Esteban Soibelzon

• Doctor
• Researcher at National University of La Plata

Se presenta una breve visión histórica del descubrimiento, estudio, interpretación y repercusión popular de la especie Megatherium americanum Cuvier, 1796 (Mammalia, Xenarthra, Megatheriidae), principalmente de dos esqueletos montados en España desde antiguo. El ejemplar exhibido en el Museo de Ciencias Naturales de Valencia (España), que forma par...

The southern three-banded armadillo, Tolypeutes matacus, is one of the most representative species of the South American Chaco region. The susceptibility of this species to climatic changes and its good number of paleontological records has led to the study of their range dynamics for untangling the effects of Quaternary oscillations. These studies...

Climatic oscillations acted as an essential factor in molding the distribution and composition of Neotropical biota. However, their effects on the South American Chaco are still poorly known. In this work, we present an updated collection of records of one of its flagship species, Tolypeutes matacus. We analyze the species' range dynamics in curren...

Fossilization of mammalian young is extremely rare, mainly due to the fragility of bones (smaller and less mineralized) and unfused sutures, which are difficult to preserve during fossil diagenesis. Here, we describe an unprecedented and very complete juvenile of a pampathere, an extinct lineage of Cingulata (Xenarthra). The fossil comprises parts...

El monte de llanuras y mesetas (de aquí en más monte) es una de las dieciocho regiones natu-rales o ecorregiones de nuestro país y confor-ma una diagonal árida que se extiende desde el sur de San Juan hasta la costa atlántica de Chubut, Río Negro y el sur de Buenos Aires. Esta diagonal es a su vez parte de una región mayor, denominada 'zona de tran...

En este estudio, desarrollamos un análisis tafonómico de las marcas superficiales observadas en un fragmento de hemimandíbula derecha de Mesotherium cristatum (último representante del linaje Typotheria) del yacimiento cuaternario de Corralito (Córdoba).

RESUMEN. Mediante trabajos de campo realizados durante la última década evaluamos la riqueza de mamíferos no voladores en la parte central de la Provincia de La Pampa. Usamos diferentes metodologías, tales como recorridas en vehículo (4 caminos principales), trampeos (en 13 sitios), recolección de egagrópilas y heces de carnívoros (en 5 sitios), en...

La Pampa province is divided into two clearly distinguishable fractions: a small northeastern humid sector corresponding to the Pampas ecoregion and a drier western sector, represented by the Monte de Llanuras y Mesetas (termed Monte region in this paper) and Espinal ecoregions (sensu Brown et al. 2006). These three ecoregions are visibly distingui...

La profunda transformación que sufren los ecosistemas a diario sin dudas impacta sobre las comunidades biológicas. Nuestros estudios de campo en el oeste pampeano alertan sobre esta situación. Especies que hasta no hace muchos años habitaban la región, hoy se encuentran en muy baja cantidad o están extintas, otras de las que la ciencia sabe muy poc...

Armadillos are the only extant mammals characterized by bony shielded regions that protect their head, body, and tail. They have been found exclusively in the Americas. Reproduction is seasonal (from late winter and throughout the entire austral spring and summer, i.e., Sep-tember to March). During mating season two to four males attempt to mate wi...

Several climatic fluctuations occurred during the Cenozoic; some of them were drastic while others were more gradual, but both have deep effects on the biotas. Armadillos have an old history and faunal replacement and/or local extinctions were detected, linked with climatic fluctuations. Physiological characteristics like high thermal conductance,...

“Caminando…” es un colectivo de Extensión Universitaria de la Universidad Nacional de La Plata (Argentina) que trabaja hace más de 10 años por la popularización de la ciencia. Nuestro equipo está conformado por estudiantes, graduados/as y docentes de distintas áreas (Paleontología, Botánica, Ecología, Zoología, Antropología, Informática y Artes Plá...

En esta comunicación damos a conocer cuatro nuevas localidades para la comadrejita patagónica (Lestodelphys halli), a partir del trampeo de un individuo y restos óseos recuperados de egagrópilas de lechuza de campanario (Tyto alba) provenientes del centro y oeste de la provincia de La Pampa (República Argentina). Estos nuevos registros expanden la...

En el actual territorio de la provincia de Buenos Aires se encuentran secuencias sedimentarias con abundante contenido fósil, que constituyen la base de la escala cronológica sudamericana para el Neógeno y Cuaternario. Desde la segunda mitad del siglo XIX y especialmente a partir del aporte de Florentino Ameghino, comenzó a desarrollarse un esquema...

Ninety-six mummified crabeater seals discovered at Seymour Island (Isla Marambio) are reported. Each specimen was georeferenced, photographed and assigned to five different taphonomic states. Previous work stated that seals at Seymour Island get stranded inland around the breeding season. However, it is not clear if the species breeds in this area....

In the southwestern margin of the Río de la Plata (Argentina), mining works have uncovered deposits that correspond to the last glacio-eustatic cycle (<120 Ky). Because deposits of this cycle are rare in the area, the studied succession provides an opportunity to study the paleoenvironmental and paleoclimatic evolution of the area during that time....

Numerous climatic fluctuations occurred during the Cenozoic (last 66 Ma BP); some of them were drastic (e.g., during the Eocene-Oligocene boundary) while others were more gradual (e.g., late Tertiary cooling), but both have deep effect on the biotas. Armadillos are exclusively from the Americas; they have an old evolutionary history in South Americ...

The most northern fossil record of Panthera onca (LINNAEUS, 1758) from Argentina is here reported. The specimen, PVE-F 130, represented by an articulated and well preserved cranium and mandible, atlas and a fragment of left humerus, was exhumed from levels assigned to the Río Bermejo Formation (late Pleistocene-early Holocene; ca. 12.0-9.7 ka), nea...

Preliminary climatic distribution model of Tolypeutes matacus

A large nearly complete specimen of a Crested Tinamou (Eudromia, Tinamidae, Aves) is described. It was collected at 'Nicolás Vignogna III' Quarry in Marcos Paz County (Buenos Aires Province, Argentina), coming from near the top of a succession assigned to the Lujanian Stage. Radiocarbon dates constrain the age of the fossil bearing lithosome to the...

The fossil record of condors in South America is relatively extensive. However, fossil specimens for the late Pleistocene of Argentina are scarce. Here, we report a new genus and species of a large sized cathartid of the condor lineage. The new taxon, Pampagyps imperator nov. gen. et sp. is based on a right tarsometatarsus from the “Cantera Nicolás...

“Caminando sobre gliptodontes y tigres dientes de sable” es un colectivo universitario de Argentina -provincia de Buenos Aires- que reúne estudiantes y graduados de biología, paleontología, antropología, geología, informática y artes plásticas (https://www.facebook.com/proyectocaminando). Nuestra actividad gira en torno al patrimonio paleontológico...

The Mylodontidae Scelidotheriinae (Mammalia, Xenarthra, Tardigrada) are a diversified clade of South American fossil ground sloths, with a wide geographic distribution, especially in high and middle latitudes. According to the last revision, the Quaternary diversity includes the genera Scelidotherium, Catonyx, and Valgipes. The clade Scelidotheriin...

The main function of the hyoid apparatus in mammals is to control the entry and exit of air in the body, provide support to the tongue, hold it in position and give it movement. In some species, it also participates in the modulation of sounds produced by vocal cords. Its preservation as fossil is exceptional and very little known. It allows propos...

The Dasypodidae (commonly known as armadillos) are exclusively from the Americas and have a long evolutionary history on the continents. They were frequently consumed by hunter-gatherers in the past and they are consumed by native people in the modern age along their distributional area. Both paleontological and archaeological records show that the...

The Tolomosa Formation in southern Bolivia’s Tarija Valley contains one of the most important Pleistocene assemblages of vertebrates in South America, in which Xenarthra are among the most recorded and diversified taxa. Within this clade, the Cingulata Dasypodidae has traditionally included four taxa: the Euphractinae Euphractini Chaetophractus tar...

Entre gliptodontes, tigres dientes de sable y perezosos gigantes, transcurría la vida en la región Pampeana durante los últimos 2,5 millones de años (Cuaternario). Estos animales, al igual que muchos otros, como toxodontes, macrauquenias, osos y mastodontes, se encuentran actualmente extintos y podemos conocerlos solo a través de sus restos fósiles...

Studies on South American Gomphotheriidae started around 210 years ago and, 150 years later, the classic study “The mastodonts of Brazil” by Simpson and Paula Couto (1957) attempted to clarify the complex issues related to our understanding of these proboscideans. Here, we update state of knowledge regarding proboscideans in South America subsequen...

Chaetophractus vellerosus (Gray, 1865) is commonly called Piche llorón or screaming hairy armadillo. Chaetophractus has 3 living species: C. nationi, C. vellerosus, and C. villosus of Neotropical distribution in the Bolivian, Paraguayan, and Argentinean Chaco and the southeastern portion of Buenos Aires Province. C. vellerosus prefers xeric areas,...

The formation of the Isthmus of Panama stands as one of the greatest natural events of the Cenozoic, driving profound biotic transformations on land and in the oceans. Some recent studies suggest that the Isthmus formed many millions of years earlier than the widely recognized age of approximately 3 million years ago (Ma), a result that if true wou...

Paleontological sites in Argentina with continental vertebrates corresponding to the Marine Isotope Stage 3 (MIS 3) interval are scarce or poorly known. This situation is mainly due to the lack of absolute ages for Pleistocene fossil remains or their bearing sediments that would allow the verification of the chronology established for this interval...

Glyptodonts were giant (up to ~2,400 kg), heavily armoured relatives of living armadillos, which became extinct during the Late Pleistocene/early Holocene alongside much of the South American megafauna. Although glyptodonts were an important component of Cenozoic South American faunas, their early evolution and phylogenetic affinities within the or...

Here we describe an unusual fossil assemblage found inside a crotovine from the late Pliocene Chapadmalal 'Formation' (Buenos Aires Province). This assemblage contains the greatest vertebrate diversity recovered inside an ichnofossil of this type, including skeletal remains of dasypodids, didelphids, procyonids, anurans and caviomorph rodents withi...

Un equipo de investigadores dedicado a los mamíferos del Espinal Pampeano cuenta sus experiencias de trabajo de campo, donde el relato de los pobladores tiene un rol fundamental.

Pampatheriidae are a group of cingulates native to South American that are known from the middle Miocene to the lower Holocene. Two genera have been recognized between the lower Pleistocene and the lower Holocene: Pampatherium Gervais and Ameghino (Ensenadan, Bonaerian and Lujanian, lower Pleistocene-lower Holocene) and Holmesina Simpson (Blancan,...

The Great American Biotic Interchange (GABI) between North and South America is one of the most important events in the history of land mammals. The interchange occurred in several phases during more than nine million years. We here analyze the chronology and dynamics of the GABI, the evolution of some South American mammalian groups through time,...

The biotic interchange between the Americas occurred in several phases during more than nine million years. In this book, we focus on mammals of southern South America, where the most important and richest localities with fossil vertebrates of Late Miocene–Holocene Age were reported. We here provide basic information about taxonomic composition, bi...

This paper presents the Quaternary cingulates collected from two limestone caves in Aurora do Tocantins, northern Brazil. Osteoderms of Euphractus sexcinctus, Dasypus novemcinctus, Propraopus sulcatus, and Pachyarmaterium brasiliense were retrieved, representing an expansion on the known distribution of the taxa. The specimens are described herein,...

This paper presents the Quaternary cingulates collected from two limestone caves in Aurora do Tocantins, northern Brazil. Osteoderms of Euphractus sexcinctus, Dasypus novemcinctus, Propraopus sulcatus, and Pachyarmaterium brasiliense were retrieved, representing an expansion on the known distribution of the taxa. The specimens are described herein,...

Tayassu pecari is widely distributed across the Neotropical region, from northern Argentina to south-eastern Mexico. However, its fossil record is scarce; it is recorded since the middle Pleistocene to Holocene in Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay. This paper aims to: (1) update the systematic synonymy of this species; (2) review and update its geograp...

2014. A taxonomic and biogeographic review of the fossil tapirs from Bolivia. Acta Palaeontologica Polonica 59 (3): 505–516. Fossil remains of South American tapirs are often fragmentary and scarce compared with those of other mammals that entered South America during the "Great American Biotic Interchange". Here, we review and add to the Pleistoce...

In Antarctica, crabeater seals tend to strand as immature animals with disorientation, due to their inexperience, given as the probable cause. In 2012 and 2013, we examined a group of 80 mummified crabeater seals on Seymour Island (Marambio). The age and gender of 28 seals was determined, and virology and stomach content analyses were performed in...

Los fósiles despertaron admiración y curiosidad en los naturalistas durante siglos, confiriendo al estudio de la vida del pasado uno de los temas más apasionantes de las Ciencias Naturales. Reconstruir ese pasado se ha convertido en la meta de numerosos científicos, quienes se ocupan de descubrir y rescatar evidencias, aportando pequeñas piezas a un...

Pampatheriidae (Middle Miocene-late Pleistocene) constitutes an extinct clade of Cingulata widely dispersed in South America, entering in Central and North America during the Great American Biotic Interchange. In the Pleistocene of South America, two genera are recorded: Pampatherium (with three species) and Holmesina (with six species). In the Ple...

Chaetophractus tarijensis (Ameghino) is a dasypodid restricted to the Pleistocene of the Tarija Valley (Bolivia). In this contribution we study the type specimen of C. tarijensis and referred specimens to this species, and establish comparisons with extant Dasypodidae Euphractinae. The analysis of the present study reveal that the characters used b...

The results of zooarchaeological study carried out on the bone remains of armadillos (Mammalia, Dasypodidae) from four Sierras of Córdoba (Argentina) archaeological sites were presented. The radiocarbon dates place chronologically their occupation at the last millennium of the Late Holocene (ca. 970 ± 110 and 290 ± 37 14C BP). Four taxa were identi...

“Caminando sobre gliptodontes y tigres diente de sable” is a university extension project composed by students, graduates and teachers of the Universidad Nacional de La Plata (Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo, Bellas Artes and Humanidades), researchers and fellows of CONICET. This proposal was accredited in 2009 and later subsidized by the UN...

In southern South America, some regions have been postulated as containing supersite taxa, especially during the Miocene–late Pleistocene lapse. Thus, from the Late Pleistocene (ca. 58–28 ka) of the current territory of the Corrientes Province, Argentina, it has been recognized the presence of some taxa, which were extinct from the Pampean region o...

In southern South America, some regions have been postulated as containing supersite taxa, especially during the Miocene-late Pleistocene lapse. Thus, from the Late Pleistocene (ca. 58-28 ka) of the current territory of the Corrientes Province, Argentina, it has been recognized the presence of some taxa, which were extinct from the Pampean region o...

Los Glyptodontidae del Neógeno tardío (Pisos/Edades Chapadmalalense-Marplatense; ca. 3.9-1.8 Ma) constituyen un grupo escasamente conocido, en tanto la mayoría de los registros están limitados a restos aislados de la coraza dorsal y/o caudal. Las únicas excepciones están representadas por Paraglyptodon chapalmalensis (Ameghino in Rovereto), un fósi...

We propose that the particular high latitudinal distribution of Neosclerocalyptus (Glyptodontidae) and the cyclic nature of the Pleistocene glacial–interglacial events were factors that probably stimulated morphological evolution of its fronto-nasal sinuses, a feature unique among glyptodonts. The distributions of the species, and the majority of i...

2007. Mamíferos pleistocenos del oeste de la región Pampeana, Argentina. [Pleistocene mammals of the western Pampean region, Argentina.] Revista Española de Paleontología, 22 (1), 77-87. ISSN 0213-6937. ABSTRACT In southern South America, the basic knowledge of the Pleistocene palaeofauna comes from the eastern area of the Pampean region, specifica...

La propicia conjugación de aspectos tales como la relevancia de sus asociaciones fosilíferas, su facilidad de acceso y la sistemática prospección a través del tiempo permiten considerar a los acantilados marinos de la localidad de Punta Hermengo (Miramar) como una de las localidades paleontológicas más emblemáticas de la provincia de Buenos Aires....

At least 50% of the world's seal population is distributed in the pack-ice region surrounding Antarctica. Among the Antarctic seals, Lobodon carcinophaga (commonly known as "crabeater seals") are the most abundant. This is a krill-feeding species, subsisting primarily on Euphausia superba. The occurrence of mummified seals has been documented since...

Glyptodontidae from southern South America are poorly known since most of the record are limited to remains of the dorsal and/or caudal armour. In this sense, the exceptions are represented by Paraglyptodon chapadmalensis (Ameghino in Rovereto), a fossil guide of the Upper Chapadmalalan Stage, and the Plohophorini Plohophorus figuratus Ameghino. On...

Los Xenarthra (Mammalia) constituyen un grupo monofilético, caracterizado por una arquitectura esqueletaria particularmente distinta a la de los demás mamíferos placentarios. Su distribución actual es casi exclusivamente Neotropical; sin embargo, el registro fósil indica una distribución más amplia en el continente americano. En este trabajo se pro...

Xenarthra is a monophyletic group, characterized by a particular skeletal architecture, different to other placental mammals. Its current distribution is exclusively Neotropical; however, the fossil record indicates a greater distribution. The aim of this paper is to provide an updated list of the Xenarthra of the lower to middle Pleistocene (Ensen...

We present the first fossil record of Procyon cancrivorus (Cuvier, 1798) for Argentina. Specimen PVE-F 44 (first lower molar) was exhumed from levels assignable to the Late Pleistocene (Lujanian) in the coastal cliffs of the Bermejo river in the vicinity of Villa Escolar, Formosa (26 degrees 36'S, 58 degrees 40'W). This is also the first South Amer...

We present the first fossil record of Procyon cancrivorus (Cuvier, 1798) for Argentina. Specimen PVE-F 44 (first lower molar) was exhumed from levels assignable to the Late Pleistocene (Lujanian) in the coastal cliffs of the Bermejo river in the vicinity of Villa Escolar, Formosa (26°36'S, 58°40 W). This is also the first South American record of P...

The Glyptodontidae (Mammalia, Xenarthra) are one of the most common paleofaunistic elements in the South American megafauna. In this context, of the six genera most frequently recorded in the South American Pleistocene (Glyptodon, Neosclerocalyptus, Hoplophorus, Neuryurus, Panochthus and Doedicurus), at least four (Hoplophorus, Neuryurus, Panochthu...

Three genera of Tayassuidae are recognized in South America: Platygonus Le Conte, 1848, Catagonus Ameghino, 19042. Ameghino , F. 1904. Nuevas especies de mamíferos cretáceos y terciarios de la República Argentina. Anales de la Sociedad Científica Argentina, 58: 1–188. View all references and Tayassu Fischer, 1814. This study provides the first sys...

Most of the mammal collections of the Pleistocene from the Tarija valley (Bolivia) lack precise stratigraphic data. Some fossil collections were made under stratigraphic control but have not been described. However, mammals were used for correlation and comparison with the pattern established for the Pampean region of Argentina. The bearing units h...

Correlations among stratigraphic sequences of the continental late Cenozoic of southeastern Buenos Aires province have been historically based on lithostratigraphy and paleontological content. Recent magnetostratigraphic studies supplied new evidence which, together with biostratigraphy, allowed improvement of the chronostratigraphic framework. Rec...

In this article, we report the first finding and description of an unborn specimen of Cingulata Glyptodontidae. This specimen was found inside a well-preserved dorsal carapace assignable to Glyptodon cf. G. elongatus, partially articulated and located in the pelvic portion. It was exhumed from the Pleistocene sediments of Monte Cercado city, Tarija...

Among the Pleistocene Cingulata (Glyptodontidae), Neuryurus Ameghino is poorly documented; the only well-characterized species being N. rudis (Gervais), limited to the Ensenadan Age/Stage (early-middle Pleistocene) of the Pampean region in Argentina. The genus is characterized by dorsal carapace osteoderms with uniformly punctate exposed surfaces g...

A revaluation on the main systematic, biostratigraphic and paleobiogeographic aspects of the Glyptodontidae fauna from the Pleistocene of Tarija Valley, Bolivia, are presented. The Glyptodontidae assemblage of this area is unique with respect to faunas known for other areas of South America. Some noteworthy features are the abundance of remains ass...

En las colecciones paleontológicas de los principales museos de la Argentina se encuentran numerosos restos de mamíferos provenientes de la ciudad de Buenos Aires; aquellos exhumados de la Formación Ensenada, proceden mayoritariamente de las "toscas del Río del La Plata". Los perfiles estratigráficos que acompañan a los hallazgos así como los magne...

At the paleontological collections of the principal museums of the Argentina, there are numerous remains of fossil mammals coming from the city of Buenos Aires; those exhumed of the Ensenada Formation, there come especially from the "toscas del Río de La Plata". The stratigraphic profiles associated with the fossil records, as well as the magnetost...