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Paleoecology and radiocarbon dating of the Pleistocene megafauna of the Brazilian Intertropical Region

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Mário André Trindade Dantas ,
Rodrigo Parisi Dutra ,
Alexander Cherkinsky ,
Daniel Costa Fortier ,
Luciana Hiromi Yoshino Kamino ,
Mario Alberto Cozzuol ,
Adauto de Souza Ribeiro  and
Fabiana Silva Vieira
Mário André Trindade Dantas*
Affiliation:
Programa de Pós-graduação em Ecologia, Conservação e Manejo da Vida Silvestre, Av. Antônio Carlos, 6627, CEP 31270-010, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil Laboratório de Paleozoologia, Departamento de Biologia Geral, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Av. Antônio Carlos, 6627, CEP 31270-010, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil
Rodrigo Parisi Dutra
Affiliation:
Programa de Pós-graduação em Ecologia, Conservação e Manejo da Vida Silvestre, Av. Antônio Carlos, 6627, CEP 31270-010, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil Laboratório de Paleozoologia, Departamento de Biologia Geral, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Av. Antônio Carlos, 6627, CEP 31270-010, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil
Alexander Cherkinsky
Affiliation:
Center for Applied Isotope Studies, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA
Daniel Costa Fortier
Affiliation:
Laboratório de Paleozoologia, Departamento de Biologia Geral, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Av. Antônio Carlos, 6627, CEP 31270-010, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil
Luciana Hiromi Yoshino Kamino
Affiliation:
Programa de Pós-Graduação em Biologia Vegetal, Departamento de Botânica, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Av. Antônio Carlos, 6627, CEP 31270-010, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil
Mario Alberto Cozzuol
Affiliation:
Laboratório de Paleozoologia, Departamento de Biologia Geral, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Av. Antônio Carlos, 6627, CEP 31270-010, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil
Adauto de Souza Ribeiro
Affiliation:
Departamento de Biologia, Centro de Ciências Biológicas e da Saúde, Universidade Federal de Sergipe, Av Marechal Rondon s/n, Bairro Rosa Elze, CEP 49100-000, São Cristovão, SE, Brazil
Fabiana Silva Vieira
Affiliation:
Departamento de Biologia, Centro de Ciências Biológicas e da Saúde, Universidade Federal de Sergipe, Av Marechal Rondon s/n, Bairro Rosa Elze, CEP 49100-000, São Cristovão, SE, Brazil
*
*Corresponding author at: Programa de Pós-graduação em Ecologia, Conservação e Manejo da Vida Silvestre, Av. Antônio Carlos, 6627, CEP 31270-010, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil. E-mail address:matdantas@yahoo.com.br (M.A.T. Dantas).
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Abstract

During the Pleistocene a fauna composed of large (biomass > 44 kg) and giant mammals (biomass > 1000 kg) that are usually associated with open environments lived in the Brazilian Intertropical Region. We present here new information concerning the paleoecology and chronology of some species of this megafauna. Carbon isotope analyses were performed for a better understanding of the paleoecology of the species Eremotherium laurillardi (Lund, 1842), Notiomastodon platensis (Ameghino, 1888) and Toxodon platensis (Owen, 1849). The δ13C data allow attributing a generalist diet to these species, which varied according to the kind of habitat in which they lived. In more open habitats all species were grazers; in mixed habitats E. laurillardi and T. platensis were mixed feeders, and N. platensis was grazer; and in more closed habitats all species were mixed feeders.

Keywords

MegafaunaBrazilian Intertropical RegionCarbon isotopesAMS
Type
Research Article
Information
Quaternary Research , Volume 79 , Issue 1 , January 2013 , pp. 61 - 65
Copyright
University of Washington

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