1. A New South American Paleogene Land Mammal Fauna, Guabirotuba Formation (Southern Brazil)
- Author
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Fernando Antonio Sedor, Édison Vicente Oliveira, Eliseu Vieira Dias, Ana Maria Ribeiro, D. T. Da Silva, Luiz Alberto Fernandes, and Renata Floriano da Cunha
- Subjects
0106 biological sciences ,010506 paleontology ,biology ,Fauna ,Interatheriidae ,biology.organism_classification ,010603 evolutionary biology ,01 natural sciences ,Paleontology ,Geography ,Oldfieldthomasiidae ,Astrapotheria ,Notoungulata ,Metatheria ,Cenozoic ,Paleogene ,Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics ,0105 earth and related environmental sciences - Abstract
The Paleogene vertebrate-bearing sites of Brazil are restricted to few formations such as Maria Farinha (Late Cretaceous-early Paleocene), Itaborai (early Eocene), Entre-Corregos (Eocene-Oligocene), and Tremembe (late Oligocene-early Miocene). A new Paleogene fauna is reported from an outcrop of the Guabirotuba Formation located at Curitiba, Parana State, southern Brazil. The Guabirotuba Formation is a stratigraphic unit of the Curitiba Basin, which belongs to the Cenozoic continental rift system of southeastern Brazil, a predominantly half-graben and horst system. The sedimentary facies indicate a fluvial distributary depositional system associated with floodplain, generated under humid climate conditions alternating with drier periods. This new Paleogene fauna, here named the Guabirotuba Fauna, has invertebrate and vertebrate taxa, including mammals (Cingulata, Notoungulata, Astrapotheria, and Metatheria). The fossil remains of seven armored xenarthrans are identified, including the description of a new species and genus named Proeocoleophorus carlinii. The Guabirotuba ungulates are assigned to Interatheriidae, Oldfieldthomasiidae, and Astrapotheria. The metatherian mammals are represented by a sparassodont, a palaeothentoid, and an argyrolagoid. This new mammalian fauna preliminarily suggests a late middle Eocene age (Barrancan South American Land Mammal Age) for the Guabirotuba Formation.
- Published
- 2016
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