New Palaeogene metatherians from the Quebrada de Los Colorados Formation at Los Cardones National Park (Salta Province, Argentina)

CHORNOGUBSKY, L; ZIMICZ ANA NATALIA; GOIN FRANCISCO J.; FERNÍCOLA JUAN CARLOS; PAYROLA, PATRICIO; CÁRDENAS MAGALÍ

JOURNAL OF SYSTEMATIC PALAEONTOLOGY

CAMBRIDGE UNIV PRESS

Lugar: Cambridge; Año: 2018 p. 1 - 17

1477-2019

The Quebrada de Los Colorados Formation (Los Cardones National Park, Salta Province, north-western Argentina), is anEocene?Oligocene unit well represented in the Calchaquı Valley area. Here we describe a new metatherian associationrecorded from the base of this formation, inferred as middle Eocene. Represented taxa are: Sparassodonta, family indet.:Patene simpsoni; Polydolopimorphia, Bonapartheriiformes, Argyrolagoidea: family, genus, and species indet.; andBonapartherioidea, Prepidolopidae: Punadolops alonsoi and Coloradolops cardonensis gen. et sp. nov. Patene simpsoni isalso found in the Tonco Valley, near Los Cardones, and at S~ao Jose de Itaboraı, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Punadolops alonsoiwas originally described from the Geste Formation in Salta and Catamarca provinces. Hitherto, no other Argyrolagoideahave been found in north-western Argentina in the Palaeogene. Coloradolops cardonensis is unique to the locality andlevels here described. The preservation of part of the skull constitutes the best prepidolopid remains known. North-westernArgentina is a key region for the study of the evolution of South American mammals, since it has a singular geographicallocation between the Neotropics and the southernmost part of South America. Due to biogeographical constraints, it maylead to a better comprehension of the continental distribution of metatherian lineages during Cenozoic times.