Primer registro de Cuvieronius (Proboscidea: Gomphotheriidae) en el Pleistoceno del Istmo de Tehuantepec, Oaxaca, sur de México, algunas consideraciones sobre su taxonomía y distribución geográfica en México

  • Eduardo Jiménez-Hidalgo
  • Lidia Aracely Pérez-Cruz
Keywords: Cuvieronius, Pleistocene, Oaxaca, Mexico

Abstract

The first record of Cuvieronius hyodon is reported in the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, southeastern Oaxaca, Mexico. It consists of a mandible fragment with an m3 collected from Pleistocene alluvium.

The analysis of metrical data of 36 m3 of Cuvieronius and 25 m3 of Rhynchotherium from North American and South American localities revealed that the length of Cuvieronius m3 is larger in almost 75% of the analyzed data, whereas they are wider in slightly more than 50% of the studied specimens. A Welch t-test showed that m3 width index is significantly different between both genera.

The 52 Pliocene-Pleistocene (Blancan-Rancholabrean) geographic records of Cuvieronius from Mexico are mainly in the central and southern part of the country; their wide altitudinal range suggests that Cuvieronius inhabited places a few meters above sea level as in the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, to others located more than 2500 m a.s.l. as in the State of Mexico. Its geographic distribution in Mexico suggests that Cuvieronius hyodon moved across temperate and tropical corridors.

Published
2015-02-24
Section
Regular Papers