Late Pleistocene meso-megamammals from Anagé, Bahia, Brazil: Taxonomy and isotopic paleoecology (δ13C)

The fossils of Pleistocene megafauna are commonly found in tanks and cave deposits in the State of Bahia, northeastern Brazil. In general, studies on these materials have focused mainly on taxonomic aspects, but more recently, there has been an increase in paleoecological studies based on stable isotopes. The present paper describes fossils recovered from a tank deposit in Lagoa de Pedra (Anagé municipality, Bahia State). The material was identified as: Eremotherium laurillardi, Panochthus sp., Holmesina paulacoutoi, Palaeolama major, Notiomastodon platensis, and Toxodontinae indet. Stable isotope analyses were performed in order to estimate their diet and the paleoenvironment in which these taxa lived. The results indicate the occurrence of two guilds: grazers (Panochthus sp.) and mixed-feeders (H. paulacoutoi, N. platensis and E. laurillardi). These animals lived in a more open environment where N. platensis possibly had a major role in the community organization.