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Phylogeny, diet, and habitat of an extinct ground sloth from Cuchillo Curá, Neuquén Province, southwest Argentina

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Michael Hofreiter ,
Julio L. Betancourt ,
Alicia Pelliza Sbriller ,
Vera Markgraf  and
H. Gregory McDonald
Michael Hofreiter
Affiliation:
Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Inselstrasse 22, D-04103 Leipzig, Germany
Julio L. Betancourt*
Affiliation:
U.S. Geological Survey, Desert Laboratory, 1675 W. Anklam Rd., Tucson, AZ 85745, USA
Alicia Pelliza Sbriller
Affiliation:
Laboratorio de Microhistologia, INTA-EEA Bariloche, CC 277 (R8400AMC) Bariloche, Argentina
Vera Markgraf
Affiliation:
Vera Markgraf, INSTAAR, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80309-0450, USA
H. Gregory McDonald
Affiliation:
Geologic Resources Division, National Park Service, 7333 West Jefferson Avenue, P.O. Box 25287, Denver, CO 80225, USA
*
*Corresponding author. Fax: +1-520-670-6806. Email Address:jlbetanc@usgs.gov
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Abstract

Advancements in ancient DNA analyses now permit comparative molecular and morphological studies of extinct animal dung commonly preserved in caves of semiarid regions. These new techniques are showcased using a unique dung deposit preserved in a late glacial vizcacha (Lagidium sp.) midden from a limestone cave in southwestern Argentina (38.5° S). Phylogenetic analyses of the mitochondrial DNA show that the dung originated from a small ground sloth species not yet represented by skeletal material in the region, and not closely related to any of the four previously sequenced extinct and extant sloth species. Analyses of pollen and plant cuticles, as well as analyses of the chloroplast DNA, show that the Cuchillo Curá ground sloth browsed on many of the same herb, grass, and shrub genera common at the site today, and that its habitat was treeless Patagonian scrub-steppe. We envision a day when molecular analyses are used routinely to supplement morphological identifications and possibly to provide a time-lapse view of molecular diversification.

Keywords

Ancient DNAVizcachaPhylogenyDungPlant cuticlesPollenDietLate glacialExtinctionGround sloth
Type
Articles
Information
Quaternary Research , Volume 59 , Issue 3 , May 2003 , pp. 364 - 378
Copyright
Elsevier Science (USA)

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