SYSTEMATIC REVISION OF SOME FOSSIL FOXES (CARNIVORA, CANIDAE) FROM THE PLEISTOCENE OF ARGENTINA

MARIANO RAMÍREZ; FRANCISCO J. PREVOSTI

AMEGHINIANA

ASOCIACION PALEONTOLOGICA ARGENTINA

Lugar: Buenos Aires; Año: 2014 p. 37 - 51

0002-7014

The fossil record of foxes in South America is very rich, with almost all extant South American species recorded. Currently, threefossil species are known in the Plio-Pleistocene of South America: ?Dusicyon? cultridens, Dusicyon avus and ?Canis? ensenadensis. In the presentwork we reviewed the systematics of ?Canis? ensenadensis from the Pleistocene of Buenos Aires province using both qualitative and quantitativeapproaches. We also described a new fossil specimen (MCA 2082) from Buenos Aires Province (Argentina) that shares some similaritieswith ?Canis? ensenadensis. We compared the fossil specimens with a large sample of specimens that includes the living species Lycalopex gymnocercus,L. culpaeus, Cerdocyon thous, L. fulvipes, L. vetulus, L. sechurae and Atelocynus microtis. We performed a Principal Component Analysisusing mandibular and dental measurements, and then a geometric morphometric analysis using photographs of the lateral view of themandible. Our results indicate that ?Canis? ensenadensis is a valid species and it should be included in the genus Lycalopex. We also concludethat MCA 2082 is a member of the genus Lycalopex, probably belonging to the species L. ensenadensis. These results suggest that the biochronof L. ensenadensis reaches the Lujanian Age. Even if our assignation of MCA 2082 is incorrect, this specimen represents a different taxonfrom those already described for the Lujanian, thus the diversity of foxes during the Lujanian is greater than previously known.Key words. Foxes. Fossil. Pleistocene. Systematics.