ABSTRACT

Leopardus is a genus that, despite currently being widely distributed in South America, shows until now a fragmentary fossil record. Among Leopardus, L. pardalis is the largest species, having an historical range that includes tropical and subtropical habitats from southern U.S.A. to southern South America but, as usual in the ocelot lineage, fossil remains that can be interpreted with certainty are restricted to the Late Pleistocene of southern U.S.A. and Brazil. Here we present a new record (a fragment of right maxillary plus zygomatic with P4–M1; incomplete left mandible with the coronoid process, part of c1 alveolus and p3–m1; isolated right c1) from the Late Pleistocene of Arroyo Toropí, Corrientes province, Argentina. The bearing level was dated with Optically Stimulated Luminescence (OSL) to 98.4 ka (Marine Isotopic Stage, MIS 5c). Present environmental requirements of L. pardalis and climatic reconstructions carried out here suggest a compatible scenario with MIS 5 for this fossil, which is concordant with the associated dating (ca. 98.4 ka). Leopardus pardalis appears to be part of a subtropical fauna, with Tayassu pecari and Euphractus sexcinctus, which inhabited the region during warm and wet climatic events of MIS 5c. Phytoliths and other vertebrates are congruent with its presence, since the inferred conditions are similar to the present one. The new record is relevant not only because it is the first fossil record of the species for the Pleistocene of Argentina, but also because it is placed 1800 km south of the closest accurately identified published fossil.

摘要

Leopardus是一种尽管目前广泛分布于南美洲的属，但迄今为止仍显示出零碎的化石记录。在虎猫属，属pardalis是最大的物种，其历史范围包括从美国南部到南美洲南部的热带和亚热带栖息地，但像豹猫世系一样，可以肯定地解释的化石遗骸仅限于美国南部和巴西的晚更新世. 在这里，我们提出了来自科连特斯省 Arroyo Toropí 晚更新世的新记录（右侧上颌骨和颧骨的片段，带有 P4-M1；不完整的左下颌骨，带有冠突，c1 牙槽和 p3-m1 的一部分；孤立的右侧 c1） ，阿根廷。轴承水平用光激发光 (OSL) 测得的 98.4 ka（海洋同位素阶段，MIS 5c）。L 的现行环保要求。帕达利斯在这里进行的气候重建表明该化石与 MIS 5 兼容的情景，这与相关的约会（约 98.4 ka）一致。Leopardus pardalis似乎是亚热带动物群的一部分，Tayassu pecari和Euphractus sexcinctus在 MIS 5c 的温暖和潮湿气候事件期间栖息在该地区。植硅体和其他脊椎动物与其存在是一致的，因为推断的条件与现在的相似。新记录之所以重要，不仅是因为它是阿根廷更新世物种的第一个化石记录，还因为它位于最近准确识别的已发表化石以南 1800 公里处。