First fossil record of Bibimys Massoia, 1979 (Rodentia, Cricetidae) from the Early Holocene in Argentina

ABSTRACT

Argentinian fossil records of Bibimys have been well documented in a Late Pleistocene palaeontological site and several Late Holocene archaeological sites in Buenos Aires province. However, the specimen reported here is the first fossil record of this genus from the Early Holocene in Argentina. It was recovered in a fluvial unit dated at 9990 ± 140 yr B.P. from Doll creek, southwestern Entre Ríos province, Argentina. At present, this genus is distributed in the distal area of the Paraná River Delta in the province of Entre Ríos, represented by the species B. torresi, and in the province of Misiones, northern Corrientes, and eastern Chaco and Formosa, represented by the species B. chacoensis. The specimen described here is a contribution to the palaeobiogeography of the genus and to a better understanding of the fossil sigmodontine fauna that inhabited the southwest of the province of Entre Ríos in the recent past.

KEYWORDS:

• Sigmodontinae
• Entre Ríos
• Argentinian mesopotamia
• Quaternary

Acknowledgments

We are grateful to Pablo Teta and Sergio Lucero (Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales Bernardino Rivadavia) for allowing us to study material under their care. Thanks to our laboratory colleagues for the discussions and help in figure development. To N. Nuñez Otaño for the illustration. To Gareth Dyke, Historical Biology Editor in Chief, and Historical Biology editors for their useful suggestions. To M. E. Perez and an anonymous reviewer for their constructive revision of the manuscript. Also, to Sci-Hub.

Disclosure statement

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

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 supported by Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET). Contribution to PIP-CONICET 3036, PICT-2020-03591, and Universidad Autónoma de Entre Ríos PIDAC-UADER-459/18.