A new record of ground sloth in the Ribeira de Iguape valley, southeastern Brazil

Author(s)

Chahud, Artur ; Pereira, Gabriella da Costa ; Costa, Paulo Ricardo de Oliveira ; Okumura, Mercedes

• Document type: Journal article
• Source: CARNETS DE GEOLOGIE; v. 24, n. 4, p. 7-pg., 2024-01-31.

Abstract

In the early 1980s, an assemblage of extinct and extant vertebrates was collected from the Abismo Ponta de Flecha, a vertical cave in southern Sao Paulo, Brazil, for archaeological, geological, and paleontological analyses. While materials identified as ground sloths have been referenced in earlier publications, they have never been thoroughly described. In this study, we provide the first detailed description of a large, previously unidentified taxon found in Brazil, interpreted herein as belonging to the family Nothrotheriidae. Although direct dating of the specimen was not possible, other dated occurrences from the Ribeira de Iguape Valley suggest that it may have inhabited the region during the Late Pleistocene, coinciding with the local presence of a dense forest cover. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 21/05877-4 - The pleistocene-holocene vertebrate fauna of the Abismo Ponta de Flecha (Vale do Ribeira de Iguape, Iporanga, SP): the potential role of human groups in their formation and changes in their composition over time
• Grantee: Paulo Ricardo de Oliveira Costa
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• FAPESP's process: 18/23282-5 - Change and continuity in prehistoric human groups from Ribeira de Iguape Valley (São Paulo and Paraná): applying evolutionary theory to bioarchaeology and material culture
• Grantee: Maria Mercedes Martinez Okumura
• Support Opportunities: Research Grants - Young Investigators Grants