Tafonomia e morfologia de cingulados quaternários da Gruta da Lapinha, Iramaia-BA

Abstract

Gruta da Lapinha is one of the largest limestone caves in Bahia state, located in Municipality of Iramaia. In the year 2012 speleologists of Grupo Pierre Martin de Espeleologia (GPME Pierre Martin Speleology Group), discovered a complete skeleton of Holmesina major. In 2014, in a joint expedition between researchers of Federal University of São Carlos and GPME, three more specimens were found and glyptodonts remains. In a taphonomic analysis it was concluded that due to the integrality of the bones, the sedimentation patterns and the lack of some marks, those animals entered alive in the cave probably in search of resources and posteriorly dead locally, however, the deposition of the glyptodont material happened asynchronously to the pampathere ones. And all of the fossils collected in this cave were of cingulates. Cingulata is the order of xenarthrans that has the largest number of species and the widest geographical distribution in the present time; however, it is only reduced to the Family Dasypodidae. During the Pleistocene there were more than one Family; Pampatheriidae was one among them. In that Family, the species H. major was distributed from Northeast to South of Brazil through the eastern regions. Most of what is known about the geographical distribution of those animals is due to their osteoderms that has been found; nevertheless, few specimens with an almost complete skeleton had been found. This paper makes a literature review about phylogenetic relationships and paleoecology of pampatheres; describes two well-preserved new specimens of H. major found in Bahia state, detailing new structures of Pampatheriidae, such as pelvis and xenarthrous vertebrae; compares the specimens, analyzing inter- and intraspecific variations; and concludes that H. major treats being a clade distinct from H. paulacoutoi.