A peculiar rspecimen of Panochthus Burmeister (Xenarthra: Glyptodontidae) from the late Pleistoceneof Quequen Salado River, Buenos Aires Province, Argentina.

ZAMORANO M.; OLIVA C. G

Congreso; 2nd Palaeontological Virtual Congress; 2020

PanochthusBurmeisteris one of theglyptodontids with greater latitudinal distributioninthe Pleistocene of South America. Seven species are traditionally recognized for the genus: P. intermediusLydekker, P. subintermediusCastellanos, P. tuberculatus (Owen), P. frenzelianusAmeghino, P. greslebiniCastellanos,P. jaguaribensisMoreira and P. hipsilisZurita, Zamorano, Scillato-Yané, Fidel, Iriondo& Gillette.In this contribution,we describe an almost complete specimen assigned to the genus Panochthus(MCP s/n), from the late Pleistocene of QuequénSalado river (Buenos Aires province, Argentina),that comprises theskull, mandible, most part of postcranial skeleton, cephalic shield, carapace, fragmentary caudal rings and caudal tube. Although anatomically similar to P.tuberculatus, the new material exhibitsremarkable endoskeletaldifferences from the type of the species, especially in thepresacral series (two distalmost lumbar vertebrae well differentiated from the remaining elements). Likewise, the caudal sheath does not resemble any of the known species, characterized by the presence of three apical figures.Future comparative studies are necessary to determine if the observed features represent intraspecific variations and/or are indicatives of a new taxon.