Abstract

TOMASSINI, Rodrigo L; MONTALVO, Claudia I; MANERA, Teresa  and  OLIVA, Cristian. Taphonomic study of pleistocene mammals from Playa del Barco site (Pehuen Co) Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. Ameghiniana [online]. 2010, vol.47, n.2, pp.137-152. ISSN 1851-8044.

Results are presented of a comparative taphonomic study conducted on mammal remains from Playa del Barco, Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. Two bearing levels, belonging to a fluvial environment were recognized: one constituted mainly by conglomerates and the other by silty sandstones. The mammal remains collected belong to the orders Xenarthra, Notoungulata, Litopterna, Rodentia, Carnivora, Perissodactyla, Artiodactyla, and Proboscidea, all of them components of the typical Pleistocene megafauna. When taking into account the source level, variations in the taphonomic attributes of the analysed materials were observed. Remains from the conglomerate show evidence of having been rapidly buried and then reelaborated before their final deposition. Fossils from silty sandstones show signs of longer exposure to weather, more intensely subject to processes that took place before burial. Due to their characteristics they are interpreted as re-deposited remains. In both cases, processes related to mass transport are inferred. Nevertheless, the diversity in conservation status and taphonomic attributes would result from processes originated at each of the source levels. The lithostratigraphic, taxonomic, and taphonomic evidences do not allow relating these two levels to a unique event. Therefore, the fossils that they contain are interpreted as members of two different associations.

Keywords : Taphonomy; Mammals; Pleistocene; Playa del Barco; Buenos Aires.