| Full text | |
| Author(s): |
Total Authors: 4
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| Affiliation: | [1] Museo La Plata, Div Paleontol Vertebrados, Buenos Aires, DF - Argentina
[2] Fundacao Zoobot Rio Grande do Sul, Museu Ciencias Nat, Secao Paleontol, BR-90690000 Porto Alegre, RS - Brazil
[3] Univ Sao Paulo, Fac Filosofia Ciencias & Letras Ribeirao Preto, Dept Biol, BR-14040901 Sao Paulo - Brazil
Total Affiliations: 3
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| Document type: | Journal article |
| Source: | JOURNAL OF VERTEBRATE PALEONTOLOGY; v. 33, n. 2, p. 434-447, 2013. |
| Web of Science Citations: | 11 |
| Abstract | |
The comparative description of the most complete specimen of Dasypus punctatus (Xenarthra, Cingulata), from southeastern Brazil, reveals that the species differs from other Dasypodini by the numerous foramina it has in both buckler and movable osteoderms, providing the basis for the lectotype designation. This species was historically allocated to Propraopus, but the inclusiveness and monophyly of that genus are uncertain. A new phylogenetic analysis groups D. punctatus with the living species of Dasypus in a monophyletic clade for the genus, also supporting a Propraopus clade composed of P. sulcatus and the type species P. grandis. The palatal anatomy corroborates previously suggested affinities between D. kappleri and D. punctatus. On the contrary, the possible synonymy between P. grandis and P. sulcatus needs further investigation, given that they differed on a single character. As usual in cingulate systematics, characters related to osteoderm ornamentation proved essential to determine the relationships of taxa. However, their use requires careful sampling in order to account for intraspecific variation biases. (AU) | |