Phylogeny, diet, and habitat of an extinct ground sloth from Cuchillo Curá, Neuquén Province, southwest Argentina |
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Authors: | Michael Hofreiter Julio L Betancourt Alicia Pelliza Sbriller Vera Markgraf H Gregory McDonald |
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Institution: | a Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Inselstrasse 22, D-04103 Leipzig, Germany b U.S. Geological Survey, Desert Laboratory, 1675 W. Anklam Rd., Tucson, AZ 85745, USA c Laboratorio de Microhistologia, INTA-EEA Bariloche, CC 277 (R8400AMC) Bariloche, Argentina d Vera Markgraf, INSTAAR, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80309-0450, USA e Geologic Resources Division, National Park Service, 7333 West Jefferson Avenue, P.O. Box 25287, Denver, CO 80225, USA |
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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. |
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Keywords: | Ancient DNA Vizcacha Phylogeny Dung Plant cuticles Pollen Diet Late glacial Extinction Ground sloth |
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