Una cría de camélido (Cetartiodactyla: Camelidae) del Pleistoceno de la cuenca de Chiuchiu
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In the 1970s, Paul Martin proposed that big game hunters armed with fluted projectile points colonized the Americas and drove the extinction of megafauna. Around fifty years later, the central role of humans in the extinctions is still strongly debated in North American archaeology, but little considered in South America. Here we analyze the temporal dynamic and spatial distribution of South American megafauna and fluted (Fishtail) projectile points to evaluate the role of humans in Pleistocene extinctions. We observe a strong relationship between the temporal density and spatial distribution of megafaunal species stratigraphically associated with humans and Fishtail projectile points, as well as with the fluctuations in human demography. On this basis we propose that the direct effect of human predation was the main factor driving the megafaunal decline, with other secondary, but necessary, co-occurring factors for the collapse of the megafaunal community. Human arrival in South America predated the extinction of regional megafauna by a substantial margin, which has suggested a different cause for the extinctions. However, here, the authors show that megafaunal extinctions do correspond to the spread of hunting tools and human population shifts.
We describe a well-preserved South American Lamini partial skeleton (PIMUZ A/V 4165) from the Ensenadan (~ 1.95–1.77 to 0.4 Mya) of Argentina. The specimen is comprised of a nearly complete skull and mandible with full tooth rows, multiple elements of anterior and posterior limbs, and a scapula. We tested this specimen’s phylogenetic position and hypothesized it to be more closely related to Lama guanicoe and Vicugna vicugna than to Hemiauchenia paradoxa . We formulate a hypothesis for the placement of PIMUZ A/V 4165 within Camelinae in a cladistic analysis based on craniomandibular and dental characters and propose that future systematic studies consider this specimen as representing a new species. For the first time in a morphological phylogeny, we code terminal taxa at the species level for the following genera: Camelops , Aepycamelus, Pleiolama , Procamelus, and Alforjas. Our results indicate a divergence between Lamini and Camelini predating the Barstovian (16 Mya) . Camelops appears as monophyletic within the Camelini. Alforjas taylori falls out as a basal member of Camelinae—neither as a Lamini nor Camelini. Pleiolama is polyphyletic, with Pleiolama vera as a basal Lamini and Pleiolama mckennai in a more nested position within the Lamini. Aepycamelus and Procamelus are respectively polyphyletic and paraphyletic. Together, they are part of a group of North American Lamini from the Miocene epoch.
Early researchers of radiocarbon levels in Southern Hemisphere tree rings identified a variable North-South hemispheric offset, necessitating construction of a separate radiocarbon calibration curve for the South. We present here SHCal20, a revised calibration curve from 0-55,000 cal BP, based upon SHCal13 and fortified by the addition of 14 new tree-ring data sets in the 2140-0, 3520-3453, 3608-3590 and 13,140-11,375 cal BP time intervals. We detail the statistical approaches used for curve construction and present recommendations for the use of the Northern Hemisphere curve (IntCal20), the Southern Hemisphere curve (SHCal20) and suggest where application of an equal mixture of the curves might be more appropriate. Using our Bayesian spline with errors-in-variables methodology, and based upon a comparison of Southern Hemisphere tree-ring data compared with contemporaneous Northern Hemisphere data, we estimate the mean Southern Hemisphere offset to be 36 ± 27 14 C yrs older.
Archaeological excavations at the Cueva del Medio performed during the 1980s and 1990s yielded an important record of both faunal and stone tool remains, as well as data, to discuss issues that occurred during the Terminal Pleistocene. Due to that, the shaped Paleoamerican artifacts collected in the author’s excavations were partially informed. The present article provides unpublished data on the field-work, the results of a techno-morphological analysis of the stone tools, and considerations about early hunter-gatherer societies along with their regional paleo-environmental interactions, as well other topics regarding the regional archaeological process during the last millennium of the Pleistocene. Findings from there have been extremely useful for discussing diverse paleo-ecological and archaeological topics and have extended the knowledge and discussions about different Pleistocene scientific issues, mainly related with flora, fauna, and the colonization of southern Patagonia.
We present archaeological evidence from the Central Plateau of Santa Cruz regarding the extinction of the Pleistocene fauna. The Pleistocene sites analyzed for this area are Cueva Tunel and Casa del Minero. They are located in La María archaeological locality. These sites show the contemporaneity between the first settlers of Patagonia and several extinct species: Hemiauchenia cf. paradoxa, Lama gracilis, Panthera onca mesembrina, Hippidion saldiasi, Megatherium americanum cf. and Arctotheirum sp. Present fauna such as Lama guanicoe, Rhea sp., Lycalopex griseus and Lycalopex sp. is also contemporary. All the information points to the fact that southern Patagonia had paleoenvironmental diversity, plurality of sites and different use patterns of wildlife during the Pleistocene-Holocene transition. The use and consumption of the three species of camelids and the survival of Hippidion saldiasi in specific environments of the plateau is also highlighted. These issues are discussed taking into account available information relating to the early human occupation of the Southern Cone, as part of a growing methodological improvement that seeks to integrate different research avenues.
Site GNL Quintero 1 (GNLQ1), located nearshore at Quintero bay in the central coast of Chile (32° S), is the only documented Late Pleistocene drowned terrestrial site along the Pacific coast of South America. During the last decade, through underwater archaeological operations conducted at GNLQ1, several clusters of shallowly buried bone deposits were documented and excavated, revealing a well preserved high-resolution in situ context. Taxonomic analysis of the faunal assemblage recovered yielded at least 26 individuals comprising extinct Camelidae, Cervidae, Equidae, Mylodontidae, and Xenarthra as well as Canidae, Myocastoridae, Octodontidae, Cricetidae, among others. By conducting stable isotope analyses (δ13Cap and δ18Oap) on mammalian bioapatite, we aim to perform a first characterization of the GNLQ1 taxa paleoecology and carry out paleoenvironmental inferences. Regional records for the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) suggest lower sea surface temperatures and more humid climatic conditions for Central Chile. Isotopic data obtained suggests a landscape of mixed vegetation areas, in good agreement with the sedimentary context of the fossil remains and a preliminary Quintero paleolandscape model: a wetland environment developed under semiarid conditions prior to post-glacial sea level rise, with GNLQ1 located >6 km inland as the paleoshoreline was further out on the continental shelf.
The causes of Late Pleistocene megafaunal extinctions (60,000 to 11,650 years ago, hereafter 60 to 11.65 ka) remain contentious, with major phases coinciding with both human arrival and climate change around the world. The Americas provide a unique opportunity to disentangle these factors as human colonization took place over a narrow time frame (~15 to 14.6 ka) but during contrasting temperature trends across each continent. Unfortunately, limited data sets in South America have so far precluded detailed comparison. We analyze genetic and radiocarbon data from 89 and 71 Patagonian megafaunal bones, respectively, more than doubling the high-quality Pleistocene megafaunal radiocarbon data sets from the region. We identify a narrow megafaunal extinction phase 12,280 ± 110 years ago, some 1 to 3 thousand years after initial human presence in the area. Although humans arrived immediately prior to a cold phase, the Antarctic Cold Reversal stadial, megafaunal extinctions did not occur until the stadial finished and the subsequent warming phase commenced some 1 to 3 thousand years later. The increased resolution provided by the Patagonian material reveals that the sequence of climate and extinction events in North and South America were temporally inverted, but in both cases, megafaunal extinctions did not occur until human presence and climate warming coincided. Overall, metapopulation processes involving subpopulation connectivity on a continental scale appear to have been critical for megafaunal species survival of both climate change and human impacts
The exceedingly rich middle Pleistocene mammalian fauna from the classic Ensenadan Tarija basin in southern Bolivia contains a diversity of medium to large-bodied herbivores consisting of both endemic (†Toxodontia, †Litopterna, Xenarthra) and immigrant (Rodentia, Proboscidea, Perissodactyla, and Artiodactyla) taxa. In order to characterize feeding ecology and niche differences, a suite of morphological characters was measured for each of 13 species of herbivorous mammals from the Pleistocene of Tarija; these were combined with carbon isotopic results from tooth enamel. (The Xenarthra were excluded from this study because they lack tooth enamel.)
Several different bivariate and multivariate combinations of characters can be used to characterize the feeding adaptations, niches, and guild composition of the Tarija mammalian herbivores. During the Pleistocene the browsing guild in the Tarija basin is interpreted to include the tapir ( Tapirus tarijensis ), extinct llama ( Palaeolama weddelli ), peccary ( Tayassu sp.), and deer ( Hippocamelus sp.). The mixed-feeding guild included two horse species ( Hippidion principale and Onohippidium devillei ), litoptern ( Macrauchenia patachonica ), and capybara ( Neochoerus tarijensis ). The grazing guild included the numerically dominant horse ( Equus insulatus ), two lamine species ( Lama angustimaxilla and cf. Vicugna, provicugna ), notoungulate ( Toxodon platensis ), and gomphothere proboscidean ( Cuvieronius hyodon ). The grazing guild has the widest range of body sizes relative to the two other guilds. Closely related sympatric species within the Equidae and Camelidae differentiate their niches from one another using a combination of body size, feeding ecology, and probably local habitat. Most of the paleoecological reconstructions resulting from this combined morphological and isotopic analysis corroborate previous studies based primarily on morphology; there are, however, some notable surprises.
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Site GNL Quintero 1 (GNLQ1), located on the central coast of Chile, is the only documented Late Pleistocene drowned terrestrial site along the Pacific Coast of South America. Faunal evidence at the site is varied, and so far, remains of the following taxa have been found: extinct Camelidae, Cervidae, Equidae, Mylodontidae, Xenarthra, but also Myocastoridae, Canidae and Octodontidae. Both geological and paleoenvironmental data indicate that GNLQ1 developed in a floodplain or low-energy environment during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM). Prior to the post-glacial rising of the sea level, the site would have been located several kilometres inland as the paleoshoreline was farther out on the continental shelf. In accordance with this background, the present study addresses the analysis of the spatial distribution of the bone deposits of GNLQ1 by considering both scenarios, the terrestrial phase related to the formation and modification of the fossil assemblage prior to the transgression, and the marine phase, subsequent to inundation. Results indicate modifications related to low-energy flow environment and carnivore activity dominated during the terrestrial phase and the action of marine organisms during the marine phase. Other taphonomic modifications are not easily attributable to either one or the other environmental context.
RESUMEN Se presentan los resultados del análisis taxonómico de una mandíbula asignada a Megatherium sp. y recuperada en un depósito secundario sobre la terraza fluvial norte en el curso inferior de río Salado (Región de Antofagasta, Chile). La comparación de las dimensiones de los molariformes mandibu-lares señala que el espécimen de río Salado posee un tamaño menor a M. americanum y mayor a M. altiplanicum, acercándose a los rangos de M. tarijense, M. sundti y M. medinae. Si bien el material fue recolectado a partir de un bloque colapsado de un estrato aún no identificado, tanto los sedimentos impregnados en los intersticios del hueso como la distribución estratigráfica del género en otros sitios del área, sugieren que la mandíbula proviene de depósitos de la Formación Chiu-Chiu (Pleistoceno superior y Holoceno superior). ABSTRACT Notes on a finding of Megatherium sp. (Mammalia, Xenarthra, Megatheriidae) in the lower course of the Salado River (Region of Antofagasta, Chile). We present results of a taxonomic analysis of a mandible assigned to Megatherium sp. which was recovered from a secondary deposit on the fluvial north terrace in the lower course of the Salado River (Antofagasta Region, Chile). The comparison of the dimensions of the mandibular molariforms indicates that the Salado River specimen is smaller than M. americanum and larger than M. altiplanicum, being closer to the ranges of M. tarijense, M. sundti and M. medinae. Although the materials were collected from a collapsed block of a yet unidentified layer, sediments impregnated in the interstices of the bone, and in agreement with the stratigraphic distribution of the genus in other sites of the area suggest that the mandible comes from deposits of the Chiu-Chiu Formation (Upper Pleistocene and Upper Holocene).
From the morphological patterns of a modern population of Lama guanicoe we develop a technique to derive the age-death of fossil juvenile guanacos using the unfused long bones sizes. This new methodological tool improves the estimation of age structures of guanaco bone assemblages. This aspect contributes to the discussion of the hunting, prey selection, and seasonal strategies used in the exploitation of the main terrestrial prey of hunter-gatherers during the Holocene in Patagonia. As a case study, the guanaco sample from the Orejas de Burro 1 site is analyzed in order to discuss the seasonality of human occupation during the late Holocene in the argentine area of Pali Aike volcanic field.
Site GNL Quintero 1 (GNLQ1), located in Quintero Bay (32 degrees S, Central Chile) constitutes the first evidence of a drowned terrestrial site on the continental West Coast of South America covered by sea-level rise after the Last Glacial Maximum. The site currently lies 650 m offshore and 13 m underwater, covers an area of similar to 64 m(2) and contains several discrete exposed and shallow-buried bone deposits. Through underwater archaeology survey and test excavations, a significant amount of animal bone assigned to the Late Pleistocene was successfully recovered and analyzed. After recovery and prior to the analyses, the bones were subjected to conservation and stabilization treatments, resulting in good preservation of the material. Taxonomic analyses (NISP 224) revealed high taxonomic diversity of extinct fauna (Camelidae, Cervidae, Artiodactyla, Equidae, Mylodontidae, Canidae, Rodentia and Xenarthra). The sample represents a continental faunal assemblage belonging to a drowned terrestrial context, probably related to an estuarine-lagoon environment. Taphonomic analysis allowed macroscopic identification of natural marks (punctures) associated with large and small size carnivores. The bones also show abrasion related to the action of marine sands along with colour alterations. By applying Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) micrographs and Energy-Dispersive Spectroscopy (EDS) to fossil bones, marks and colour alterations were identified. Marks indicated rodent gnawing and trampling, while colour alterations were attributed to diagenesis processes, discarding thermal treatment. Site GNLQ1 is identified as having very high potential, for it provides the first evidence for a submerged palaeolandscape viable for human occupation and movement along the Pacific Coast of South America during the Late Pleistocene.
The concept of "land-mammal age' as developed in South America is examined. The "Uquian Land-mammal age' is used as a study case. "Land-mammal age' parataxonomy is here considered methodologically but not conceptually different from chronostratigraphic taxonomy. The Uquia outcrops are here considered inadequate as a stratotype. A new South American continental stage-age is proposed. This stage is based on a biostratigraphic scheme. The stratotypes of the stage and biozones are located in the fossiliferous southeastern Buenos Aires Province marine cliffs. The lower boundary stratotype is proposed. The stage-age is probably correlated with the Gauss Chron and the lower Matuyama Chron. -from Authors
Abstract. The presence of fossil camelids in Tucumán, northwestern Argentina, has been recognized for many years but its relevance has
not been fully evaluated so far. Here, we review previous mentions of fossil camelids for this province, present new material, and compare it
with fossil and extant specimens of South American camelids, clarifying its taxonomic context and discussing its paleobiogeographic significance. For Tucumán we recognize Vicugna vicugna (Tafí del Valle Formation, late Pleistocene–early Holocene) and Palaeolama sp. (Tucumán Formation, late Pleistocene), mainly based on size and dental features. The current distribution of V. vicugna is restricted to the Central Andes, in the Puna and High Andean environments over 3200 m altitude; there is no mention, neither current nor historical, for Tucumán. Its presence at around 2200 m in the Tafí valley during the Quaternary indicates cooler and drier conditions than those currently established. The observations made in the context of this contribution allow us to establish that the species V. provicugna is a synonym of V. vicugna. In turn, we consider that the validity of the species Palaeolama hoffstetteri, only based on postcranial remains, should be properly evaluated in the future.
The South American camelids belong to the Tribe Lamini; this Tribe originated in North America and arrived in South America during the “Great American Biotic Interchange”. The goals of this paper are: i) to describe the specimen MAM-70, the oldest record of Hemiauchenia Gervais and Ameghino in South America; ii) to analyze this specimen from a stratigraphic point of view; iii) to update the distribution and stratigraphic ranges of Lamini in South America; and iv) to discuss its dispersal pattern to South America. The finding of Hemiauchenia sp. in late Pliocene Chapadmalalan sediments cropping out at the city of Olavarría (Buenos Aires Province, Argentina) represents the oldest record of a Lamini taxon in South America. This finding refutes the hypotheses that consider the genus Lama as the first North American immigrant and those considering that Hemiauchenia and Palaeolama arrived in South America after the closure of the Central America land bridge, during the early-middle Pleistocene. In turn, this specimen corroborates the hypothesis of the dispersal of Lamini from North America to South America, which considered that Palaeolama dispersed after Hemiauchenia, in a later and isolated event. In addition, this finding suggests the possibility that a form closely related to the North American Hemiauchenia macrocephala could have dispersed to South America during the Pliocene, thus originating the South American forms of Hemiauchenia and Lama.
Vicunas (Vicugna vicugna) are wild South American camelids that live in high-altitude steppes between Andean mountain ranges in the ecoregions of the Puna and Altoandina. The species is prized for its fine fiber, which placed it at risk of extinction in the 1960s. Effective conservation measures during the past 30 years have resulted in an increase in vicuna numbers, and now the world population is at approximately 200,000. Since the recovery of the species, Andean countries with viable vicuna populations (Peru, Bolivia, Chile, and Argentina) have begun developing management plans with the goal of promoting conservation while creating an alternative source of income for local people who live in a resource-poor area. The authors, both of whom are members of the World Conservation Union's Species Survival Commission, South American Camelid Specialist Group and reviewers of vicuna-related proposals for the Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), describe ongoing management plans in these countries and explore their biological and socioeconomic impact. They suggest that wild management is a preferable alternative to captive management to promote sustainable use of the species and to improve the quality of life of the local people.
IntroducciónNuestras investigaciones arqueológicas en la Patagonia argentina empiezan en el año 1971. El área que estamos estudiando corresponde a la Patagonia extraandina, en la meseta central del norte de la provincia de Santa Cruz, al sur del río Deseado, incluyendo también la costa atlántica de la misma latitud, esto es, al norte del puerto San Julián. Las principales localidades que están siendo estudiadas son: Los Toldos, El Ceibo, La María y Playa Grande. Los resultados los hemos ido volcando, aunque en forma sucinta, en revistas de la especialidad (Cardich et al. 1973, 1977, 1982; Cardich 1977, 1978, 1979, 1984, 1985; Cardich y Flegenheimer 1978; Cardich y Miotti 1983; Cardich y Laguens 1984).
As part of a Pleistocene peopling interdisciplinary research program (FONDECYT 1090044) we have been studying surface and stratigraphic sites with possible associations between extinct fauna and cultural evidence in the Semiarid North of Chile (Jackson et al. 2003; Méndez and Jackson 2006; Méndez et al. 2004). One of these sites, El Avistadero (LV.100; ~32° S) is located on a coastal marine terrace (40 m.a.s.l.) with overlying dune fields (Figure 1). Southwest wind deflation has exposed a red clay deposit corresponding to the upper part of the terrace (Varela 1981) along with extinct faunal remains and lithic tools. To assess cultural associations at the site, we conducted surface samplings (40 m 2) and stratigraphic excavations (16 m 2) immediately to the north and south of the dune system circumscribing the main deflation area. The stratig-raphy of the excavation showed an 80-cm clean sand paleodune deposit with sandy clay sediments towards the base. In the basal deposit we recovered volcanic tuff cores and lithic debitage (obtained from an adjacent rock out
Excavations performed at Aguas de Ramón-1 site (913 m.a.s.l., 6299640 m S, 359746 m E, Datum 69), located on the southern fringe of the middle course of Aguas de Ramón ravine (Las Condes, Metropolitan Region, Chile), revealed appendicular and axial skeletal remains of Gomphotheri-idae and a Camelidae (genus and species indet.) specimen. These finds were made at a depth of 5.37 m in a lithostratigraphic sequence of three deposi-tional units. The basal unit is an ancient glacial moraine ascribed to the final advance of glaciers known for the area, which occurred ca. 18,000 RCYBP (Lamy et al. 1999). The second unit, associated with the deposition of the mastodon and camelid remains, is a series of highly oxidized lime, clay, and sand deposits correlated to a phase of higher humidity during the late Pleistocene, which allowed the concentration of different water currents in a riverine and lacustrine environment. Lastly, the early Holocene to present is represented by the subsequent pebbly and lime colluvial stratum without fossil evidence. Taphonomic analyses suggest that the mastodon remains were redeposited by water current inside an ancient basin that drained into the present-day ravine. The presence of a proximal femur fragment and highly eroded rib fragments with drag-marks point precisely to a dynamic alteration process due to ancient fluvial currents. Gomphoteriidae remains were recovered from Stratum 10, a sand and pebble deposit which altered original bone composition through diagenetic processes, making the bone unsuitable for dating by 14 C procedures owing to insufficient collagen. The Camelidae record consists of a metatarsal fragment intermediate in size between the extinct Palaeolama and contemporary guanaco (Lama guanicoe). Despite the impossibility of precise taxonomic identification, these antecedents should be taken into
Resumen
Se describe una secuencia cultural y natural correspondiente al Pleistoceno tardío-Holoceno, identificada a unos cinco kilómetros al sur de los Vilos en la costa sur de la región semiárida de Chile, asociada a actividades humanas y fauna fósil. Se desarrollaron excavaciones de control vertical y horizontal para localizar las evidencias paleontologicas y arqueológicas in situ. Se harnearon con agua cerca de 217 m ³ de sedimentos lacustres y fueron recuperados por flotación los materiales orgánicos. Tres columnas estratigráficas fueron muestreadas para análisis sedimentológico, microfaunístico, palinológico y paleontológico.
En un primer paso se definió la Formación Quebrada Quereo (Cuaternario) que consta de seis miembros emplazados en un relleno depositado en una fosa tectónica. La ocupación humana, y su interacción con la variabilidad ambiental, faunística y florística, durante el Pleistoceno Superior-Holoceno, es analizada con un criterio multidisciplinario. Se propone un esquema de correlación entre la secuencia de unidades lito-cronoestratigráficas, las condiciones paleogeográficas y bióticas, la secuencia de eventos geomorfológicos y los niveles de la secuencia cultural. El nivel Quereo I (> 11.400 años A.P.) presenta evidencias de probable origen humano asociadas a caza de Equus sp. Condiciones de aridez, al término del Pleistoceno, habrían acelerado la sobreexplotación de megamamíferos (nivel Quereo II) por los 11.100 ± 150 a 9.370 ± 180 A.P. Posteriormente, condiciones sociales y ambientales favorables reactivaron el hábitat de Quereo, representadas por una ocupación Arcaica Tardía (nivel Quereo III), datada en 2.475 ± 90 años A.P., y otra agrocerámica (nivel Quereo IV), fechada en 1.280 ± 75 años A.P.
This paper provides a review of South American camelid origins, evolution, classification, present status and future trends.
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 gran rompecabezas y cada nueva pieza ofrece nuevas respuestas, aunque también nuevos interrogantes... Caminando… invita a despertar el interés por las Ciencias Naturales, a través de la paleontología y la evolución faunística en la región Pampeana. La guía está organizada en cuatro módulos, incluyendo actividades, que nos introducen en el mundo de la paleontología y su historia en Argentina. Recorremos los millones de años de historia de la vida en la Tierra. Conocemos la megafauna pleistocena pampeana y las hipótesis sobre su extinción. Finalmente, discutimos la relación e importancia de los museos y las comunidades locales y el valor patrimonial de los fósiles. Este no busca ser sólo un libro sobre paleontología, sino una herramienta más para la enseñanza de las Ciencias Naturales.
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We review the status of the four currently recognized guanaco Lama guanicoe subspecies, and provide information about their taxonomy and distribution. The success of guanaco in inhabiting open habitats of South America is based mainly on the flexibility of their social behaviour and ecophysiological adaptations to harsh environments.
Lönnberg described the first subspecies, L. g. cacsilensis , at the beginning of the 20th century. Forty years later Krumbiegel described L. g. voglii , based on skull measurements and pelage colouration. The other two subspecies, L. g. huanacus and L. g. guanicoe , were classified as subspecies by Krumbiegel based on pelage colouration and body size, while maintaining the original Latin names and descriptors.
Further guanaco populations have been incorporated into each of these subspecies, based on their proximity to the type locality but without attention to the homogeneity of phenotype or habitat and only limited consideration of Bergmann’s rule based on scarce skulls. Two alternative geographical ranges were proposed in the middle and towards the end of the 20th century. Discrepancies occur in the geographical range of each subspecies.
Molecular studies based on mitochondrial DNA cytochrome b sequences recognized only two subspecies: the Peruvian L. guanicoe cacsilensis and the rest of the populations grouped in the clade recognized as L. g. guanicoe . We conclude that the evolutionary biology of L. guanicoe requires a significant revision with respect to biogeography. Phylogeographical data hold particular value in developing conservation strategies, particularly for some of the reduced and marginal populations and/or subspecies and will support IUCN (The World Conservation Union) Red List classification.