Neo-taphonomy of prey bones ingested by pumas in central western Argentina

Abstract

Pumas are American top predators that commonly frequent places that may also be inhabited by humans. With the aim of contributing to the evaluation of the accumulating processes and agents of vertebrate remains of archaeological and paleontological sites, we analyzed a modern puma scat-derived vertebrate bone assemblage from an area of the central Monte Desert, one of the most arid regions of South America. We evaluated the taphonomic signature of vertebrate remains recovered in such scats without discriminating among the different types of fauna, which strengthens this taphonomic contribution. Despite the high availability of domestic and exotic fauna from livestock fields in the surroundings of the area, the assemblage was dominated by typical native small and medium-sized fauna from xeric environments of the Monte biome. The armadillo Zaedyus pichiy was the most frequent taxon, followed by the caviid rodents Microcavia maenas and Galea leucoblephara, and the Tinamidae Eudromia elegans. The most remarkable taphonomic signatures are high breakage; a high proportion and degree of elements with evidence of digestion; and a low number of tooth marks. We find a good proportion of identifiable specimens, considering the previous assumptions on the extreme destruction of felid scat-derived vertebrate bone assemblages. A first assessment was made of specimens little known from a regional taphonomic perspective, such as armadillo osteoderms or bird remains. The taphonomic analysis of this multi-taxa accumulation enables a solid evaluation of vertebrate bone assemblages from archaeological and paleontological sites.