THE EVOLUTION OF SOUTH AMERICAN CARNIVORE FAUNA: A PALEONTOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE

PREVOSTI, F. J.; SOIBELZON, L. H.

Bones, Clones and Biomes: The History and Geography of Recent Neotropical Mammals

University Chicago Press

Año: 2011; p. 1 - 20

Although the history of placental carnivores (order Carnivora) in South America is relatively short, they are a successful and diverse group. Carnivores, like many other taxa, entered South America from North America during an event called the “Great American Biotic Interchange” (GABI). Most families, genera and species are recorded since the early Pleistocene (≈ 1.8 Ma), but the oldest records are represented by procyonids found in Late Miocene levels (6-7 Ma), followed by mustelids and canids in the Late Pliocene (≈ 2.5 Ma). The available evidence suggests that the immigration of placental carnivores to South America is not related to the extinction of the native carnivores (Sparassodonta, Metatheria). We review the fossil record of South American carnivores based on the latest taxonomic, phylogenetic, and biostratigraphic studies to investigate their patterns of origin and diversification. During the Miocene-Pliocene, the diversity of carnivores is lower than in the Pleistocene and most species were small and omnivorous, but in the Early Pleistocene, diversity increased, reaching levels somewhat lower than in the present. Size and diet disparity were also augmented in the Early Pleistocene with the presence of hypercarnivore, omnivore, mesocarnivore, and piscivore species of various sizes (ranging from 1 to 1000 kg). The lacks of records or low diversity observed in several ages (e.g., Barrancalobian, Bonaerian and Platan) are mostly related to taphonomic or analytical biases. The taphonomic bias against tropical areas is a key problem in the South American record, because almost all pre-Late Pleistocene records come from the southern part of the continent. The available information suggests that Recent and fossil carnivores invaded South America from Central America as several independent events, but that local South American speciation also provided many species and several genera.