Small mammals in pellets of birds of prey from a desert ecotone in northwestern Patagonia, Argentina

TARQUINO CARBONELL, ANDREA DEL PILAR; TURIENZO, PAOLA; LÓPEZ, JOSÉ MANUEL

El Hornero

Asociación Ornitológica del Plata

Lugar: Buenos Aires; Año: 2022 vol. 38 p. 1 - 7

0073-3407

One of the distinctive features of the South American drylands is the presence of small mammals. This work presents the results of taphonomic and taxonomic analyses of micromammal (≤ 1 kg) bones recovered from an isolated deposit in pellets of birds of prey found in a cave located in the Neuquén province (Argentina). Taphonomic analyses revealed a low proportion of elements modified by digestion and of broken elements, as well as a relatively high abundance of post-cranial skeletal elements, a pattern suggesting that pellets were ejected by barn owls (Tyto furcata). Remains from members of five rodent genera (Calomys, Eligmodontia, Phyllotis, Oligmodontia, Ctenomys) were identified. The results of these analyses should contribute to ongoing ecological studies, especially on birds of prey, of Northwestern Patagonia