Evolutionary History of South American Artiodactyla

CASSINI, GUILLERMO HERNÁN; MUÑOZ, NAHUEL ANTÚ; MERINO, MARIANO LISANDRO

Contribuciones del MACN

Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales "Bernardino Rivadavia"

Año: 2016 vol. 6 p. 673 - 689

1666-5503

SouthAmerican artiodactyls have a Holartic origin and reached the continent duringthe Great American Biotic Interchange. Among the 10 extant artiodactylfamilies, three, Tayassuidae, Camelidae and Cervidae arrived and survived tothe present. They participate in the megahervibore climax of spectacularityduring the Quaternary, but did not occupy or compete in the megaherbivoreniche. They reached their maximum diversity during Lujanian Age, particularlythe camelid and cervid families. In the late Quaternary, many of the largertayassuids, camelids, and cervids (especially those with big antlers) wentextinct. In recent times the cervids are the most diverse of South Americanartiodactyl families, while in Africa bovids are the most diverse. In certain casesthere is a remarkable parallelism in ecological niche space and morphologybetween the continents, for example between African duikers and South Americanbrocket deer. The shared ecomorphological traits seem to be very successful inforested habitats in warm climates