First osteohistological and histotaphonomic approach of Equus occidentalis Leidy, 1865 (Mammalia, Equidae) from the late Pleistocene of Rancho La Brea (California, USA)

TOMASSINI, RODRIGO LEANDRO; PESQUERO, MARÍA DOLORES; GARRONE, MARIANA CAROLINA; MARIN-MONFORT, MARÍA DOLORES; CERDA, IGNACIO ALEJANDRO; PRADO, JOSÉ LUIS; MONTALVO, CLAUDIA INÉS; FERNÁNDEZ-JALVO, YOLANDA; ALBERDI, MARÍA TERESA

PLOS ONE

PUBLIC LIBRARY SCIENCE

Lugar: San Francisco; Año: 2021 vol. 16 p. 1 - 24

1932-6203

Rancho La Brea (California, USA) is the most emblematic Quaternary fossiliferous localityin the world, since both the high number and diversity of the specimens recovered and theirexcellent preservational quality. In the last decades, paleobiological and paleoecologicalknowledge of the different groups of mammals from this site has increased notably; however,some aspects have not yet been inquired or there is little information. In this work weprovide information on one of the most abundant mammals of this site, the equid Equusoccidentalis, based on the study, from osteohistological and histotaphonomic perspectives,of thin sections of different limb bones. On the one hand, from an osteohistological viewpoint,we observe that the distribution and characterization of bone tissues in the differentskeletal elements are, in general lines, similar to that mentioned for other extant and extinctequids. Cyclical growth marks allowed us to propose preliminary skeletochronological interpretations. On the other hand, from a taphonomic viewpoint, we note that all the samplesreflect an excellent preservation of the bone microstructure, slightly altered by different preandpost-burial processes. The variations recorded evidence different taphonomic historyand preservation conditions among pits. This is the first study including fossil material fromRancho La Brea exclusively based on the analysis of the bone microstructure features.