Diet and environment of Mylodon darwinii based on pollen of a Late-Glacial coprolite from the Mylodon Cave in southern Chile
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Diet and environment of Mylodon darwinii based on pollen of a Late-Glacial coprolite from the Mylodon Cave in southern Chile. / van Geel, Bas; van Leeuwen, Jacqueline F. N.; Nooren, Kees; Mol, Dick; den Ouden, Natasja; van der Knaap, Pim W. O.; Seersholm, Frederik V.; Rey-Iglesia, Alba; Lorenzen, Eline D.
In: Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology, Vol. 296, 104549, 2022.Research output: Contribution to journal › Journal article › peer-review
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T1 - Diet and environment of Mylodon darwinii based on pollen of a Late-Glacial coprolite from the Mylodon Cave in southern Chile
AU - van Geel, Bas
AU - van Leeuwen, Jacqueline F. N.
AU - Nooren, Kees
AU - Mol, Dick
AU - den Ouden, Natasja
AU - van der Knaap, Pim W. O.
AU - Seersholm, Frederik V.
AU - Rey-Iglesia, Alba
AU - Lorenzen, Eline D.
N1 - Publisher Copyright: © 2021 The Authors
PY - 2022
Y1 - 2022
N2 - We studied the pollen content of a well-preserved coprolite of a Late-Glacial giant ground sloth (Mylodon darwinii) from the Mylodon Cave, province Última Esperanza, southern Chile. The specimen was obtained in 1909 and has been stored in a museum in the Netherlands since. It was radiocarbon dated to 13,140 ± 55 BP (15,927–15,522 cal BP), which fits with other radiocarbon dates showing the early Late-Glacial presence of M. darwinii in the province Última Esperanza. Contemporaneous oxygen isotope data from Antarctic EPICA Dome C indicates that our Mylodon specimen lived during a warming phase of the Late-Glacial, ca. 1000 years before the start of the Antarctic Cold Reversal. We compared our pollen data with pollen records showing contemporaneous regional vegetation and discuss the uncertainties in the interpretation of pollen spectra from faeces. To expand on the pollen data, we tested ancient DNA preservation in the sample; we sequenced ~ 9.4 million DNA reads and found that the concentration of ancient plant DNA is below detectable levels. Pollen analysis confirms earlier findings that the Mylodon was a grazer, but the discovery of large amounts of Fragaria and Azorella pollen in the faeces may indicate that Mylodon was also able to select and consume specific plants, and therefore could also be regarded as a selective feeder.
AB - We studied the pollen content of a well-preserved coprolite of a Late-Glacial giant ground sloth (Mylodon darwinii) from the Mylodon Cave, province Última Esperanza, southern Chile. The specimen was obtained in 1909 and has been stored in a museum in the Netherlands since. It was radiocarbon dated to 13,140 ± 55 BP (15,927–15,522 cal BP), which fits with other radiocarbon dates showing the early Late-Glacial presence of M. darwinii in the province Última Esperanza. Contemporaneous oxygen isotope data from Antarctic EPICA Dome C indicates that our Mylodon specimen lived during a warming phase of the Late-Glacial, ca. 1000 years before the start of the Antarctic Cold Reversal. We compared our pollen data with pollen records showing contemporaneous regional vegetation and discuss the uncertainties in the interpretation of pollen spectra from faeces. To expand on the pollen data, we tested ancient DNA preservation in the sample; we sequenced ~ 9.4 million DNA reads and found that the concentration of ancient plant DNA is below detectable levels. Pollen analysis confirms earlier findings that the Mylodon was a grazer, but the discovery of large amounts of Fragaria and Azorella pollen in the faeces may indicate that Mylodon was also able to select and consume specific plants, and therefore could also be regarded as a selective feeder.
KW - Chile
KW - Coprolite
KW - Diet
KW - Giant ground sloth
KW - Late-Glacial
KW - Pollen
U2 - 10.1016/j.revpalbo.2021.104549
DO - 10.1016/j.revpalbo.2021.104549
M3 - Journal article
AN - SCOPUS:85117886332
VL - 296
JO - Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology
JF - Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology
SN - 0034-6667
M1 - 104549
ER -
ID: 285248058