MESOWEAR ANALYSIS OF TAUBATHERIUM PAULACOUTOI (LATE OLIGOCENE, TREMEMBÉ FORMATION), SÃO PAULO STATE, BRAZIL

Abstract

Despite the benefits of the mesowear analysis method for dietary reconstruction, it has rarely been applied to notoungulates. We here apply traditional mesowear and a mesowear angle approach to an assemblage of the leontiniid Taubatherium paulacoutoi from the Late Oligocene (Deseadan SALMA), Tremembé Formation, Taubaté Basin, Brazil. Using both methods, we find support for a browsing diet hypothesis low in abrasive vegetation, which matches predictions from ecomorphology. However, we found differences between the traditional mesowear signal of Taubatherium, and any modern ungulate species analyzed. We suggest that this supports the use of mesowear angles in notoungulates for dietary reconstruction, given the lack of modern representatives.