Termite Traces on Bones from the Late Pleistocene of Argentina

Abstract

Insect activity during the late Cenozoic of the Pampean Region (Argentina) has been recorded mainly as fossil nests of ants, termites, flies and beetles. We present new evidence of insect activity based on the presence of traces on bones from a late Pleistocene site in the Quequén Grande Basin. Potential tracemakers were evaluated by comparing these scratches with both modern and ancient bone modifications produced by insects and other organisms. The marks reported here show radiate morphology, linear arrangement, opposite disposition of simple grooves, small size and association of irregular and star-like marks, and some are located on cracks. These characteristics link the traces to insects, specifically termites. Based on an associated radiocarbon date, the marks were shaped under climatic conditions of the last part of OIS 3, where some abrupt warm episodes were documented.

Keywords:

• Taphonomy
• Grooves
• Coleoptera
• Isoptera
• Climate

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

We thank the teams of the Tritium and Radiocarbon Analysis Lab and Electron Microscopy Service (La Plata Museum). We are especially grateful to Pepe Laza for reading and criticizing an early version of the work. Finally, we thank anonymous reviewers and Dr. Murray Gingras.