Megafauna do Pleistoceno superior de Sergipe, Brasil: registros taxonômicos e cronológicos

Abstract

The Sergipe State is included in the Intertropical Region of Brazil (= IRB), and its fauna of large (biomass > 44 kg) and megamammals (biomass > 1000 kg) is still unknown. This paper reports three taxa for Fazenda Charco locality: Toxodon platensis Owen, Smilodon populator Lund, and Pachyarmatherium brasiliense Porpino, Fernicola & Bergqvist; the latter constitutes the first record for this northeastern state of Brazil. Ages for the three faunal localities (Fazenda Elefante, Gararu Municipality; Fazenda Charco and Fazenda São José, Poço Redondo Municipality) are estimated between 50,000 and 38,000 years BP, and this period of time includes two different climates. Finally, the present authors are engaged in an ongoing project to elucidate in more detail the ecology of the species found in the IRB. © 2011 by the Sociedade Brasileira de Paleontologia.