Análise paleopatológica da coluna vertebral de Eremotherium laurillardi (Lund, 1842) (Mammalia, Xenarthra)
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Data
2020-08-31
Autores
Germano, Rodrigo Ventura
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Universidade Federal do Espírito Santo
Resumo
Eremotherium laurillardi is one of the several species of megamammals that populated Brazil during the Pleistocene until they became extinct during the transition between the Pleistocene and the Holocene. Its remains are found throughout Brazil, but mainly in the Brazilian Intertropical Region (BIR) in natural tank or cave fossiliferous deposits. The study of their paleopathologies can contribute with paleoecological information, since most injuries preserved in fossils occur through the interaction of the organism with the environment. In Brazil, paleopathological studies in general are still scarce, but currently there is an increasing number of works focused on the megafauna. In this work, we describe and interpret bone alterations present in elements of the vertebral column of E. laurillardi. 990 vertebrae from the caves Toca das Onças (municipality of Jacobina, Bahia) and Toca dos Ossos (municipality of Ourolândia, Bahia) were analyzed macroscopically for paleopathological features. Only 34 specimens showed these features: three cervical vertebrae, 12 thoracic vertebrae, 5 lumbar vertebrae, and 14 caudal vertebrae. Among these, only 7 belonged to young individuals and the majority of the affected vertebrae were thoracic and lumbar. Eight injuries were diagnosed: congenital anomaly, calcium pyrophosphate deposition disease, spondyloarthropathy, spondylosis deformans, compression fracture, infection, Schmorl’s node, and bone tumor. This is the first record of congenital anomaly and bone tumor in E. laurillardi, as well as the first report of the association of spondyloarthropathy and a tumor, Schmorl’s node and infection and calcium pyrophosphate deposition disease and infection. Caudal vertebrae a greater amount and variety of bone lesions, and this might be a reflection of the use of the tail as a support for a bipedal posture and defense use
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Paleopatologias , Mamíferos pleistocênicos , Quaternário , Xenarthra , Alterações macroscópicas , Palaeopathology , Pleistocene mammals , Quaternary , Macroscopic alterations