On the presence of Nasua Storr (Carnivora, Procyonidae) in the Buenos Aires province in the late Holocene

Abstract

The genus Nasua is represented by two species, Nasua nasua and Nasua narica. Its current distribution spans from the south of North America to the north of the Rio Negro in Uruguay. Both species of the genus inhabit a great number of forested habitats. In Argentina, the species Nasua nasua is found in Tucuman, Jujuy, Chaco, Formosa and the northeast of Santa Fe. In the present contribution we describe a lower canine of Nasua nasua from the late Holocene of the Arroyo Fredes archaeological site, in the Parana's Delta, Buenos Aires Province, Argentina, which is outside the current distribution of this species. We compared the canine with several specimens of Nasua nasua both males and females. Given the strong sexual dimorphism observed in the canines of this species, we recognized the specimen as a male. Two hypotheses can explain the presence of this specimen in the Parana's Delta of Buenos Aires: (1) Current and past climatic similarities between the southernmost record of the species and the Arroyo Fredes archeological site, and the corridor effect caused by the gallery forests. (2) Human transport by the guaranies.