The Proboscidean Gomphotheres (Mammalia, Gomphotheriidae) from Southernmost South America

Abstract

The Gomphotheriidae family included a large number of taxa, and a fossil record with extensive geographic and stratigraphic distribution. In South America, the gomphotheres evolved the dibelodont and brevirostrian characteristics, with brachydont, bunodot and subhypsodont molar teeth. Among palaeontologists it is generally accepted the division of gomphotheres into two different groups: the lowland and Andean gomphotheres. There is scientific consensus to designate the species Cuvieronius hyodon as representative of the Andean-type gomphotheres, and in the last few decades, the genus Stegomastodon including its two species S. platensis and S. waringi was described as a lowland-type gomphothere. Recent studies included the genus Stegomastodon within the genus Notiomastodon, with the species Notiomastodon platensis as endemic for the region. In Chile, the most abundant fossils of megafauna from the late Pleistocene—early Holocene limit are gomphotheres, counting with one of the southernmost fossil records that extend to Castro, on the island of Chiloé. The most common fossil remains are molars that are the base of many scientific studies aiming to synthesize the complex history of these mammals. The investigation of the Pilauco site in south-central Chile has improved our paleoecological knowledge of these mammals, as well as the taphonomic processes that favoured their fossilization in southern South America.