Anais da Academia Brasileira de Ciências (2014) 86(1): 147-158 (Annals of the Brazilian Academy of Sciences) Printed version ISSN 0001-3765 / Online version ISSN 1678-2690 http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/0001-3765201420120029 www.scielo.br/aabc The Dasypodidae (Mammalia, Xenarthra) from the Urso Fóssil Cave (Quaternary), Parque Nacional de Ubajara, State of Ceará, Brazil: paleoecological and taxonomic aspects PAULO V. OLIVEIRA1*,5, ANA MARIA RIBEIRO2, ÉDISON V. OLIVEIRA3 and MARIA SOMÁLIA S. VIANA4 1Programa de Pós-Graduação em Geociências, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Av. Acadêmico Hélio Ramos, s/nº, Cidade Universitária, 50740-530 Recife, PE, Brasil 2Museu de Ciências Naturais, Fundação Zoobotânica do Rio Grande do Sul, Av. Dr. Salvador França, 1427, Jardim Botânico, 90690-000 Porto Alegre, RS, Brasil 3Laboratório de Paleontologia, Departamento de Geologia, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Av. Acadêmico Hélio Ramos, s/nº, Cidade Universitária, 50740-530 Recife, PE, Brasil 4Laboratório de Paleontologia, Museu Dom José, Universidade Estadual Vale do Acaraú, Av. Dom José, 878, 62010-290, Sobral, CE, Brasil 5Universidade Federal do Piauí, Campus Sen. Helvídio Nunes de Barros, Rua Cícero Duarte, s/nº, Junco, 64600-000 Picos, PI, Brasil Manuscript received on December 20, 2012; accepted for publication on June 12, 2013 ABSTRACT This paper deals with xenarthrans osteoderms assigned to Dasypus aff. D. novemcinctus, Euphractus sexcinctus and Cabassous sp. The material was collected in subsurface, from 0.10 to 0.60 m in the Urso Fóssil Cave, Parque Nacional de Ubajara, State of Ceará, northeastern Brazil. The ages of sediment samples from levels 4 and 5 (depths of 0.40 and 0.50 m) were determined by thermoluminescence technique, and indicated ages of 8,000 and 8,200 years BP for each layer respectively. The presence in these layers of early Holocene xenarthrans taxa can contribute to the understanding of the biotic evolution of the northwest region of Ceará during the last 10,000 years. Two of the three identified taxa still occur in the region: Dasypus novemcinctus and Euphractus sexcinctus. The Dasypodidae fauna here reported includes animals with generalist feeding habits and current wide geographical distribution. It is suggested, therefore, that the climatic and environmental conditions in the early Holocene were very similar the actual ones, and that the absence of Cabassous may be conditioned to other factors, such as anthropogenic action and loss of habitat by fragmentation of the vegetation. Key words: Mammals, Dasypodidae, Holocene, cave, Parque Nacional de Ubajara, northeastern Brazil. INTRODUCTION Miocene and Pliocene, during the Great American The group of Xenarthras is known in South America Biotic Interchange (GABI; Webb and Marshall since paleocene times. The order Cingulata stands 1982, Eisenberg and Redford 1999). According to out due to its diversity and rich fossil record, McKenna and Bell (1997), the Cingulata includes which indicates that xenarthran’s arrival in Central the families Protobradidae Ameghino, 1902; and North America took place between the Late Dasypodidae Gray, 1821; Peltephilidae Ameghino, 1894; Pampatheriidae Paula Couto, 1954; Correspondence to: Paulo Victor de Oliveira Palaeopeltidae Ameghino, 1895; and Glyptodontidae E-mail: [email protected] *CNPq Gray, 1869, although the validity of some of An Acad Bras Cienc (2014) 86 (1) 148 PAULO V. OLIVEIRA, ANA MARIA RIBEIRO, ÉDISON V. OLIVEIRA and MARIA SOMÁLIA S. VIANA these families is questioned by some authors (e.g. and early Holocene (Ameghino 1907, Paula Couto Gaudin and Wible 2006). The Quaternary record 1973, 1979, 1983, Guérin et al. 1996, Cartelle 1999, of the Dasypodidae comes from South American Faure et al. 1999, Ranzi 2000, Salles et al. 2006, Pleistocene and Holocene of Argentina, Bolivia, Oliveira and Pereira 2009, Castro et al. 2013). Brazil, Ecuador, Paraguay, Uruguay and Venezuela The material of Dasypodidae comprises (Oliveira and Pereira 2009). several bone remains collected in the “Sala da The armadillos are distributed from Oklahoma Entrada” of the Urso Fóssil Cave, Parque Nacional in the United States to south of the Strait of Magellan de Ubajara (PNU), located in the northwest part of in Chile and were recently introduced into Florida State of Ceará, Brazil. In the current faunal list, only (Eisenberg and Redford 1999). According to Wilson Dasypus novemcinctus and Euphractus sexcinctus and Reeder (2005), the Dasypodidae includes are recorded. The region integrating the karst system 21 extant species distributed in nine genera that of the PNU lacks paleomastozoological studies, belong to three subfamilies: Dasypodinae, genus especially those involving smaller forms, such as Dasypus Linnaeus, 1758; Euphractinae, genera armadillos. It is known that some small-sized and Calyptophractus Fitzinger, 1871, Chaetophractus medium-sized species are highly specialized, and Fitzinger, 1871, Chlamyphorus Harlan, 1825, can provide important data regarding the occurrence Euphractus Wagler, 1830 and Zaedyus Ameghino, of pronounced environmental changes during the 1889; and Tolypeutinae, genera Cabassous Quaternary. Furthermore, taxonomic studies with McMurtrie, 1831, Priodontes F. Cuvier, 1825 and species of these sizes are still rare in Brazil. Tolypeutes Illiger, 1811. The main purposes of this paper are to present In the Quaternary of Brazil, the Dasypodidae new records of Dasypodidae for the Quaternary is represented by the genera: Propraopus mammal fauna of the Ubajara region and to Ameghino, 1881, Tolypeutes, Dasypus, Cabassous provide information related to their geographical and Euphractus (Oliveira and Pereira 2009). distribution and paleoecology. Propraopus is an extinct taxon which occurs from GEOGRAPHIC AND Stratigraphic Location the Pleistocene to the Holocene of Argentina, Brazil, Ecuador, Uruguay, Venezuela, and possibly The Parque Nacional de Ubajara (PNU) is of Bolivia and Paraguay; Tolypeutes is recorded situated within the municipality of Ubajara, for the Lujanian deposits (late Pleistocene) of in the Ibiapaba cuesta, in the northwest of the Argentina (Paula Couto 1979); Dasypus occurs in State of Ceará (Figure 1). This is an area of a the Pleistocene and Holocene of Argentina, Brazil, moist forest enclave on a plateau inserted in Uruguay and Venezuela (Oliveira and Pereira the Caatinga Biome, whose average elevation 2009); Cabassous is reported for the Pleistocene is around 900 m (Oliveira et al. 2011b). The of Brazil (States of Minas Gerais and São Paulo; Ibiapaba cuesta range runs north and south, Paula Couto 1979); and Euphractus occurs in the comprising the boundary between States of Ceará Pampean of Argentina (Pleistocene) and it was and Piauí. Ibiapaba highland corresponds to possibly present in the Brazilian Pleistocene (Paula the east edge of the Parnaíba Basin, which has Couto 1979). a discordant contact with its east slope where In Brazil, Dasypus, Cabassous and Euphractus Neoproterozoic Frecheirinha Formation (Ubajara are reported for the States of Acre, Bahia, Mato Group, Ubajara Basin) crops out (Nascimento et Grosso do Sul, Minas Gerais, Piauí, Rio Grande do al. 1981, Oliveira 2010). These outcroppings in Sul, and São Paulo in deposits of the late Pleistocene the Ubajara region are characterized as limestone An Acad Bras Cienc (2014) 86 (1) THE DASYPODIDAE FROM THE URSO FÓSSIL CAVE, CEARÁ, BRAZIL 149 formations of exokarst. They comprise nine hills Among these cavities, the Urso Fóssil Cave over 40 m of height (Nascimento-Junior and 03°49’58’’S/40°53’34.4’’W in the Pendurado Paiva-Neto 2005) where 14 underground cavities hill, stands out due to its high potential for with favorable conditions to the accumulation of paleontological studies, evidenced by the modern and fossil organic remains, can be found considerable accumulation of bone and dental (IBAMA 2002, Oliveira 2010). specimens (Oliveira 2010, Oliveira et al. 2011a). Figure 1 - Location map of the National Park of Ubajara, State of Ceará (above) and the limestone outcroppings (below) indicated by arrows. Modified from Oliveira et al. (2011b). The caves of the Ubajara region are less Teeth and vertebrae of reptiles were also found expressive in size (40 – 1,120 m) when compared and reported by Hsiou et al. (2012). to other Brazilian caves (e.g. Toca da Boa Vista The material presented here was collected in and Toca da Barriguda which are 107,000 m the first room of the Urso Fóssil Cave, known as and 33,000 m long, respectively). This fact “Sala da Entrada”, which also includes numerous contributes to the accumulation of skeletal bone fragments which are still undetermined remains of a small and medium-sized fauna, (highly fragmented), isolated teeth, seeds and mainly mammals. Until now there is only one gastropods already reported by Oliveira et al. reference related to the presence of Pleistocene (2011b). The material was collected in layers megafauna in the region (Trajano and Ferrarezzi from 0.10 to 0.60 m, as shown in Figure 2. The 1994). It is represented by a skull and mandible of ages of the layers 4 and 5 (0.40 and 0.50 m) were Arctotherium brasiliense (= A. wingei Ameghino determined by thermoluminescence (TL), resulting 1902, see Soibelzon 2004 for a systematic review in 8,000 ± 990 years BP and 8,200 ± 980 years BP of the Tremarctinae fossils in South America). (early Holocene), for each layer respectively. An Acad Bras Cienc (2014) 86 (1) 150 PAULO V. OLIVEIRA, ANA MARIA RIBEIRO, ÉDISON V. OLIVEIRA and MARIA SOMÁLIA