ma, suggesting an earlier formation of the Panamanian land bridge. Taxonomically it is possible to recognize two Pleistocene genera of Glyptodontinae: Glyptodon (ca. 1.7 – 0.008 Ma), restricted to South America, and Glyptotherium (ca. 2.6 – 0.009 Ma), including records in both North and Central America. Here we present the fi rst report of the genus Glyptotherium in South America, from the Late Pleistocene of several fosssil localities in Falcón State, northwestern Venezuela. A comparative analysis of the material, represented by cranial and postcranial parts, including the dorsal carapace and caudal rings, suggests a close affi nity with Glyptotherium cylindricum (Late Pleistocene of Central Mexico). This occurrence in the latest Pleistocene of the northernmost region of South America supports the bidirectional faunal migration during the GABI and the repeated re-immigration from North America of South American clades, as has been reported in other members of the Cingulata (e.g., Pampatheriidae).