ABSTRACT
The Somuncurá Plateau is a Protected Natural Area located in the middle of the northern extra-Andean arid Patagonia. Inhabited by at least 20 small mammal species, is the place with the uppermost species richness in Patagonia. The aim of this study was to examine the parasite remains from micromammal coprolites collected in association with a bone sequence recovered at the east of the Somuncurá Plateau (site "Alero Las Lechuzas"). Coprolites came from the four temporal units previously defined: unit I (4790⯱â¯100â¯yrs. 14C B.P.), unit II, unit III (7840⯱â¯120â¯yrs. 14C B.P.) and unit IV. Each coprolite was processed, rehydrated, homogenized, processed by spontaneous sedimentation and examined using a light microscope. Coprolites and eggs were described, measured and photographed. Samples were positive for two nematode species: Helminthoxys caudatus Freitas, Lent & Almeida, 1937 (Oxyurida, Oxyuridae) and Trichuris spp. (Trichinellida: Trichuridae). This is the first paleoparasitological study developed for the Somuncurá Plateau Protected Area. Moreover, this is the first time that the genus Helminthoxys is reported from ancient times worldwide. Coprolites were attributed to the mountain cavy Microcavia australis (Rodentia, Caviidae).The presence of H. caudatus for the Middle Holocene of northern Patagonia contributes to the study of the history of the histricomorphs and pinworms relationships.
Subject(s)
Paleopathology , Parasites/isolation & purification , Rodentia/parasitology , Animals , Argentina , Feces/parasitology , Fossils , Guinea Pigs , Nematoda/isolation & purification , Ovum/ultrastructure , Oxyuroidea/isolation & purification , Parasites/classification , Parasites/ultrastructure , Trichuris/isolation & purification , Trichuris/ultrastructureABSTRACT
This manuscript describes the mandibular muscles of the puma (Puma concolor), a widely sparse American carnivorous mammal. The muscles on the right and left side of the head of three specimens -two adult males and one young female- were dissected and photographed. This study increases our knowledge on the mandibular soft tissue and adds important anatomical information to the poorly known and documented musculature of this felid, the largest of the subfamily Felinae.
En este trabajo se describen los músculos mandibulares del puma (Puma concolor), un mamífero carnívoro de amplia distribución en América. Se diseccionaron y fotografiaron los músculos izquierdos y derechos de la cabeza de tres individuos, dos machos adultos y una hembra juvenil. Este estudio incrementa nuestro conocimiento de los tejidos blandos mandibulares y por lo tanto, aporta información anatómica valiosa de la escasamente conocida y documentada musculatura de este félido, el más grande de la subfamilia Felinae.
