Megathericulus

''Megathericulus'' is an extinct genus of ground sloths in the Megatheriidae family. It lived during the Middle Miocene, 11-16 million years ago in what is now South America . Fossils have been found principally in Argentina, Bolivia, and Peru. It is a smaller representative of the megatheres. Despite being one of the earliest-known members of the family, its dentition structure is associated with homodont teeth belonging to the more modern line of development. The genus was scientifically named in 1904. Only one species is currently recognized, ''Megathericulus patagonicus.''

Description

''Megathericulus'' is a small member of the Megatheriidae. The known find material of the genus consists of individual skull finds, remains of teeth and parts of the musculoskeletal system. The skull measured up to 33 cm in length, it was elongated and narrow with the greatest width in the area of the anterior zygomatic arch and the mastoid process and slight constrictions near the orbit. In its general shape it closely resembled the skulls of ''Planops'' or ''Pyramiodontherium'' , while that of ''Megatherium'' was significantly more robust. When viewed from the side, it had a low height. The forehead line was arched and sloping towards the rostrum. The latter was extremely elongated, with the front toothless area corresponding in extent to the tooth-bearing area. In later megatheriids, the anterior, toothless section was mostly shorter in proportion. The temporal fossae were prominent and converged toward the midline of the skull, but did not form a prominent crest. The infraorbital foramen opened approximately 2 cm above the alveolar plane . The anterior arch of the zygomatic arch attached between the second and third molar-like teeth, which is set somewhat further back than in ''Anisodontherium'' and ''Pyramiodontherium''. The occiput was vertical, the joints for articulation with the cervical spine were slightly above the chewing plane of the maxillary teeth, approximately halfway up the skull. They were higher than in ''Anisodontherium'' and ''Pyramiodontherium'' but lower than in ''Megatherium'' . The palate extended through the extended snout like a spatula. It was very narrow and, with a width of 2.5 cm, did not exceed the dimensions of the tooth alveoli.

When viewed from the side, the lower jaw had a lower edge that clearly bulged downwards, which is considered a typical feature of megatheres. The deepest point and thus the greatest height of the horizontal bone body was reached under the third to fourth molar-like teeth. The position was significantly further back than in phylogenetically younger Megatheriums. The alveolar surface was slightly dented, which roughly corresponded to the ratio in '' Anisodontherium'' or ''Promegatherium'' , but differed from the straight course in '' Pyramiodontherium'' . The symphysis ended just short of the foremost molar-like tooth as in ''Anisodontherium'' , while in ''Pyramiodontherium'' and '' Pliomegatherium reached'' further back. The anterior edge of the ascending branch inserted at an obtuse angle to the alveolar plane of the horizontal body of bone. Below the anterior end of the ascending branch was the posterior opening of the mandibular canal.

The dentition of ''Megathericulus'' corresponded to that of the typical sloth with five teeth per upper jaw and four teeth per lower jaw. A total of 18 teeth were thus formed. The teeth of the upper jaw stood closed in parallel rows, but the outer edge made a slight curve. In the lower jaw, too, the teeth formed a closed row, and there was no lateral displacement of the first tooth, as is often observed in the representatives of the Mylodontidae and Megalonychidae . The teeth had the structure typical of the Megatheriidae. They were consistently molar-like in shape ( ''molariform ) and thus'' homodont , unlike most other sloths. The occlusal surfaces showed two sharp, transverse ridges separated by a V-shaped indentation. A special feature of ''Megathericulus'' is the extreme front and rear narrowing of the teeth, so that they appear very rectangular in cross section. This made the last upper tooth 0.7 cm long and 1.6 cm wide. Similarities ''to Anisodontherium'' can be seen in this feature , while the phylogenetically younger forms in particular had more square to trapezoidal tooth cross-sections. In accordance with most megatheres, the teeth were very high-crowned ( hypsodont), which also explains the special shape of the lower jaw with the bulge of the lower edge. The hypsodonty index (ratio of the height of the horizontal bony body of the mandible to the length of the row of teeth) for ''Megathericulus'' was 0.92 and thus indicates an average value for Megatheria ( ''Megatheriops'' and ''Pyramiodontherium'' below 0.9, ''Megatherium'' and ''Anisodontherium'' above 1.0) . The length of the upper row of teeth was about 8 cm.

Parts of the front and hind legs are documented from the body skeleton. The humerus was 36 to 38 cm long and generally slim. The large and small bony prominences on the head (tuberculum majus and tuberculum minus) reached large dimensions. A strong and extensive deltopectoral ridge ran along the shaft, which no longer appears clearly in later megatherias. The humerus widened considerably downwards and measured between 13.6 and 16.2 cm at the end of the joint ( elbow joint ). The ratio of the lower width to the total length of the bone thus corresponded approximately to that of ''Megatherium'' and was significantly larger than in ''Pyramiodontherium'' and ''Megatheriops''. Most of the other long bones are, with exceptions, only fragmented. The ulna was characterized by a rather short and narrow upper articular process (olecranon). In the first aspect, this agrees with other megatheriines, the latter is different from the mostly wide olecranon of the other members of the family. As in almost all megatheriids, but unlike other sloths, the lower end of the tibia and fibula were fused together. The shin itself measured about 28 cm in length and was also slender. It broadly corresponded to that of ''Pyramiodontherium'' . Based on the joint facets on the second metacarpal that has been handed downward it can be concluded that a metacarpal-carpal complex (MCC) was also formed in ''Megathericulus .'' This consisted of the fused first metacarpal and the large polygonal bone and is a typical feature of megatheriids and some other large ground sloths.

Fossil finds

''Megathericulus'' is documented by numerous finds from southern parts of South America. The fossil remains determining the genus come from near Laguna Blanca in the Argentine province of Chubut. They consist of an anterior skull fragment missing teeth and a complete right talus . The finds are generally assigned to the Middle Miocene.  the west of the same province other finds are documented, including a left mandibular branch and also a right ankle bone from the Collón Curá Formation. The rock unit is composed of limestone and sandstones in which volcanic deposits are incorporated. The deposits were formed under different formation conditions such as flood plains and still water areas. Their absolute age was determined with the help of radiometric dating to 15.8 to 11.2 million years ago.Diego Brandoni, Alfredo A. Carlini, Federico Anaya, Phil Gans und Darin A. Croft: ''New remains of Megathericulus patagonicus Ameghino, 1904 (Xenarthra, Tardigrada) from the Serravallian (Middle Miocene) of Bolivia; chronological and biogeographical implications.'' Journal of Mammalian Evolution 25 (3), 2018, S. 327–337, doi:10.1007/s10914-017-9348-y The southwesternmost portion of Chubut Province and southern adjacent Santa Cruz Province were formed into the Río Mayo Formation numerous fragmented remains recovered, including parts of the lower jaw and various elements of the musculoskeletal system. The fossils come from two different find sites and each represent a single individual per locality, which can be deduced from the matching sizes and preservation states. They are somewhat younger than the finds from the Collón-Curá Formation, based on the dating of a prominent horizon below the fossil-bearing strata to about 11.8 million years ago.

Outside of Argentina, ''Megathericulus'' has been reported from Bolivia, among other places. The extremely rich fossil site of Quebrada Honda in the southern Bolivian department of Tarija deserves special mention here . The site was discovered in the 1970s and has been continuously researched since then. The absolute ages of the extensive find region range from 13 to 12 million years. Due to the large extent of the find area and the age that may not always be uniform, different local faunas are distinguished. A partial skeleton of ''Megathericulus'' consisting of a complete skull without the lower jaw and remains of the forelimb was found in an outcrop on the north bank of the Río Rosario. A layer of tuff worked into the fossil-bearing strata gave an age of 12.4 million years. The finds here are assigned to the Papachacra local fauna . Another remnant, a humerus, was found in an outcrop further south and belongs to the Huayllajara local fauna.  Particularly noteworthy is also a toothless lower jaw from the Río Sepa , a tributary of the Río Urubamba in the Peruvian part of the Amazon region. The find fits into a very rich faunal community known as the Fitzcarrald local fauna, ranging in age from 17 to 10 million years. The deposits in which the fossils are embedded date back to what was once a large wetland of swamps, lakes and rivers that drained north into the Caribbean Sea. As the Pebas megawetland, they represent the forerunner of today's Amazon rainforest. The lower jaw find itself is given as being 13.5 to 11.8 million years old.

Classification

''Megathericulus'' is a member of the extinct family Megatheriidae within the suborder of sloths (Folivora). The currently poorly-known group of sloths showed a high variety of forms in their phylogenetic past. Different lines of development can be distinguished within the sloths. In a classical system based on skeletal anatomical features, the Megatheriidae, together with the Megalonychidae and the Nothrotheriidae, form a more closely related group, the superfamily of the Megatherioidea.Timothy J. Gaudin: ''Phylogenetic relationships among sloths (Mammalia, Xenarthra, Tardigrada): the craniodental evidence.'' Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 140, 2004, S. 255–305 According to molecular genetic studies and protein analysis, the Bradypodidae which only includes the extant three-toed sloths (''Bradypus'') are also included.Frédéric Delsuc, Melanie Kuch, Gillian C. Gibb, Emil Karpinski, Dirk Hackenberger, Paul Szpak, Jorge G. Martínez, Jim I. Mead, H. Gregory McDonald, Ross D.E. MacPhee, Guillaume Billet, Lionel Hautier und Hendrik N. Poinar: ''Ancient mitogenomes reveal the evolutionary history and biogeography of sloths.'' Current Biology 29 (12), 2019, S. 2031–2042, doi:10.1016/j.cub.2019.05.043Samantha Presslee, Graham J. Slater, François Pujos, Analía M. Forasiepi, Roman Fischer, Kelly Molloy, Meaghan Mackie, Jesper V. Olsen, Alejandro Kramarz, Matías Taglioretti, Fernando Scaglia, Maximiliano Lezcano, José Luis Lanata, John Southon, Robert Feranec, Jonathan Bloch, Adam Hajduk, Fabiana M. Martin, Rodolfo Salas Gismondi, Marcelo Reguero, Christian de Muizon, Alex Greenwood, Brian T. Chait, Kirsty Penkman, Matthew Collins und Ross D. E. MacPhee: ''Palaeoproteomics resolves sloth relationships.'' Nature Ecology & Evolution 3, 2019, S. 1121–1130, doi:10.1038/s41559-019-0909-z

The Megatheriidae produced the largest known representatives of sloths, including the eponymous ''Megatherium'' and ''Eremotherium''. Both are mainly known from the Pleistocene, the former was limited to the Pampas and Andes region of South America, the latter reached in the course of the Great American Interchange the southern part of North America. ''Megathericulus'' is considered a basal form of the phylogenetically more modern branch of the Megatheriidae, which are summarized in the subfamily of the Megatheriinae and also includes the aforementioned ''Eremotherium'' and ''Megatherium''. Evidence of this can be found above all in the tooth morphology with the consistently homodontic , molar-like teeth. In the original Megatheriidae from the subfamily Planopinae the front teeth are still shaped like a canine.H. Gregory McDonald und Gerardo de Iuliis: ''Fossil history of sloths.'' In: Sergio F. Vizcaíno und W. J. Loughry (Hrsg.): ''The Biology of the Xenarthra.'' University Press of Florida, 2008, S. 39–55 The genus ''Megathericulus'' was scientifically first described in 1904 by Florentino Ameghino. He used an edentulous front part of a skull and a right ankle bone (specimen number MACN A 11151). The type locality was Ameghino Tehuelche antiguo del Chubut (Laguna Blanca), which is located in today 's Argentine province of Chubut . He named ''M. patagonicus'' as the only species , with the species epithet referring to the larger fine landscape of Patagonia.Florentino Ameghino: ''Nuevas especies de mammíferos cretáceos y terciarios de la República Argen Tina.'' Anales de la Sociedad Científica Argentina 58, 1904, S. 225–291 (S. 281–282)

In 1939 Ángel Cabrera named the species ''M. primaevus'' using individual postcranial skeletal parts (ribs, ulna , tibia , and talus and heel bone ) from the Cañadon Ftamichi near Paso Flores in the Argentine province of Río Negro Province, Río Negro. These remains come from the Collón Curá Formation, but were dated by Cabrera to a somewhat older age (beginning of the Middle Miocene). Some later authors did not see the attribution of the material to ''Megathericulus'' and thus to the Megatheriinae as unambiguous.  Other new find material from the Collón Curá Formation did not differ from corresponding finds from ''M. patagonicus,'' leading to the equivalence of Cabrera's species with Ameghino's nominate form in 2019. Another species had already been established in 1930 by Lucas Kraglievich with ''M. friasensis'', citing a partial skull from the Río Frias in Chile , but according to most authors it is a representative of the Scelidotheriidae, which in turn belong to the Mylodontidae family .  In 2013, a research team led by François Pujos referred ''M. cabrerai'' and ''M. andinum to Megathericulus'' , two species originally in the genus ''Eomegatherium'' stood. Both also go back to Kraglievich 1930. For the description he used individual, severely dismembered skull parts and some long bone fragments from Patagonia. Due to the clearly fragmented state of the finds, other scientists consider an assignment to ''Megathericulus'' implausible and keep the two species within ''Eomegatherium'' for the time being '' since'' better find material would be required for a more precise and clearer assignment. Accordingly, for the time being ''M. patagonicus'' remains the only species of the genus ''Megathericulus''.

Below is a phylogenetic tree of the Megatheriidae, based on the work of Varela ''et al''. 2019, showing the position of ''Megathericulus''.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q65241023

Prehistoric sloths
Miocene xenarthrans
Miocene mammals of South America
Fossil taxa described in 1904
Taxa named by Florentino Ameghino
Neogene Bolivia
Fossils of Bolivia
Neogene Peru
Fossils of Peru
Neogene Argentina
Fossils of Argentina
Prehistoric placental genera