Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-ndw9j Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-12T21:43:10.375Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

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).
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

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

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Asevedo, L., Winck, G.R., Mothé, D., and Avilla, L.S. Ancient diet of the Pleistocene gomphothere Notiomastodon platensis (Mammalia, Proboscidea, Gomphotheriidae) from lowland mid-latitudes of South America: stereomicrowear and tooth calculus analyses combined. Quaternary International (2011). http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.quaint.2011.08.037Google Scholar
Asevedo, L., Oliveira, G.F. de, Avilla, L.S., Oliveira, E., Mothé, D., and Winck, G.R. Reconstrução da paleodieta de Notiomastodon platensis (Gomphotheriidae: Proboscidea: Mammalia) via análises de microdesgaste e cálculo dentário. Boletim de Resumos, Paleo2011, Alegre, Espírito Santo. (2011). Google Scholar
Auler, A.S., and Smart, P.L. Late Quaternary paleoclimate in semiarid northeastern Brazil from U-series dating of travertine and water-table speleothems. Quaternary Research 55, (2001). 159–167. http://dx.doi.org/10.1006/qres.2000.2213Google Scholar
Auler, A.S., Piló, L.B., Smart, P.L., Wang, X., Hoffmann, D., Richards, D.A., Edwards, R.L., Neves, W.A., and Cheng, H. U-series dating and taphonomy of Quaternary vertebrates from Brazilian caves. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 240, (2006). 508–522. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.palaeo.2006.03.002Google Scholar
Bargo, M.S., De Iuliis, G., and Vizcaíno, S.F. Hypsodonty in Pleistocene ground sloths. Acta Palaeontolica Polonica 51, 1 (2006). 53–61.Google Scholar
Barreto, E.A., de, S., (2010). Reconstituição da pluviosidade da Chapada Diamantina (BA) durante o Quaternário tardio através de registros isotópicos (O e C) em estalagmites. Programa de Pós-graduação em Geoquímica e Geotectônica, Universidade de São Paulo, Dissertação de Mestrado., 133 pp.Google Scholar
Behling, H., Arz, H.W., Tzold, J.R.P., and Wefer, G. Late Quaternary vegetational and climate dynamics in northeastern Brazil, inferences from marine core GeoB 3104-1. Quaternary Science Reviews 19, (2000). 981–994.Google Scholar
Carnaval, A.C., and Moritz, G. Historical climate modelling predicts patterns of current biodiversity in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest. Journal of Biogeography 35, (2008). 1187–1201. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2699.2007.01870.xGoogle Scholar
Cartelle, C. Pleistocene mammals of the Cerrado and Caatinga of Brazil. Eisenberg, J.F., and Redford, K.H. Mammals of the Neotropics. (1999). The University of Chicago Press, 27–46.Google Scholar
Cerling, T.E., and Harris, J.M. Carbon isotope fractionation between diet and bioapatite in ungulate mammals and implications for ecological and paleoecological studies. Oecologia 120, (1999). 347–363.Google Scholar
Dantas, M.A.T., Porpino, K.deO., Bauermann, S.G., Prata, A.P. do N., Cozzuol, M.A., Kinoshita, A., Barbosa, J.H.O., and Baffa, O. Megafauna do Pleistoceno superior de Sergipe, Brasil: registros taxonômicos e cronológicos. Revista Brasileira de Paleontologia 14, 3 (2011). 311–320. http://dx.doi.org/10.4072/rbp. 2011.3.10Google Scholar
De Oliveira, P.E., Barreto, A.M.F., and Suguio, K. Late Pleistocene/Holocene climatic and vegetational history of the Brazilian Caatinga: the fossil dunes of the middle São Francisco river. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 152, (1999). 319–337.Google Scholar
Drefahl, M. Implicações paleoambientais preliminares da análise de δ13C em osso de paleomastofauna procedente de Quijingue, Bahia. Boletim de Resumos, Simpósio Brasileiro de Paleobotânica e Palinologia, Salvador, ALPP, Bahia. (2010). 239 Google Scholar
Fariña, R.A. Trophic relationships among Lujanian mammals. Evolutionary Theory 11, (1996). 125–134.Google Scholar
Guimarães, P.R. Jr., Galetti, M., and Jordano, P. Seed dispersal anachronisms: rethinking the fruits extinct megafauna ate. PloS One 3, 3 (2008). 1–13. http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0001745Google Scholar
Kinoshita, A., Franca, A.M., de Almeida, J.A.C., Figueiredo, A.M., Nicolucci, P., Graeff, C.F.O., and Baffa, O. ESR dating at K and X band of northeastern Brazilian megafauna. Applied Radiation and Isotopes 62, (2005). 225–229. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.apradiso.2004.08.007CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kinoshita, A., Barreto, A., Alves, R., Figueiredo, A.M., Sarkis, J.E.deS., Dias, M.L., and Baffa, O. ESR dating of teeth from northeastern Brazilian megafauna. Radiation Measurements 43, (2008). 809–812. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.radmeas.2007.11.075Google Scholar
MacFadden, B.J. Diet and habitat of toxodont megaherbivores (Mammalia, Notoungulata) from the late Quaternary of South and Central America. Quaternary Research 64, (2005). 113–124. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.yqres.2005.05.003Google Scholar
MacFadden, B.J., Cerling, T.E., Harris, J.M., and Prado, J. Ancient latitudinal gradients of C3/C4 grasses interpreted from stable isotopes of New World Pleistocene horse (Equus) teeth. Global Ecology and Biogeography 8, (1999). 137–149.Google Scholar
Mothé, D., Avilla, L.S., Cozzuol, M., Winck, G.R., in press. Taxonomic revision of the Quaternary gomphotheres (Mammalia: Proboscidea: Gomphotheriidae) from the South American lowlands. Quaternary International http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.quaint.2011.05.018.Google Scholar
Neves, W., Hubber, A., and Karmann, I. New accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) ages suggest a revision of the electron spin resonance (ESR) middle Holocene dates obtained for a Toxodon platensis (Toxodontidae, Mammalia) from southeast Brazil. Radiocarbon 49, 3 (2007). 1411–1412.Google Scholar
Oliveira, L.C., Kinoshita, A., Barreto, A.M.F., Figueiredo, A.M., Silva, J.L.L., and Baffa, O. ESR dating of teeth from Brazilian megafauna. Journal of Physics Conference Series 249, (2010). 1–6.Google Scholar
Reimer, P.J., Baillie, M.G.L., Bard, E. et al. IntCal09 and Marine09: radiocarbon age calibration curves, 0–50,000 years cal BP. Radiocarbon 51, 4 (2009). 1111–1150.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ribeiro, R., Da, C., Kinoshita, A., Figueiredo, A.M.G., Carvalho, I., de, S., Baffa, O., in press. Electron spin resonance dating of the late Quaternary megafauna fossils from Baixa Grande, Bahia, Brazil. Quaternary International http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.quaint.2012.07.017.Google Scholar
Rossetti, D.deF., Toledo, P.M. de, Moraes-Santos, H.M., Santos, A.M.de A. Jr. Reconstructing habitats in central Amazonia using megafauna, sedimentology, radiocarbon, and isotope analyses. Quaternary Research 61, (2004). 289–300. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.yqres.2004.02.010CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sánchez, B., Prado, J.L., and Alberdi, M.T. Feeding ecology, dispersal, and extinction of South American Pleistocene gomphotheres (Gomphotheriidae, Proboscidea). Paleobiology 30, 1 (2004). 146–161.Google Scholar
Sifeddine, A., Albuquerque, A.L.S., Ledru, M.-P.L., Turcq, B., Knoppers, B., Martin, L., Mello, W.Z., Passenau, H., Dominguez, J.M.L., Cordeiro, R.C., Abrão, J.J., and Bittencourt, A.C.S.P. A 21,000 cal years paleoclimatic record from Caço Lake, Northern, Brazil: evidence from sedimentary and pollen analyses. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 189, (2003). 25–34.Google Scholar
Silva, J.L.L. da, (2009). Reconstituição paleoambiental baseada no estudo de mamíferos pleistocênicos de Maravilha e Poço das Trincheiras, Alagoas, nordeste do Brasil. 244 pp. Tese de Doutorado — Curso de Pós Graduação em Geociências, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Recife.Google Scholar
Souza-Lima, W., and Farias, R.M. A flora Quaternária dos travertinos da região de Itabaiana, Sergipe. Palaeontologia em Destaque 23, 61 (2008). 9 Google Scholar
Viana, M.S.S., da Silva, J.L.L., de Oliveira, P.V.daS., and Julião, M.S. Hábitos alimentares em herbívoros da megafauna pleistocênica do Nordeste do Brasil. Estudos Geológicos 21, 2 (2011). 89–95.Google Scholar
Werneck, F.P., Costa, G.C., Colli, G.R., Prado, D.E., Sites, J.W. Jr. Revisiting the historical distribution of seasonally dry tropical forests: new insights based on palaeodistribution modelling and palynological evidence. Global Ecology and Biogeography 20, (2011). 272–288. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1466-8238.2010.00596.xGoogle Scholar