INVESTIGADORES
ERCOLI marcos dario
congresos y reuniones científicas
Título:
Paleoecology of the mammalian carnivores (Metatheria, Sparassodonta) of the Santa Cruz Formation (late Early Miocene)
Autor/es:
PREVOSTI, FRANCISCO JUAN; FORASIEPI, ANALÍA M.; ERCOLI, MARCOS DARÍO; TURAZZINI, GUILLERMO FIDEL
Lugar:
Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires
Reunión:
Jornada; XXVI Jornadas Argentinas de Paleontología de Vertebrados; 2012
Institución organizadora:
APA
Resumen:
During most of the Cenozoic, the predator guild in South America was mainly occupiedby metatherians (Sparassodonta) and shared with other vertebrates (PhorusrhacidaeSebecidae, and Madtsoiidae). The Sparassodonta was a diverse clade, recorded from thePaleocenemiddle Pliocene, with its acme in the late Early Miocene (SantacrucianAge). We reviewed the paleoecology of the Santacrucian sparassodonts and includednew results obtained by geometric morphometric analyses. The Santa Cruz Formationcontains eleven sparassodont species: Acyon tricuspidatus Mercerat, Cladosictispatagonica Ameghino, Sipalocyon gracilis Ameghino, S. obusta Ameghino,Pseudonotictis pusillus Ameghino, Perathereutes pungens Ameghino, Prothylacynuspatagonicus Ameghino, Lycopsis torresi Cabrera, Borhyaena tuberata Ameghino,Acrocyon sectorius Ameghino, and Arctodictis munizi Mercerat. These sparassodontswere primarily hypercarnivores (according to the tooth morphology), had differentlocomotor abilities (from scansorial to terrestrial), and a wide range of body mass(between 1 kg and more than 50 kg). The reconstruction of the Santacrucian predatorguild suggests that there was a good ecological separation within sparassodonts, givenby the combination of the three parameters: body-size, diet, and locomotion. Evenwithout taken into account the already recognized bias of the fossil record, the diversityof sparassodonts in the Santa Cruz Formation (eleven species) and in the lower EstanciaLa Costa Member of the Santa Cruz Formation (seven species), is similar to thatrecorded in some past and present placental hypercarnivore communities (e.g.,nowadays Patagonian Steppe or the Pampean Region have 12 species of terrestrialcarnivores and less than eight hypercarnivores).
