EOHOLOCENE MALACOFAUNA (, ) FROM A CAVE OF NATIONAL PARK OF UBAJARA, CEARÁ STATE, BRAZIL

Paulo Victor de Oliveira¹ Maria Somália Sales Viana² Luiz Ricardo L. Simone³

¹Programa de Pós-Graduação em Geociências, (UFPE). / CNPq victoroliveira.paleonto@ gmail.com ²Laboratório de Paleontologia, Museu Dom José, Universidade Estadual Vale do Acaraú (UVA). Sobral-CE, Brasil. [email protected] ³Museu de Zoologia da Universidade de São Paulo (USP). [email protected]

RESUMO

O Parque Nacional de Ubajara apresenta o mais significativo relevo cárstico do Es- tado do Ceará, composto por nove morros calcários onde se encontram 14 grutas. Entre estas grutas destaca-se a do Urso Fóssil, no Morro do Pendurado, na qual crânio e man- díbula de um urso Arctotherium brasiliense (Lund, 1840), foram encontrados em 1978. Nesta gruta recentemente foi coletado o primeiro registro de moluscos de idade eoholo- cênica do Estado do Ceará, que está reportado neste trabalho. Os espécimes são conchas de gastrópodes completas e fragmentadas, que foram retiradas durante escavação em uma das salas, denominada Sala da Entrada. O material estudado está depositado na coleção científica do Museu Dom José, Universidade Estadual Vale do Acaraú, e através de ana- tomia comparada e observação dos caracteres e feições de ornamentação, foi identificado como pertencente às famílias: , Subulinidae e . Os táxons de gastrópodes encontrados sugerem que a região da Ibiapaba não passou por mudanças drásticas pelo menos nos últimos 8.000 anos já que a fauna é semelhante à atualmente encontrada na área.

Palavras chave: Malacofauna, Eoholoceno, Estado do Ceará, Parque Nacional de Ubajara

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ABSTRACT

The National Park of Ubajara presents the more important karstic relief of the State of Ceará, composed by nine limestone hills where were 14 caves are found. Among them, the Urso Fóssil cave stands out in the morro do Pendurado, where the skull and mandible of the bear Arctotherium brasiliense (Lund, 1840) was found in 1978. In this cave the first mollusk record of the State of Ceará with Eoholocene age was recently collected, which is reported in this paper. These specimens are gastropods represented by complete or fragmented shells that were removed through an excavation in a room called Sala da Entrada; the studied material is deposited at scientific collection of the Museu Dom José, Universidade Estadual Vale do Acaraú. Comparing anatomical observation of the charac- ters and ornamental features, they were identified as belonging to families: Bulimulidae, Subulinidae and Odontostomidae. The taxa of gastropods suggest that the region of Ibi- apaba has not undergone drastic climatic changes at least from the past 8.000 years, once the fauna reported here is similar to that currently found in the area.

Keywords: Malacofauna, Eoholocene, Ceará State, National Park of Ubajara

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INTRODUCTION Abuhid, 1994; Cartelle and Hartwig, 1996; Cartelle and Lessa, 1988; Lessa et al., The National Park of Ubajara (PNU) 1998). However, investigations concer- is located in the Ubajara Municipality, ning invertebrate remains in these caves northwest Ceará State (Fig. 1). A portion are missing. of the area of the park is included in the This study shows the first occurren- Ibiapaba Cuesta, sheltering the largest ces of Eoholocenic mollusks from Ceará and more important karstic relief of that State collected in the first room of Urso State. The cited area is topographic relief Fóssil cave, known as Sala da Entrada (03º with average altitudes around 900 m and 49’ 58’’ S 40º 53’ 34’’ W). with vegetation formation of humid forest, Mollusk remains are common pre- constituting a humid enclave inside Caa- sence in cave environment, as their shells tinga biome. are easily preserved. These remains may The speleological province of Uba- be related to troglobian species (live effec- jara region consists of nine limestone hills, tively in caves) and/or related to shells that which present 14 caves known at the mo- are carried by water flow. The first Sou- ment. The morro do Pendurado is one of th American purely troglobian mollusk these hills, with two caves: Urso Fóssil and species was described relatively recently Pendurado. (Simone and Moracchioli, 1994; a hydro- The Urso Fóssil cave was discovered biid), characteristically unpigmented, in 1978 for an expedition of the “Centro eyes-lacking, and smaller than their relati- Excursionista Universitário da Univer- ves. In this scenario, the study of the cave sidade de São Paulo” (Lino et al., 1978). malacofauna, as the present one, is impor- This cave has 195 m in combined length, tant to understand the local and adjacent and has great paleontological importance ecosystems. for the Neoquaternary of Ceará State, and The currently known malacofauna for the region as a whole, because in it was from the National Park of Ubajara is repre- found skull and mandible of a fossil bear, sented by the following species: Lamella- Arctotherium brasiliense (Lund, 1840) xis micra, octodentata, Tomige- (Trajano and Ferrarezzi, 1994). rus clausus, T. cumingi, Psadara derbyi Northeastern Brazil is relatively rich cearana, Orthalicus prototypus, Bulimulus in the presence of Pleistocene-Holocene durus, Solaropsis sp., Streptaxis interme- vertebrate remains in caves (e.g. Cartel- dius (Lino et al., 1978; Leme, 1980, 1984; le, 1992, 1994, 1995, 1999; Cartelle and Salgado and Leme, 1990; IBAMA, 2002).

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MATERIAL AND METHODS samples were used for absolute dating by thermoluminescence technique made in The specimens reported here were the “Laboratório de Vidros e Datação da collected in 2009 and are deposited at the Faculdade de Tecnologia da Universidade fossil scientific collection of the Museu de São Paulo”, in the city of São Paulo, Dom José (MDJ), Sobral, Ceará. Brazil. The biotic remains were identi- An area of approximately 2.25 m2 fied in the Laboratório de Malacologia of was excavated in the Sala da Entrada of the Museu de Ciências Naturais, Funda- Urso Fóssil cave, reaching the depth of ção Zoobotânica do Rio Grande do Sul, about 0.70 m. In this excavation, sediments (MCN/FZBRS), in the city of Porto Ale- and bioclasts samples were collected. The gre, Brazil.

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Geological Setting of iron oxide. Contains, in the top, high concentration of two types of seeds which The limestone rock outcropping in are still undetermined; to the bottom of the the region correspond to Frecheirinha For- layer, some complete shells and numerous mation, of the Ubajara Group, Neoprotero- shell fragments are accumulated; carboni- zoic of the Jaibaras Basin (CPRM, 2003; zed shells of smaller size, and other well- Quadros, 1996). The Ubajara Group has -preserved, showing color and brightness. discordant contact with the rocks of Serra There are small excrements covered by Grande Group, Silurian-Devonian of the powdered unconsolidated carbonate. At Parnaíba Basin (Nascimento et al., 1981). about 20 cm from the top of this layer se- The geological section made inside diment samples were collected for thermo- the Sala da Entrada of Urso Fóssil cave luminescence dating (in PVC pipe) and be- provided information about unconsolida- low, for recovery of palynomorphs. It was ted accumulations of allochthonous and also collected, in this level, four species autochthonous origin, included in the of gastropods (reported in this paper) and following set from top to bottom (Fig. 2): numerous bone fragments of Didelphimor- phia, Xenarthra and Rodentia. Level1: with 0.15 m thickness, is composed by clayey calcareous sediments, Level 3: with 0.20 m thick, is compo- light yellowish in color, containing small sed by clayey sediment, containing smaller allochthonous fragments (0.5 – 1 cm) of autochthonous fragments of limestone and amorphous and angular limestones, an a lar- very large and angular calcareous blocks. ge amount of recent seeds and excrements. In this layer occurs one type of shell with well-preserved color and brightness; nu- Level 2: with thickness of about 0.35 merous carbonized fragments of shells and m, is composed of clayey sediment, light several small bone fragments. As in layer gray in color, containing allochthonous 2, sample to thermoluminescence dating fragments of limestone (above 2 cm), some was also collected, and bioclasts of verte- small geodes and fragments (approximate- brates of the following orders Squamata, ly 10 cm) of stalactites and others spele- Didelphimorphia, Xenarthra, Rodentia and othems, showing at times, concentration Artiodactyla were found.

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RESULTS material also occurs. Some samples were prepared for palynomorphical analysis, but Sediment samples from two stratigra- palynomorph records were not found. phic layers (2 and 3, 40 and 50 cm below The Eoholocene malacofauna from the surface respectively) of the Sala da En- Urso Fóssil cave belongs to following fa- trada were collected and dated for thermo- milies of Pulmonata gastropods: Bulimu- luminescence (TL) resulting in 8.000 ± 990 lidae, Subulinidae and Odontostomidae years BP and 8.200 ± 980 years BP. Associa- (Table 1; Fig. 3). ted with these levels where the shells of gas- Table 1- Eoholocene malacofauna tropods were found, osteological and dental from Urso Fóssil cave.

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Stratigraphic level Family Species Specimens and age

Orthalicus prototypus MDJ Mc-003 Bulimulidae Level 2: 8.000 ± 990 BP Pilsbry, 1899 (figure 1A)

Bulimulidae sp. Spix, MDJ Mc-001 Level 2: 8.000 ± 990 BP 1827 (figure 1F)

Subulinidae indet. 1 MDJ Mc-006 Subulinidae Level 2: 8.000 ± 990 BP (figure 1D)

Subulinidae indet. 2 MDJ Mc-007 Subulinidae Level 2: 8.000 ± 990 BP (figure 1E)

Biotocus ubajarensis MDJ Mc-002 a-f Odontostomidae Level 2: 8.000 ± 990 BP (Leme, 1980) (figure 1G) MDJ Mc-004 a-b and Anostoma octodentata Levels 2 and 3: 8.000 ± 990 BP Odontostomidae MDJ Mc-005 Waldheim, 1807 and 8.200 ± 980 BP (figure 1B-C)

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DISCUSSION (MUPHI), Daniel Lima and Luciano Sou- za (COOPTUR) and park guard Eziano The sedimentation of the Sala da En- da Silva by the company during the field- trada in the level of 0.50 m depth proved to work; the management of National Park of be of Holocene age, with clayey and orga- Ubajara, as well as biologist Nágila Pereira nic deposits, represented by clasts and bio- (PNU); and A. F. R. Betanho (UFC) by clasts of allochthonous and autochthonous sending some bibliographies. origin deposited by hydrological (pluvial), Finantial support this research was aerial (with the exception of bioclasts) and granted by agencies: Conselho Nacional gravitational agents. The ages obtained for de Pesquisa e Desenvolvimento Cientí- the sediment samples are correlated (layers fico e Tecnológico – CNPq (PVO,- Doc 2 and 3) with the bioclasts found on them. toral nº 142942/2010-3 and Project nº The mollusks shown here indicate 473952/2008-4) and Fundação Cearense wet environment, and together with others de Apoio à Pesquisa e ao Desenvolvimento taxa of the mammals reported for the Científico e Tecnológico – FUNCAP (Pro- same area (Oliveira, 2010; Oliveira et al., ject nº BPI-0341-1.07/08). in press), support the conclusion that the Ibiapaba region did not undergone dras- tic changes that could interfere with their REFERENCES ecological dynamics at least from the past 8.000 years, once the mollusk is similar to Cartelle, C. 1992. Edentata e Megamamí- that currently found in the area. feros Herbívoros extintos da Toca dos The Ibiapaba well as other high alti- Ossos (Ourolândia, BA, Brasil). PhD tude wetlands has an important ecological Thesis, Universidade Federal de Minas function as a regional refuge for species Gerais, Belo Horizonte.301p. more specialized and sensitive flora and Cartelle, C. 1994. Presença de Lama (Ar- fauna (Oliveira, 2010). The studied area is tiodactyla, Camelidae) no Pleistoceno a humid enclave inside of Caatinga biome Final-Holoceno da Bahia. Acta Geoló- and shows a relative diversity on terrestrial gica Leopoldensia, 17(39/1): 399-410. malacofauna associated to the cave envi- Cartelle, C. 1995. A fauna local de mamífe- ros Pleistocênicos da Toca da Boa Vista ronment. The three families lived there at (Campo Formoso, BA). Belo Horizonte about 8.000 years BP. – MG. Thesis, Universidade Federal de Given the lack of zoological and ta- Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte.120p. xonomic studies in the area sampled, the Cartelle, C. 1999. Pleistocene Mammals data presented here representing a contri- of the Cerrado and Caatinga of Brazil. bution to the knowledge of local mollusk, In: Eisenberg, J.F. Redford, K.H. (Eds) also indicates the need for more detailed Mammals of the Neotropics, The Cen- studies. tral Neotropics. Chicago: The Univer- sity of Chicago Press p.27-46. Acknowledgments Cartelle, C. and Abuhid, V. S. 1994. Chirop�������- tera do Pleistoceno final-Holoceno da The authors thank I. Heindrich Bahia. Acta Geológica Leopoldensia, (MCN/FZBRS) for help with the iden- 39: 429-440. tification of some of this specimens; A. Cartelle, C. and Hartwig, W. C. 1996. A M. Ribeiro (MCN/FZBRS), G. M. Lessa new extinct primate among the Pleis- (UFV-MG), C. L. Ximenes and S. Teixeira tocene megafauna of Bahia, Brazil.

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