Cyonasua (Carnivora, Procyonidae) from Late Miocene of Peru Shed Light on the Early Dispersal of Carnivorans in South America
- Tarquini, Juliana
- Soibelzon, Leopoldo Héctor
- Salas-Gismondi, Rodolfo
- de Muizón, Christian
DOIAbstract
The oldest record of a carnivoran mammal in South America corresponds to the extinct procyonid Cyonasua (late Miocene–early Pleistocene). Up to now, this genus was recorded in Argentina, Uruguay, Bolivia, and Venezuela. In this contribution, we report the first occurrence of Cyonasua in the Pacific coast of Peru, recovered from the late Miocene marine deposits of the Pisco Formation. The fossil material comprises postcranial bones of two individuals (MNHN SAS 1625: left femur; MNHN PPI 262: axis, right talus, and left metatarsal III). The morphology and sizes of these new fossil specimens, allow us to refer them to Cyonasua sp. This record reaffirms that procyonids were the first North American carnivorans that arrived in South America prio...
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