Late Pliocene Glyptodontinae (Xenarthra, Cingulata, Glyptodontidae) of South and North America: Morphology and paleobiogeographical implications in the GABI

Knowledge of the main aspects of the Great American Biotic Interchange (GABI) concerning the glyptodontine Glyptodontidae (Xenarthra) is very scarce. A bidirectional dispersal process was recently proposed for this clade, with the presence of the North American genus Glyptotherium Osborn recognized in latest Pleistocene sediments of northern South America (Venezuela and Brazil). However, the earliest stages of this paleobiogeographical process remain poorly understood, mainly because of the limited fossil record on this clade in late Pliocene sediments. The goals of this contribution are: a) to present and describe the first record of a glyptodontine glyptodontid from the late Pliocene of northern South America, tentatively assigned to a new species of Boreostemma Carlini et al. (Boreostemma? sp. nov); and b) to analyze its paleobiogeographical implications with respect to the GABI. This new material was recovered from the San Gregorio Formation (late Pliocene, prior the GABI) in northern Venezuela, where it is represented by several osteoderms of the dorsal carapace. A comparison among the three known late Pliocene glyptodontine glyptodontids of a) southern South America (Paraglyptodon), b) northern South America (Boreostemma), and c) southern North America ("Glyptotherium"), reveals a series of shared characters between (b) and (c), not present in (a). The most important of these shared characters in (b) and (c) are: all the osteoderms present a great development of the central figure, which is always larger than the peripherals; the sulcus that delimits the central and peripheral figures is narrower and shallower; and all the osteoderms present are relatively thin. This evidence suggests that the lineage of Glyptodontinae which participated in the GABI and subsequently diversified in North America originated in northern South America. Moreover, the evident morphological differences between these glyptodontines with respect to the southern South American forms show a significant separation of both lineages since at least latest Miocene-early Pliocene.

► The morphology of this new late Pliocene glyptodontine suggests its preliminary inclusion in a new species of the genus Boreostemma (Boreostema? sp. nov).
► Despite this, the comparison among the three best known late Pliocene Glyptodontinae shows a clear morphological affinity between the northern South America taxon and the southern North America taxon.
► In turn, the southern South American form (Paraglyptodon uquiensis) is clearly different from these two taxa from northern South America and southern North America, respectively. Its morphology (especially that of the dorsal carapace and skull) is very similar to that observed in the Pleistocene genus Glyptodon.
► This evidence suggests that the origin of the lineage of Glyptodontinae that participated in the GABI and subsequently diversified in North America is located in northern South America.
► Morphological differences between these glyptodontines with respect to the southern South American forms show a separation of both lineages since at least late Miocene-early Pliocene.