The Camelidae (Mammalia, Artiodactyla) from the Quaternary of South America: Cladistic and Biogeographic Hypotheses

Autor: Carolina Saldanha Scherer
Rok vydání: 2012
Předmět:
Zdroj: Journal of Mammalian Evolution. 20:45-56
ISSN: 1573-7055
1064-7554
DOI: 10.1007/s10914-012-9203-4
Popis: Presented here is a cladistic analysis of the South American and some North American Camelidae. This analysis shows that Camelini and Lamini are monophyletic groups, as are the genera Palaeolama and Vicugna, while Hemiauchenia and Lama are paraphyletic. Some aspects of the migration and distribution of South American camelids are also discussed, confirming in part the propositions of other authors. According to the cladistic analysis and previous propositions, it is possible to infer that two Camelidae migration events occurred in America. In the first one, Hemiauchenia arrived in South America and, this was related to the speciation processes that originated Lama and Vicugna. In the second event, Palaeolama migrated from North America to the northern portion of South America. It is evident that there is a need for larger studies about fossil Camelidae, mainly regarding older ages and from the South American austral region. This is important to better undertand the geographic and temporal distribution of Camelidae and, thus, the biogeographic aspects after the Great American Biotic Interchange.
Databáze: OpenAIRE
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