North American Glyptodontines (Xenarthra, Mammalia) in the Upper Pleistocene of northern South America

CARLINI, A. A; ZURITA, A. E; AGUILERA, O.

Palaeontologische Zeitschrift

German Paleontological Society

Lugar: Stuttgart; Año: 2008 vol. 82 p. 125 - 138

0031-0220

Abstract  The Glyptodontidae (Xenarthra, Cingulata, Glyptodontinae) is one of the most conspicuous groups in the Pleistocene megafauna of the Americas. The Glyptodontinae were involved in the Great American Biotic Interchange or GABI and its earliest records in North America are about 3.7 Ma, suggesting an earlier formation of the Panamanian land bridge. Taxonomically it is possible to recognize two Pleistocene genera of Glyptodontinae: Glyptodon (ca. 1.7-0.008 Ma), restricted to South America, and Glyptotherium (ca. 2.6-0.009 Ma), including records in both North and Central America. Here we present the first report of the genus Glyptotherium in South America, from the Late Pleistocene of several fosssil localities in Falcón State, northwestern Venezuela. A comparative analysis of the material, represented by cranial and postcranial parts, including the dorsal carapace and caudal rings, suggests a close affinity with Glyptotherium cylindricum (Late Pleistocene of Central Mexico). This occurrence in the latest Pleistocene of the northest region of South America supports the bidirectional faunal migration during the GABI and the repeated re-immigration from North America of South American clades, as has been reported in other members of the Cingulata (e.g., Pampatheriidae).