An accumulation of bone remains of two Liolaemus species (Iguanidae) in an Holocene archaeological site of the Argentine Puna

Abstract

An accumulation of iguanian bone remains was found inside a rodent burrow in an Holocene archaeological site of the Argentine southern Puna. Characters of the preserved bones suggest that a minimum of two species of the Liolaemus genus is represented. One of them is undoubtedly attributed to the montanus group, probably L. poecilochromus or L. andinus. The finding of Liolaemus bone remains in the Argentine Puna Region represents the first record of this genus in an archaeological site of South America and suggests that specimens of at least two Liolaemus species exploited the same refuge simultaneously, including both adult and juvenile individuals. © 2007 Brill Academic Publishers.