Punta Alta (visited by Darwin during the HMS Beagle voyage) (Pleistocene of Argentina)

Where: Argentina (38.9° S, 62.0° W: paleocoordinates 38.9° S, 62.0° W)

• coordinate estimated from map

• local area-level geographic resolution

When: Lujanian (0.8 - 0.0 Ma)

• Miño-Boilini and Carlini 2009: S. leptocephalum is the best studied species. The materials were found in the late Pleistocene of Punta Alta, Buenos Aires Province (Fig. 2), Argentina (Owen, 1857; Ameghino, 1889; Scillato-Yane ́ et al., 1995). According to Scillato-Yané et al. (1995) and Carlini and Scillato-Yané (1999), this is an exclusive species of the Lujanian s.l., since in these papers the Lujanian s.l. Stage was interpreted as including the Bonaerian þ Lujanian s.st. (ca. 0.4 Ma–8.5 ka BP; see Cione and Tonni, 2005). So far, the most modern record of this species was dated in 7760 ????+/- 120 years 14C (early Holocene), on fragments of post-cranium found in the San Luis Province (Chiesa et al., 1999).

• formation-level stratigraphic resolution

Environment/lithology: terrestrial; conglomerate

• Quattrocchio, et al. 2009: Darwin wrote "The lower bed (A) ... stratified gravel or conglomerate ... curvilinear, owing to the action of currents, and dip in different directions; they include an extraordinary number of bones of gigantic mammifers and many shells... The second bed (B) is about fifteen feet in thickness of red, tough clayey mud, with minute linear cavities... The bed (C) is of stratified gravel, like the lowest one... These three lower beds are cove- red by an unconformable mantle (D) of strati- fied sandy earth, including many pebbles of quartz, pumice and phonolite, land and sea- shells."

Size classes: macrofossils, mesofossils

Collected by Darwin in 1832-1833

• Visited by Darwin during the HMS Beagle voyage in 23 Sep - 16 Oct 1832 and 29-31 Aug 1833

Primary reference: J. C. Fernicola, S. F. Vizcaino, and G. De Iuliis. 2009. The fossil mammals collected by Charles Darwin in South America during his travels on board the HMS Beagle. Revista de la Asociación Geológica Argentina 64(1):147-159 [P. Mannion/M. Kouvari]more details

Purpose of describing collection: general faunal/floral analysis

PaleoDB collection 204208: authorized by Philip Mannion, entered by Miranta Kouvari on 03.09.2019, edited by Philip Mannion and Grace Varnham

Creative Commons license: CC BY (attribution)

Taxonomic list

unclassified
  -
Thecostraca
 Balanomorpha - Balanidae
Balanus sp.4 Da Costa 1778 barnacle
Gymnolaemata
 Cheilostomata - Flustridae
Mammalia
 Megatherioidea - Megatheriidae
"Megatherium cuvieri" = Megatherium americanum
"Megatherium cuvieri" = Megatherium americanum Cuvier 1796 edentate
  - Mylodontidae
"Mylodon darwini n. gen. n. sp." = Mylodon darwini1 Owen 1839 edentate
NHMUK M-16617 - type
"Gnathopsis oweni" = Mylodon darwini Owen 1839 edentate
Megalonyx jeffersonii by Owen 1840 but then assigned to Gnathopsis oweni
Scelidotheriinae indet.2 Ameghino 1889 edentate
PIMUZ A/V 4134
Scelidotherium leptocephalum Owen 1839 edentate
BMNH M 16579, 167781- 82-83-84, Type
cf. Scelidodon tarijensis3 Gervais and Ameghino 1880 edentate
MD 97-23
 Notoungulata - Toxodontidae
Toxodon sp. Owen 1837 notoungulate
 Perissodactyla - Equidae
Equus sp. Linnaeus 1758 horse
Anthozoa
 Pennatulacea -