Research paper
Presence of exceptionally preserved structures in the breathing areas of Panochthus Burmeister (Xenarthra, Glyptodontidae) from the Late Pleistocene of Argentina
MARTÍN ZAMORANO
División de Paleontología de Vertebrados, Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo, Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Paseo del Bosque s/n, 1900 La Plata. Argentina. CONICET. Cátedra de Zoología Vertebrados; marzamorano@fcnym.unlp.edu.ar
Corresponding author
ABSTRACT
In this contribution, exceptionally preserved materials related to the laryngeal and tracheal areas of the glyptodontids airways (Xenarthra; Cingulata) are presented: two of the laryngeal zone, the thyroid cartilage (MPLK 0004) as well as the cricoid cartilage (MHM-P 87), and one of the tracheal zone, fragments of the tracheal rings (MHM-P 87). All these cartilages are ossified and come from the Late Pleistocene of Buenos Aires (Argentina). In turn, the muscles that involve the aforementioned cartilage are reconstructed. The studied material corresponds to two different specimens attributed to Panochthus sp. in previous publications. Panochthus Burmeister is one of the most frequent and diversified Glyptodontidae of the Pleistocene in South American. The thyroid cartilage is U-shaped in section, in the anterior portion are the articular surfaces for the V-bone and in the posterior part the veneers where the cricoid contacts. The 20 fragments of tracheal rings rang from 19 to 54 mm long and from 6 to 8 mm wide. The cricoid cartilage is similar in shape to a tracheal ring, although larger. The size relationship between the study cartilages verifies that the proportions are the same as in other xenarthros. The roughness in the lateral lamina of the thyroid cartilage allows us to conclude that the insertion of the cricothyroid muscle is important and the last cartilage moves significantly towards to the skull. Studies like this will generate new knowledge about the palaeobiology of the South American mammal megafauna.
Key words: Fossil mammals, thyroid cartilage, cricoid cartilage, tracheal cartilages, South America.
How to cite: Zamorano, M. 2020. Presencia de estructuras excepcionalmente preservadas en vías aéreas de Panochthus Burmeister (Xenarthra, Glyptodontidae) del Pleistoceno tardío de Argentina [Presence of exceptionally preserved structures in the breathing areas of Panochthus Burmeister (Xenarthra, Glyptodontidae) from the Late Pleistocene of Argentina]. Spanish Journal of Palaeontology, 35 (2), 167-174.
Received 3 March 2020, Accepted 15 May 2020, Published 31 December 2020
https://doi.org/10.7203/sjp.35.2.18479
(Spanish only)