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| Eremotherium laurillardi Lund, 1842 in de S. Barbosa, de Araújo-Júnior, ... et Oliveira, 2022. Artwork by Júlia d’Oliveira. twitter.com/tupandactylus |
Abstract
The Toca das Onças cave is one of the most important Quaternary mammal deposits of Brazil. Two different hypotheses have been proposed to explain the preservation mode of its skeletal remains: either the animals climbed down into the cave, or it could have functioned as a natural trap. Evaluation of pathological modifications on three articulated vertebrae of a single adult giant ground sloth Eremotherium laurillardi reveals a particular type of bone fracture caused by compressive force on the vertebral column, which split the vertebral bodies in the sagittal plane. This diagnosis suggests that the animal accidentally fell into the cave, in accordance with the second hypothesis proposed to the incorporation mode of skeletal remains into the cave.
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| Artistic reconstruction of the suggested fall of the individual Eremotherium laurillardi into the cave. Artwork by Júlia d’Oliveira. |
Eremotherium laurillardi Lund 1842
Fernando H. de S. Barbosa, Hermínio I. de Araújo-Júnior, Isadora da Costa, André Vieira de Araújo and Edison Vicente Oliveira. 2022. Spinal Fracture reveals An Accident Episode in Eremotherium laurillardi shedding light on the Formation of A Fossil Assemblage. Scientific Reports. 12: 4119. DOI 10.1038/s41598-022-08107-1
