Taphonomic Signature and Diet of Puma (Puma concolor): Study of Bones Recovered in Scats from Sierra de las Quijadas National Park (San Luis, Central Argentina)

ABSTRACT

Carnivorous mammals are significant contributors to the formation of the fossil record; they transport, accumulate, destroy and modify the skeletal remains of several kinds of vertebrates. In particular, the puma is one of the top predators in the Americas and can interact with prey of different sizes. However, naturalistic research on bone remains ingested by this feline are still scarce. This article aims to provide data that helps characterise the puma’s taphonomic signature and add information about its diet. We present and discuss the results of the analysis of bones recovered in puma scats collected in Sierra de las Quijadas National Park, province of San Luis, Argentina. This analysis indicates a high taxonomic richness dominated by medium-sized taxa, particularly Dolichotis. The skeletal remains are highly fragmented, most show gastric digestion of varying intensity, while a low percentage exhibit tooth marks. This study is helpful for its application in the Americas, where puma has a wide distribution. It can also be relevant as an analog in other parts of the world where big cats have lived in the past.

KEYWORDS:

• Carnivore Taphonomy
• Scats
• Top Predator
• Ingested Bones
• Puma Taphonomic Signature

Acknowledgments

We would like to thank the volunteers who collaborated with the fieldwork, the park rangers of the Sierra de las Quijadas National Park for their assistance in the field, and L. Gómez Vinassa for her generosity. Especially to A. Abba, E. Soibelzon, G. Gasparini, C. Quintana, and M. Recofsky, for their constant collaboration with taxonomic determinations. To the Universidad Nacional de San Luis, PPBio Argentina, IMIBIO-CONICET, INCUAPA-CONICET and Faculty of Social Sciences, Universidad Nacional del Centro de la Provincia de Buenos Aires for institutional support. Research Permits were granted by the National Parks Administration DRC-292 APN. We thank the anonymous reviewers for their careful reading of our manuscript and their many insightful comments and suggestions.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Data availability statement

The materials and data used in this paper are located in the UE INCUAPA-CONICET and IMIBIO (CONICET), Argentina. To access contact https://sanluis.conicet.gov.ar/imibio-sl/.

Correction Statement

This article has been corrected with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.

Additional information

Funding

This work was funded by a Junior Researcher Programme (03-JOVIN-15F), Strengthening Program C&T, SPU Universidad Nacional del Centro de la Provincia de Buenos Aires, Argentina.