Ufj. Pardinas et Ep. Tonni, A giant vampire (Mammalia, Chiroptera) in the Late Holocene from the Argentinean pampas: paleoenvironmental significance, PALAEOGEO P, 160(3-4), 2000, pp. 213-221
The first fossil desmodontine record and the only well documented chiropter
an fossil record from Argentina is described. A complete left upper canine
was collected at Centinela del Mar (38 degrees 21'S58 degrees W, General Al
varado County, Buenos Aires Province) from fossil-bearing sediments referre
d to the Late Holocene. The tooth size is 25% larger than that of the moder
n vampire bat. Desmodus rotundus. We assign this tooth to Desmodus cf. D. d
raculae, an extinct species recorded in the Pleistocene-Holocene of South A
merica (Brazil and Venezuela). The southernmost distribution of present-day
Desmodus extends to northeast Buenos Aires province (35 degrees S). The pr
esence of Desmodus some 600 km south of this present-day limit (July minima
l isotherm of 10 degrees C) indicates that around 300 years BP the southeas
tern Buenos Aires province was at least 2 degrees C higher than modern July
isotherm. The Desmodus tooth is associated with sigmodontine rodents chara
cteristic of subtropical and temperate-warm areas (e.g., Pseudoryzomys simp
lex, Bibimys cf. B. torresi), and provides additional evidence to support t
his hypothesis. A correlation with a global warming phase is discussed. (C)
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