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Isotope data from amino acids indicate Darwin's ground sloth was not an herbivore.

Authors :
Tejada JV
Flynn JJ
MacPhee R
O'Connell TC
Cerling TE
Bermudez L
Capuñay C
Wallsgrove N
Popp BN
Source :
Scientific reports [Sci Rep] 2021 Oct 07; Vol. 11 (1), pp. 18944. Date of Electronic Publication: 2021 Oct 07.
Publication Year :
2021

Abstract

Fossil sloths are regarded as obligate herbivores for reasons including peculiarities of their craniodental morphology and that all living sloths feed exclusively on plants. We challenge this view based on isotopic analyses of nitrogen of specific amino acids, which show that Darwin's ground sloth Mylodon darwinii was an opportunistic omnivore. This direct evidence of omnivory in an ancient sloth requires reevaluation of the ecological structure of South American Cenozoic mammalian communities, as sloths represented a major component of these ecosystems across the past 34 Myr. Furthermore, by analyzing modern mammals with known diets, we provide a basis for reliable interpretation of nitrogen isotopes of amino acids of fossils. We argue that a widely used equation to determine trophic position is unnecessary, and that the relative isotopic values of the amino acids glutamate and phenylalanine alone permit reliable reconstructions of trophic positions of extant and extinct mammals.<br /> (© 2021. The Author(s).)

Details

Language :
English
ISSN :
2045-2322
Volume :
11
Issue :
1
Database :
MEDLINE
Journal :
Scientific reports
Publication Type :
Academic Journal
Accession number :
34615902
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-97996-9