Artículo
The oldest known communal latrines provide evidence of gregarism in Triassic megaherbivores
Fiorelli, Lucas Ernesto
; Ezcurra, Martin Daniel
; Hechenleitner, Esteban Martín
; Argañaraz, Eloisa; Taborda, Jeremías Ramón Alejandro
; Trotteyn, Maria Jimena
; Von Baczko, Belen
; Desojo, Julia Brenda
Fecha de publicación:
28/11/2013
Editorial:
Macmillan Publishers Ltd.
Revista:
Scientific Reports
ISSN:
2045-2322
Idioma:
Inglés
Tipo de recurso:
Artículo publicado
Clasificación temática:
Resumen
Defecation in communal latrines is a common behaviour of extant mammals widely distributed among megaherbivores. This behaviour has key social functions with important biological and ecological implications. Herbivore communal latrines are only documented among mammals and their fossil record is exceptionally restricted to the late Cenozoic. Here we report the discovery of several massive coprolite associations in the Middle-Late Triassic of the Chañares Formation, Argentina, which represent fossil communal latrines based on a high areal density, small areal extension and taphonomic attributes. Several lines of evidence (size, morphology, abundance and coprofabrics) and their association with kannemeyeriiform dicynodonts indicate that these large synapsids produced the communal latrines and had a gregarious behaviour comparable to that of extant megaherbivores. This is the first evidence of megaherbivore communal latrines in non-mammal vertebrates, indicating that this mammal-type behaviour was present in distant relatives of mammals, and predates its previous oldest record by 220 Mya.
Palabras clave:
Dicynodonts
,
Paleoecology
,
Behaviour
,
Coprolites
Archivos asociados
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Identificadores
Colecciones
Articulos(CRILAR)
Articulos de CENTRO REGIONAL DE INV. CIENTIFICAS Y TRANSFERENCIA TECNOLOGICA DE ANILLACO
Articulos de CENTRO REGIONAL DE INV. CIENTIFICAS Y TRANSFERENCIA TECNOLOGICA DE ANILLACO
Articulos(MACNBR)
Articulos de MUSEO ARG.DE CS.NAT "BERNARDINO RIVADAVIA"
Articulos de MUSEO ARG.DE CS.NAT "BERNARDINO RIVADAVIA"
Citación
Fiorelli, Lucas Ernesto; Ezcurra, Martin Daniel; Hechenleitner, Esteban Martín; Argañaraz, Eloisa; Taborda, Jeremías Ramón Alejandro; et al.; The oldest known communal latrines provide evidence of gregarism in Triassic megaherbivores; Macmillan Publishers Ltd.; Scientific Reports; 3; 3348; 28-11-2013; 1-7
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