A review of the Quaternary Tayassuidae (Mammalia, Artiodactyla) from Tarija Valley, Bolivia

GASPARINI, G.M.; SOILBELZON, E; ZURITA, A.E.; MIÑO BOILINI, ANGEL R.

ALCHERINGA

Taylor & Francis Group

Lugar: Sydney; Año: 2010 vol. 37 p. 7 - 20

0311-5518

Three genera of Tayassuidae are recognized in South America: Platygonus Le Conte, 1848; Catagonus Ameghino, 1904; and Tayassu Fischer, 1814. This study provides the first systematic review of the Pleistocene tayassuids yet reported from Bolivia. The richest records of the family in South America derived from central-eastern Argentina and southern Brazil. Catagonus stenocephalus (Lund in Reinhardt, 1880) is documented for the first time in Bolivia, significantly extending the geographic distribution of this species in South America. We can not confirm the validity of Platygonus tarijensis (Ameghino, 1904), but accept its generic allocation. Both taxa show adaptations to arid or semiarid and relatively open environments, which is consistent with the palaeoenvironmental conditions previously proposed for the Tarija Valley. The veracity of other records of the family from Bolivia can not be confirmed.