Jorge Pisfil Noriega - Academia.edu (original) (raw)
Papers by Jorge Pisfil Noriega
For the true aquatic bugs grouped under the Nepoidea superfamily, there is little information ava... more For the true aquatic bugs grouped under the Nepoidea superfamily, there is little information available about the genera and species present in Colombia. For this reason information was gathered from the main entomological Colombian collections and from literature of this group. The genus Abedus is reported for the first time for South America and Colombia, together with new generic state records of Belostoma, Curicta, Lethocerus, Ranatra and Telmatotrephes. The distribution maps for each genus and a taxonomic key for their identification is included. Nepoidea is well represented in Colombia in respect to the Neotropical region, being Belostomatidae more thoroughly sampled. Belostoma is more broadly distributed over a much wider altitude range. More studies in critical areas are needed in order to complete the national inventory.
Ameghiniana, Feb 10, 2014
The fossil record of condors from the Upper Cenozoic of the Pampean region is rich and diverse. T... more The fossil record of condors from the Upper Cenozoic of the Pampean region is rich and diverse. The declination, retraction in range and extinction of many taxa of "pampean" condors during Pliocene-Pleistocene times were probably related to both climatic-environmental changes and reduction or loss of food supplies. The influence of the availability of food supplies was remarkable in the late Pleistocene because of the massive extinction of megaherbivorous mammals, the carcasses of which were the condor's main food source. Competition between condors and phorusrhacoid birds is proposed in light of their scavenging habits.
Studia Geologica Salmanticensia, 2000
Ameghiniana, Feb 1, 2014
This contribution reports the discovery of a Presbyornithidae (Aves: Anseriformes) from the Late ... more This contribution reports the discovery of a Presbyornithidae (Aves: Anseriformes) from the Late Cretaceous of Vega Island, Antarct ica. The systematic position of the Presbyomithidae is under discussion, but it is evident that they represent a clade closely related to the basal anseriforms. Members of this family of wading birds have been recorded in the Paleocene of Mongolia and USA, and in the Early Eocene of USA and Patagonia. The presence of presbyornithids in the Cretaceous of Antarctica seems lo reinforce the hypothesis of the southern hemisphere origin of the Anatidae, and perhaps of the entire order Anseriformes.
Paläontologische Zeitschrift, 2015
Psilopterines are the smallest and most gracile predatory birds belonging to the large terrestria... more Psilopterines are the smallest and most gracile predatory birds belonging to the large terrestrial Phorusrhacidae, which were abundant during the South American Tertiary. Two taxa are recognized from the Santacrucian (late Early Miocene) beds of Argentinian Patagonia: Psilopterus lemoinei and Psilopterus bachmanni. Although the first species was recently redescribed and is well known, in the case of P. bachmanni, the smaller of the two, the forelimb skeleton was virtually unknown until recently. The fossils described herein come from the coast of Santa Cruz Province, and were recovered from the middle levels of the Estancia La Costa Member, Santa Cruz Formation. The specimen includes associated bones of both forelimbs and a fragmentary furcula. The manus of this species, previously unknown, is described here for the first time: the os carpi ulnare and radiale are very stout bones, the carpometacarpus has processi extensorius and alularis very marked and stout and the os metacarpale majus and phalanges digiti majoris are very robust, and the phalanx digiti minoris is flattened. It has been proposed that some species belonging to Psilopterus were able to fly in a clumsy manner. While this work is not intended to certify this condition through complex models, some considerations of the paleobiology of P. bachmanni based on manus movement capabilities and body mass are presented. It seems plausible that P. bachmanni would have had both cursorial and flying capabilities. The information provided here represents an effort to discuss features previously unknown in phorusrhacids and to provide new data that may be useful in future systematic, morpho-functional and evolutionary studies. Keywords Psilopterus Á Santa Cruz Formation Á Forelimb Á Carpometacarpus Á Phorusrhacids Kurzfassung Phorusrhacidae des taxons Psilopterinae sind die kleinsten und grazilsten Raubvögel der großen terrestrisch lebenden Familie Phorusrhacidae, die im Tertiär von Südamerika sehr häufig war. Zwei Taxa aus dem späten Unter-Miozän (Santacrucium) von Patagonien (Argentinien) sind bekannt: Psilopterus lemoinei und Psilopterus bachmanni. Beide wurden ursprünglich sehr oberflächlich beschrieben. Während die erstere Art erst kürzlich neu beschrieben wurde, war das Skelett der Vordergliedmaßen von P. bachmanni bisher praktisch unbekannt. Die Fossilien, die in dieser Arbeit beschrieben werden, stammen aus der Lokalität Puesto Estancia La Costa (=Corriguen Aike), die in der Santa Cruz Provinz liegt. Sie stammen aus den mittleren Schichten der Estancia La Costa Member, Santa Cruz Formation. Das Exemplar besteht aus assoziierten Knochen beider Vordergliedmaßen und einem Fragment der Furcula. Die Hand dieser Art war bisher unbekannt und wird hier im Rahmen dieser Arbeit das erste Mal beschrieben: Ulnare und Radiale sind beide sehr kräftige Knochen, der Carpometacarpus hat kräftige und markante Processi extensorius et alularis. Das Metacarpale majus und die
Early Miocene Paleobiology in Patagonia
Ameghiniana, 2010
Los estudios paleontológicos sobre las aves del Cuaternario de América del Sur son cuantitativame... more Los estudios paleontológicos sobre las aves del Cuaternario de América del Sur son cuantitativamente muy inferiores a aquellos referidos a los mamíferos y están centrados sobre regiones o sitios fosilíferos muy localizados (Tambussi et al., 1993; Tambussi, 1995). Las contribuciones resultan de esta manera muy escasas en relación con la amplia extensión de los afloramientos de esa antigüedad en la totalidad del continente. Las ornitofaunas cuaternarias mejor estudiadas provienen de los actuales territorios de Venezuela (Wetmore, 1935), Ecuador (Campbell, 1976), Perú (Campbell, 1979), Brasil (Winge, 1887), Uruguay (Tambussi et al., 2005) y Argentina (Ameghino, 1891; Moreno y Mercerat, 1891; Mercerat, 1897; Kraglievich y Rusconi, 1931; Tonni, 1973, 1980; Tambussi, 1995; Noriega, 1998). Asimismo, numerosas otras citas aisladas pueden encontrarse en las reseñas de Olson (1985), Cuello (1988), Tonni y Tambussi (1986) y Tambussi y Noriega (1996). Más recientemente, Tonni y Noriega (2001), Claramunt y Rinderknecht (2005) y Alvarenga et al. (2008) dieron a conocer registros de nuevos taxones de aves en el Pleistoceno de Argentina, Uruguay y Brasil, respectivamente. Surge de lo expuesto que el registro paleornitológico conocido para el actual territorio de Bolivia es sumamente pobre, restringiéndose a las aves coleccionadas en los niveles medios de la Formación Ñuapua (Hoffstetter, 1968). Estos niveles fosilíferos afloran en la quebrada homónima y son referibles al Holoceno temprano-medio (Marshall y Sempere, 1991; Pardiñas y Galliari, 1998). En la presente nota damos a conocer los resultados del análisis de una pequeña colección de aves con la misma procedencia geográfica y estratigráfica que la estudiada por Hoffstetter (1968), ampliando así el conocimiento paleornitológico acerca del Cuaternario sudamericano en general y el particularmente escaso registro de Bolivia.
Ecology and evolution, 2014
Biodiversity continues to decline in the face of increasing anthropogenic pressures such as habit... more Biodiversity continues to decline in the face of increasing anthropogenic pressures such as habitat destruction, exploitation, pollution and introduction of alien species. Existing global databases of…
Studies on Neotropical Fauna and Environment, 1994
Food habits of the Barn Owl (Tyto alba) were studied at a Cis‐Andean Locality near Trevelin, Chub... more Food habits of the Barn Owl (Tyto alba) were studied at a Cis‐Andean Locality near Trevelin, Chubut, Argentina. Three hundred and three prey items in 107 pellets were analysed. Rodents were predominant, mainly those from the Patagonian steppe, i.e. Reithrodon auritus (30.6%), Eligmodontia typus (29.3%), and Oryzomys longicaudatus (18.4%). Frogs and birds were represented at low rates. Tyto alba is
Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 1993
An analysis of quantitative evolution of the late Cenozoic bird communities of Buenos Aires Provi... more An analysis of quantitative evolution of the late Cenozoic bird communities of Buenos Aires Province (Argentina) indicates that there is a general tendency for taxonomic diversity to increase from the Huayquerian to the Montehermosan, to peak in the Chapadmalalan, to decrease in the Uquian, and to increase steadily from the Ensenadan to the Recent. It can be inferred from the results of faunal turnover that the present compositional patterns at the familial and generic levels were already established by the Montehermosan and post-Chapadmalalan times respectively. Likewise, extant species of birds are post-Ensenadan in origin. The high diversity parameters calculated from the Montehermosan may be related to stability of environmental-climatic conditions. The abrupt impoverishment in taxonomic diversity during the Chapdmalalan and the Uquian is probably correlated with an important global climatic change during the late Pliocene.
Neues Jahrbuch für Geologie und Paläontologie - Abhandlungen, 2008
... (Anseriformes) and suggested its close phylogenetic affinities with the species of Tachyeres ... more ... (Anseriformes) and suggested its close phylogenetic affinities with the species of Tachyeres OWEN, 1875, the steamer-ducks of southern South America. ... Jorge Ignacio Noriega, Diamante, Claudia Patricia Tambussi, La Plata, and Mario Alberto Cozzuol, Porto Alegre ...
Neues Jahrbuch für Geologie und Paläontologie - Abhandlungen, 2007
... Jorge Ignacio Noriega, Diamante, Alberto Luis Cione, La Plata and Florencio Gilberto Aceñolaz... more ... Jorge Ignacio Noriega, Diamante, Alberto Luis Cione, La Plata and Florencio Gilberto Aceñolaza, San Miguel de Tucumán ... 2002), those on coe-val vertebrates have been rarely reported (eg DEMÉRÉ & CERUTTI 1982; CIGALA FULGOSI 1990; CIONE et al., in preparation). ...
Nature, 2006
We wish to correct an oversight noted 1 in one line of our systematic paleontology section, alter... more We wish to correct an oversight noted 1 in one line of our systematic paleontology section, altering this line from ''Vegavis iaai, new taxon'' to ''Vegavis iaai, new taxa'' to indicate our intent to name two taxa: one that under the current International Code of Zoological Nomenclature (ICZN) 2 is to be at the rank of a genus (that is, Vegavis), and the second that is to be at the rank of species (that is, iaai). Article 13.4 of this Code 2 specifies that the ''combined description or definition of a new nominal genus or subgenus and a single included new nominal species, if marked by ''gen. nov., sp. nov.'' or an equivalent expression, is deemed to confer availability on each name under Article 13.1.1''. This line might also have been written ''Vegavis iaai, gen. nov., sp. nov.'' Without this emendation, only the species name may be available under the ICZN 1. A formal international code of phylogenetic nomenclature that does not require linnaean ranks is under development 3. Even when this is implemented, however, species names should be defined so that they are valid and available under both codes.
Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, 2007
... ADRIANA M. CANDELA,*,1 JORGE I. NORIEGA,2 and MARCELO A. REGUERO1 1Departamento Científico Pa... more ... ADRIANA M. CANDELA,*,1 JORGE I. NORIEGA,2 and MARCELO A. REGUERO1 1Departamento Científico Paleontología Vertebrados, Museo de ... margin of the large valley of La Ensenada stream, 300 m north of its outlet into the ... Pascual, R., E. Ortiz Jaureguizar, and JL Prado. ...
Journal of South American Earth Sciences, 2005
Journal of South American Earth Sciences, 2005
This paper deals mainly with the paleobiogeography of the South American Pampatheriidae of the la... more This paper deals mainly with the paleobiogeography of the South American Pampatheriidae of the late Pleistocene. Through analysis, we conclude that (1) the species of Quaternary pampatheres may be distinguished clearly by their carapace scutes and craniodental characters; (2) there are two pampathere genera in the South American Quaternary, Pampatherium and Holmesina; (3) no more than one species of each genus occurs in association at a single locality or site; (4) Holmesina differentiated in North America, entered South America during the Late Pleistocene, and later experienced speciation probably related to Late Pleistocene and Holocene climate changes; (5) Pampatherium differentiated in South America, and its speciation process produced a second immigration of pampatheres to North America; and (6) the use of contrasting environments may be observed among the Quaternary pampatheres.
Journal of Paleontology, 2009
The terrestrial tortoise clade Chelonoidis is endemic to the South American continent and nearby ... more The terrestrial tortoise clade Chelonoidis is endemic to the South American continent and nearby islands. Three continental species are currently recognized that inhabit three distinct habitats. The red-footed tortoise (C. carbonaria) and yellow-footed tortoise (C. denticulata) are often sympatric tropical to semi-tropical taxa, but the former taxon generally prefers open and wet savannahs, whereas the latter distinctly prefers permanent and wet forest cover. In contrast, the Chaco Tortoise, C. chilensis, is arid-adapted and lives along the eastern dry slopes of the southern Andes (Ernst and Barbour, 1989). The diverse group of generally dry-adapted tortoises from the Galapagos Islands is currently thought to be the gigantic sisters of C. chilensis (Caccone et al., 1999).
Journal of Applied Oral Science, 2007
For the true aquatic bugs grouped under the Nepoidea superfamily, there is little information ava... more For the true aquatic bugs grouped under the Nepoidea superfamily, there is little information available about the genera and species present in Colombia. For this reason information was gathered from the main entomological Colombian collections and from literature of this group. The genus Abedus is reported for the first time for South America and Colombia, together with new generic state records of Belostoma, Curicta, Lethocerus, Ranatra and Telmatotrephes. The distribution maps for each genus and a taxonomic key for their identification is included. Nepoidea is well represented in Colombia in respect to the Neotropical region, being Belostomatidae more thoroughly sampled. Belostoma is more broadly distributed over a much wider altitude range. More studies in critical areas are needed in order to complete the national inventory.
Ameghiniana, Feb 10, 2014
The fossil record of condors from the Upper Cenozoic of the Pampean region is rich and diverse. T... more The fossil record of condors from the Upper Cenozoic of the Pampean region is rich and diverse. The declination, retraction in range and extinction of many taxa of "pampean" condors during Pliocene-Pleistocene times were probably related to both climatic-environmental changes and reduction or loss of food supplies. The influence of the availability of food supplies was remarkable in the late Pleistocene because of the massive extinction of megaherbivorous mammals, the carcasses of which were the condor's main food source. Competition between condors and phorusrhacoid birds is proposed in light of their scavenging habits.
Studia Geologica Salmanticensia, 2000
Ameghiniana, Feb 1, 2014
This contribution reports the discovery of a Presbyornithidae (Aves: Anseriformes) from the Late ... more This contribution reports the discovery of a Presbyornithidae (Aves: Anseriformes) from the Late Cretaceous of Vega Island, Antarct ica. The systematic position of the Presbyomithidae is under discussion, but it is evident that they represent a clade closely related to the basal anseriforms. Members of this family of wading birds have been recorded in the Paleocene of Mongolia and USA, and in the Early Eocene of USA and Patagonia. The presence of presbyornithids in the Cretaceous of Antarctica seems lo reinforce the hypothesis of the southern hemisphere origin of the Anatidae, and perhaps of the entire order Anseriformes.
Paläontologische Zeitschrift, 2015
Psilopterines are the smallest and most gracile predatory birds belonging to the large terrestria... more Psilopterines are the smallest and most gracile predatory birds belonging to the large terrestrial Phorusrhacidae, which were abundant during the South American Tertiary. Two taxa are recognized from the Santacrucian (late Early Miocene) beds of Argentinian Patagonia: Psilopterus lemoinei and Psilopterus bachmanni. Although the first species was recently redescribed and is well known, in the case of P. bachmanni, the smaller of the two, the forelimb skeleton was virtually unknown until recently. The fossils described herein come from the coast of Santa Cruz Province, and were recovered from the middle levels of the Estancia La Costa Member, Santa Cruz Formation. The specimen includes associated bones of both forelimbs and a fragmentary furcula. The manus of this species, previously unknown, is described here for the first time: the os carpi ulnare and radiale are very stout bones, the carpometacarpus has processi extensorius and alularis very marked and stout and the os metacarpale majus and phalanges digiti majoris are very robust, and the phalanx digiti minoris is flattened. It has been proposed that some species belonging to Psilopterus were able to fly in a clumsy manner. While this work is not intended to certify this condition through complex models, some considerations of the paleobiology of P. bachmanni based on manus movement capabilities and body mass are presented. It seems plausible that P. bachmanni would have had both cursorial and flying capabilities. The information provided here represents an effort to discuss features previously unknown in phorusrhacids and to provide new data that may be useful in future systematic, morpho-functional and evolutionary studies. Keywords Psilopterus Á Santa Cruz Formation Á Forelimb Á Carpometacarpus Á Phorusrhacids Kurzfassung Phorusrhacidae des taxons Psilopterinae sind die kleinsten und grazilsten Raubvögel der großen terrestrisch lebenden Familie Phorusrhacidae, die im Tertiär von Südamerika sehr häufig war. Zwei Taxa aus dem späten Unter-Miozän (Santacrucium) von Patagonien (Argentinien) sind bekannt: Psilopterus lemoinei und Psilopterus bachmanni. Beide wurden ursprünglich sehr oberflächlich beschrieben. Während die erstere Art erst kürzlich neu beschrieben wurde, war das Skelett der Vordergliedmaßen von P. bachmanni bisher praktisch unbekannt. Die Fossilien, die in dieser Arbeit beschrieben werden, stammen aus der Lokalität Puesto Estancia La Costa (=Corriguen Aike), die in der Santa Cruz Provinz liegt. Sie stammen aus den mittleren Schichten der Estancia La Costa Member, Santa Cruz Formation. Das Exemplar besteht aus assoziierten Knochen beider Vordergliedmaßen und einem Fragment der Furcula. Die Hand dieser Art war bisher unbekannt und wird hier im Rahmen dieser Arbeit das erste Mal beschrieben: Ulnare und Radiale sind beide sehr kräftige Knochen, der Carpometacarpus hat kräftige und markante Processi extensorius et alularis. Das Metacarpale majus und die
Early Miocene Paleobiology in Patagonia
Ameghiniana, 2010
Los estudios paleontológicos sobre las aves del Cuaternario de América del Sur son cuantitativame... more Los estudios paleontológicos sobre las aves del Cuaternario de América del Sur son cuantitativamente muy inferiores a aquellos referidos a los mamíferos y están centrados sobre regiones o sitios fosilíferos muy localizados (Tambussi et al., 1993; Tambussi, 1995). Las contribuciones resultan de esta manera muy escasas en relación con la amplia extensión de los afloramientos de esa antigüedad en la totalidad del continente. Las ornitofaunas cuaternarias mejor estudiadas provienen de los actuales territorios de Venezuela (Wetmore, 1935), Ecuador (Campbell, 1976), Perú (Campbell, 1979), Brasil (Winge, 1887), Uruguay (Tambussi et al., 2005) y Argentina (Ameghino, 1891; Moreno y Mercerat, 1891; Mercerat, 1897; Kraglievich y Rusconi, 1931; Tonni, 1973, 1980; Tambussi, 1995; Noriega, 1998). Asimismo, numerosas otras citas aisladas pueden encontrarse en las reseñas de Olson (1985), Cuello (1988), Tonni y Tambussi (1986) y Tambussi y Noriega (1996). Más recientemente, Tonni y Noriega (2001), Claramunt y Rinderknecht (2005) y Alvarenga et al. (2008) dieron a conocer registros de nuevos taxones de aves en el Pleistoceno de Argentina, Uruguay y Brasil, respectivamente. Surge de lo expuesto que el registro paleornitológico conocido para el actual territorio de Bolivia es sumamente pobre, restringiéndose a las aves coleccionadas en los niveles medios de la Formación Ñuapua (Hoffstetter, 1968). Estos niveles fosilíferos afloran en la quebrada homónima y son referibles al Holoceno temprano-medio (Marshall y Sempere, 1991; Pardiñas y Galliari, 1998). En la presente nota damos a conocer los resultados del análisis de una pequeña colección de aves con la misma procedencia geográfica y estratigráfica que la estudiada por Hoffstetter (1968), ampliando así el conocimiento paleornitológico acerca del Cuaternario sudamericano en general y el particularmente escaso registro de Bolivia.
Ecology and evolution, 2014
Biodiversity continues to decline in the face of increasing anthropogenic pressures such as habit... more Biodiversity continues to decline in the face of increasing anthropogenic pressures such as habitat destruction, exploitation, pollution and introduction of alien species. Existing global databases of…
Studies on Neotropical Fauna and Environment, 1994
Food habits of the Barn Owl (Tyto alba) were studied at a Cis‐Andean Locality near Trevelin, Chub... more Food habits of the Barn Owl (Tyto alba) were studied at a Cis‐Andean Locality near Trevelin, Chubut, Argentina. Three hundred and three prey items in 107 pellets were analysed. Rodents were predominant, mainly those from the Patagonian steppe, i.e. Reithrodon auritus (30.6%), Eligmodontia typus (29.3%), and Oryzomys longicaudatus (18.4%). Frogs and birds were represented at low rates. Tyto alba is
Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 1993
An analysis of quantitative evolution of the late Cenozoic bird communities of Buenos Aires Provi... more An analysis of quantitative evolution of the late Cenozoic bird communities of Buenos Aires Province (Argentina) indicates that there is a general tendency for taxonomic diversity to increase from the Huayquerian to the Montehermosan, to peak in the Chapadmalalan, to decrease in the Uquian, and to increase steadily from the Ensenadan to the Recent. It can be inferred from the results of faunal turnover that the present compositional patterns at the familial and generic levels were already established by the Montehermosan and post-Chapadmalalan times respectively. Likewise, extant species of birds are post-Ensenadan in origin. The high diversity parameters calculated from the Montehermosan may be related to stability of environmental-climatic conditions. The abrupt impoverishment in taxonomic diversity during the Chapdmalalan and the Uquian is probably correlated with an important global climatic change during the late Pliocene.
Neues Jahrbuch für Geologie und Paläontologie - Abhandlungen, 2008
... (Anseriformes) and suggested its close phylogenetic affinities with the species of Tachyeres ... more ... (Anseriformes) and suggested its close phylogenetic affinities with the species of Tachyeres OWEN, 1875, the steamer-ducks of southern South America. ... Jorge Ignacio Noriega, Diamante, Claudia Patricia Tambussi, La Plata, and Mario Alberto Cozzuol, Porto Alegre ...
Neues Jahrbuch für Geologie und Paläontologie - Abhandlungen, 2007
... Jorge Ignacio Noriega, Diamante, Alberto Luis Cione, La Plata and Florencio Gilberto Aceñolaz... more ... Jorge Ignacio Noriega, Diamante, Alberto Luis Cione, La Plata and Florencio Gilberto Aceñolaza, San Miguel de Tucumán ... 2002), those on coe-val vertebrates have been rarely reported (eg DEMÉRÉ & CERUTTI 1982; CIGALA FULGOSI 1990; CIONE et al., in preparation). ...
Nature, 2006
We wish to correct an oversight noted 1 in one line of our systematic paleontology section, alter... more We wish to correct an oversight noted 1 in one line of our systematic paleontology section, altering this line from ''Vegavis iaai, new taxon'' to ''Vegavis iaai, new taxa'' to indicate our intent to name two taxa: one that under the current International Code of Zoological Nomenclature (ICZN) 2 is to be at the rank of a genus (that is, Vegavis), and the second that is to be at the rank of species (that is, iaai). Article 13.4 of this Code 2 specifies that the ''combined description or definition of a new nominal genus or subgenus and a single included new nominal species, if marked by ''gen. nov., sp. nov.'' or an equivalent expression, is deemed to confer availability on each name under Article 13.1.1''. This line might also have been written ''Vegavis iaai, gen. nov., sp. nov.'' Without this emendation, only the species name may be available under the ICZN 1. A formal international code of phylogenetic nomenclature that does not require linnaean ranks is under development 3. Even when this is implemented, however, species names should be defined so that they are valid and available under both codes.
Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, 2007
... ADRIANA M. CANDELA,*,1 JORGE I. NORIEGA,2 and MARCELO A. REGUERO1 1Departamento Científico Pa... more ... ADRIANA M. CANDELA,*,1 JORGE I. NORIEGA,2 and MARCELO A. REGUERO1 1Departamento Científico Paleontología Vertebrados, Museo de ... margin of the large valley of La Ensenada stream, 300 m north of its outlet into the ... Pascual, R., E. Ortiz Jaureguizar, and JL Prado. ...
Journal of South American Earth Sciences, 2005
Journal of South American Earth Sciences, 2005
This paper deals mainly with the paleobiogeography of the South American Pampatheriidae of the la... more This paper deals mainly with the paleobiogeography of the South American Pampatheriidae of the late Pleistocene. Through analysis, we conclude that (1) the species of Quaternary pampatheres may be distinguished clearly by their carapace scutes and craniodental characters; (2) there are two pampathere genera in the South American Quaternary, Pampatherium and Holmesina; (3) no more than one species of each genus occurs in association at a single locality or site; (4) Holmesina differentiated in North America, entered South America during the Late Pleistocene, and later experienced speciation probably related to Late Pleistocene and Holocene climate changes; (5) Pampatherium differentiated in South America, and its speciation process produced a second immigration of pampatheres to North America; and (6) the use of contrasting environments may be observed among the Quaternary pampatheres.
Journal of Paleontology, 2009
The terrestrial tortoise clade Chelonoidis is endemic to the South American continent and nearby ... more The terrestrial tortoise clade Chelonoidis is endemic to the South American continent and nearby islands. Three continental species are currently recognized that inhabit three distinct habitats. The red-footed tortoise (C. carbonaria) and yellow-footed tortoise (C. denticulata) are often sympatric tropical to semi-tropical taxa, but the former taxon generally prefers open and wet savannahs, whereas the latter distinctly prefers permanent and wet forest cover. In contrast, the Chaco Tortoise, C. chilensis, is arid-adapted and lives along the eastern dry slopes of the southern Andes (Ernst and Barbour, 1989). The diverse group of generally dry-adapted tortoises from the Galapagos Islands is currently thought to be the gigantic sisters of C. chilensis (Caccone et al., 1999).
Journal of Applied Oral Science, 2007