The life story of a gomphothere from east-central Mexico: A multidisciplinary approach

The Gomphotheriidae family belongs to the Proboscidea order. Gomphotheres were elephant-like mammals whose representatives inhabited North America from the Middle Miocene to the late Pleistocene. In this work, a gomphothere remains from Santiago Tepeticpac (Tlaxcala, Mexico) are described. The comparative study with other Proboscidea, mainly from different localities of Mexico and South America, mostly Argentina and Brazil, allowed to identify them as Cuvieronius genus. The microwear signature together with carbon and oxygen stable isotopes showed that this animal was a mixer feeder and inhabited open zones with patches of wooded flora. These analyses also indicated the presence of high abrasiveness components and C4 plants (grasslands) and medium to low wearing elements as well as C3 vegetation (forest) in the site. The strontium isotopic signature implies that this gomphothere lived in the Puebla-Tlaxcala Valley. The paleoenvironmental inferences would show regional conditions.We thank Project 11824 of the National Coordination of Cultural Heritage Conservation-INAH for facilitating the collaboration of Dr. María Teresa Alberdi Alonso during the month of November 2016 in the workshop/laboratory of Conservation of Organic Materials of the CNCPC-INAH. To PAPIIT-UNAM-México (#IN404714, IA#104017 and IA#102719), support for this project to Edith Cienfuegos-Alvarado and Víctor Adrián Pérez Crespo. DGICYT CGL2016-79334-P from Spain granted to Maria Teresa Alberdi contributed to funding this investigation.Coordinación Nacional De Conservación Del Patrimonio Cultural (México)Universidad Autónoma Nacional de MéxicoPeer reviewe