Análise tafonômica de Eremotherim laurillardi (Lund, 1842) dos depósitos pleistocenos, município de Itaituba, Pará

Abstract

The present work deals with the taphonomic study of Eremotherium laurillardi (Lund, 1842), a ground sloth found within a Pleistocene depositional site in Itaituba town, State of Pará. The samples comprise approximately eight hundred skeletal fragments and complete pieces of this specie deposited in the Paleontological Collection of Museu Paraense Emílio Goeldi. Taphonomy is the post mortem history of fossils, the study of processes that influence preservation of potential fossils. It consists of two major aspects: biostratinomy, the study of processes affecting organism remains prior to burial and fossil diagenesis affecting potential fossils after burial. The biostratinomic study showed that the skeletal remains had a loose packing and were poorly sorted, indicating deposition in situ. Moreover, the biostratinomic study revealed that the taxonomic composition of the skeletal fragments is monotypical and monospecific related to catastrophic death (non-selective) by abrupt burial which occurred before necrolysis. Traces of abrasion and reworking during transport of the skeletal remains are insignificant and/or non-existent. Bioerosion facies have not been identified too. The non-preservation of soft parts shows that the necrolysis occurred in an aerobic environment. However, the partial presence of pyrite in the foramina and channels of ribs and teeth analyzed point to localized reducing micro environment. The skeletal remains show their morphological structures, both external and internal, well preserved suggesting that they were not exposed to the exogenous cycle, due to the quick burial. The fossildiagenetic study, conducted on samples of ribs, teeth and vertebrae, using both optical and scanning electron microscopy, revealed that both the bone and dental structures, known as Havers` channels and dentinal tubules, respectively, remained well – preserved. Additionally EDS Analysis (Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy) carried out on these components showed a nearly unaltered chemical composition relating to Ca, P, Mg, K and Na contents.