New fossil evidence of the extinct opossum Lestodelphys juga from the Argentinian Pampas: Implications for species delimitation and morphological diversity

Autores
Suarez Gomez, Sandra Catalina; Lorente, Malena; Voglino, Damián; Aguilar, José L.; Forasiepi, Analia Marta
Año de publicación
2025
Idioma
inglés
Tipo de recurso
artículo
Estado
versión publicada
Descripción
A new record (specimen MPS 150) of Lestodelphys is described, collected close to the Arrecifes River, San Pedro, Buenos Aires Province (Argentina), from Late Pleistocene deposits (Lujanian Age). It preserves a facial portion of the skull, including dentition. Although its dental measurements overlap with those of the extinct species Lestodelphys juga and the largest specimens of the extant species Lestodelphys halli, the specimen exhibits a distinctive combination of morphological traits that differ from L. halli (i.e., slight decrease in size from I2 to I5, more robust canine and anterior root of P3, P1 oblique, gap between P1 and P2, centrocrista more inflected labially, StC well developed in M1, and metacone anteroposteriorly compressed in M4). In addition, the disproportion between the skull size and its dentition mirrors the mandibular-dental mismatch observed in the holotype of L. juga, reinforcing its assignment to the extinct species as the most parsimonious interpretation. No specimen preserving cranial material has been attributed to Lestodelphys juga (other than specimen MACN-Pv 6408, which preserves a fragmentary maxilla with molars in addition to a fragmentary dentary with m3-4, and was tentatively referred to that species), increasing the relevance of the new material. Finally, in the context of this new record, we analyze the variability of the genus and discuss the diagnostic characters traditionally used to differentiate the two species. Among these, size has often been emphasized. However, we observed an overlap in dental measurements between L. juga and L. halli, indicating that size alone may not constitute a reliable diagnostic feature.
Fil: Suarez Gomez, Sandra Catalina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mendoza. Instituto Argentino de Nivología, Glaciología y Ciencias Ambientales. Provincia de Mendoza. Instituto Argentino de Nivología, Glaciología y Ciencias Ambientales. Universidad Nacional de Cuyo. Instituto Argentino de Nivología, Glaciología y Ciencias Ambientales; Argentina
Fil: Lorente, Malena. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata; Argentina
Fil: Voglino, Damián. Dirección Provincial de Patrimonio Cultural; Argentina
Fil: Aguilar, José L.. Museo Paleontológico “Fray Manuel de Torres”; Argentina
Fil: Forasiepi, Analia Marta. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mendoza. Instituto Argentino de Nivología, Glaciología y Ciencias Ambientales. Provincia de Mendoza. Instituto Argentino de Nivología, Glaciología y Ciencias Ambientales. Universidad Nacional de Cuyo. Instituto Argentino de Nivología, Glaciología y Ciencias Ambientales; Argentina
Materia
Pampean region
Patagonia
Quaternary
South American marsupials
Nivel de accesibilidad
acceso abierto
Condiciones de uso
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.5/ar/
Repositorio
CONICET Digital (CONICET)
Institución
Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas
OAI Identificador
oai:ri.conicet.gov.ar:11336/273736
Acceder
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oai_identifier_str oai:ri.conicet.gov.ar:11336/273736
network_acronym_str CONICETDig
repository_id_str 3498
network_name_str CONICET Digital (CONICET)
spelling New fossil evidence of the extinct opossum Lestodelphys juga from the Argentinian Pampas: Implications for species delimitation and morphological diversitySuarez Gomez, Sandra CatalinaLorente, MalenaVoglino, DamiánAguilar, José L.Forasiepi, Analia MartaPampean regionPatagoniaQuaternarySouth American marsupialshttps://purl.org/becyt/ford/1.5https://purl.org/becyt/ford/1A new record (specimen MPS 150) of Lestodelphys is described, collected close to the Arrecifes River, San Pedro, Buenos Aires Province (Argentina), from Late Pleistocene deposits (Lujanian Age). It preserves a facial portion of the skull, including dentition. Although its dental measurements overlap with those of the extinct species Lestodelphys juga and the largest specimens of the extant species Lestodelphys halli, the specimen exhibits a distinctive combination of morphological traits that differ from L. halli (i.e., slight decrease in size from I2 to I5, more robust canine and anterior root of P3, P1 oblique, gap between P1 and P2, centrocrista more inflected labially, StC well developed in M1, and metacone anteroposteriorly compressed in M4). In addition, the disproportion between the skull size and its dentition mirrors the mandibular-dental mismatch observed in the holotype of L. juga, reinforcing its assignment to the extinct species as the most parsimonious interpretation. No specimen preserving cranial material has been attributed to Lestodelphys juga (other than specimen MACN-Pv 6408, which preserves a fragmentary maxilla with molars in addition to a fragmentary dentary with m3-4, and was tentatively referred to that species), increasing the relevance of the new material. Finally, in the context of this new record, we analyze the variability of the genus and discuss the diagnostic characters traditionally used to differentiate the two species. Among these, size has often been emphasized. However, we observed an overlap in dental measurements between L. juga and L. halli, indicating that size alone may not constitute a reliable diagnostic feature.Fil: Suarez Gomez, Sandra Catalina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mendoza. Instituto Argentino de Nivología, Glaciología y Ciencias Ambientales. Provincia de Mendoza. Instituto Argentino de Nivología, Glaciología y Ciencias Ambientales. Universidad Nacional de Cuyo. Instituto Argentino de Nivología, Glaciología y Ciencias Ambientales; ArgentinaFil: Lorente, Malena. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata; ArgentinaFil: Voglino, Damián. Dirección Provincial de Patrimonio Cultural; ArgentinaFil: Aguilar, José L.. Museo Paleontológico “Fray Manuel de Torres”; ArgentinaFil: Forasiepi, Analia Marta. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mendoza. Instituto Argentino de Nivología, Glaciología y Ciencias Ambientales. Provincia de Mendoza. Instituto Argentino de Nivología, Glaciología y Ciencias Ambientales. Universidad Nacional de Cuyo. Instituto Argentino de Nivología, Glaciología y Ciencias Ambientales; ArgentinaPergamon-Elsevier Science Ltd2025-12info:eu-repo/semantics/articleinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersionhttp://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_6501info:ar-repo/semantics/articuloapplication/pdfapplication/pdfhttp://hdl.handle.net/11336/273736Suarez Gomez, Sandra Catalina; Lorente, Malena; Voglino, Damián; Aguilar, José L.; Forasiepi, Analia Marta; New fossil evidence of the extinct opossum Lestodelphys juga from the Argentinian Pampas: Implications for species delimitation and morphological diversity; Pergamon-Elsevier Science Ltd; Journal of South American Earth Sciences; 167; 105795; 12-2025; 1-120895-9811CONICET DigitalCONICETenginfo:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/doi/10.1016/j.jsames.2025.105795info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/url/https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0895981125004572info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccesshttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.5/ar/reponame:CONICET Digital (CONICET)instname:Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas2025-11-12T09:48:01Zoai:ri.conicet.gov.ar:11336/273736instacron:CONICETInstitucionalhttp://ri.conicet.gov.ar/Organismo científico-tecnológicoNo correspondehttp://ri.conicet.gov.ar/oai/requestdasensio@conicet.gov.ar; lcarlino@conicet.gov.arArgentinaNo correspondeNo correspondeNo correspondeopendoar:34982025-11-12 09:48:02.164CONICET Digital (CONICET) - Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicasfalse
dc.title.none.fl_str_mv New fossil evidence of the extinct opossum Lestodelphys juga from the Argentinian Pampas: Implications for species delimitation and morphological diversity
title New fossil evidence of the extinct opossum Lestodelphys juga from the Argentinian Pampas: Implications for species delimitation and morphological diversity
spellingShingle New fossil evidence of the extinct opossum Lestodelphys juga from the Argentinian Pampas: Implications for species delimitation and morphological diversity
Suarez Gomez, Sandra Catalina
Pampean region
Patagonia
Quaternary
South American marsupials
title_short New fossil evidence of the extinct opossum Lestodelphys juga from the Argentinian Pampas: Implications for species delimitation and morphological diversity
title_full New fossil evidence of the extinct opossum Lestodelphys juga from the Argentinian Pampas: Implications for species delimitation and morphological diversity
title_fullStr New fossil evidence of the extinct opossum Lestodelphys juga from the Argentinian Pampas: Implications for species delimitation and morphological diversity
title_full_unstemmed New fossil evidence of the extinct opossum Lestodelphys juga from the Argentinian Pampas: Implications for species delimitation and morphological diversity
title_sort New fossil evidence of the extinct opossum Lestodelphys juga from the Argentinian Pampas: Implications for species delimitation and morphological diversity
dc.creator.none.fl_str_mv Suarez Gomez, Sandra Catalina
Lorente, Malena
Voglino, Damián
Aguilar, José L.
Forasiepi, Analia Marta
author Suarez Gomez, Sandra Catalina
author_facet Suarez Gomez, Sandra Catalina
Lorente, Malena
Voglino, Damián
Aguilar, José L.
Forasiepi, Analia Marta
author_role author
author2 Lorente, Malena
Voglino, Damián
Aguilar, José L.
Forasiepi, Analia Marta
author2_role author
author
author
author
dc.subject.none.fl_str_mv Pampean region
Patagonia
Quaternary
South American marsupials
topic Pampean region
Patagonia
Quaternary
South American marsupials
purl_subject.fl_str_mv https://purl.org/becyt/ford/1.5
https://purl.org/becyt/ford/1
dc.description.none.fl_txt_mv A new record (specimen MPS 150) of Lestodelphys is described, collected close to the Arrecifes River, San Pedro, Buenos Aires Province (Argentina), from Late Pleistocene deposits (Lujanian Age). It preserves a facial portion of the skull, including dentition. Although its dental measurements overlap with those of the extinct species Lestodelphys juga and the largest specimens of the extant species Lestodelphys halli, the specimen exhibits a distinctive combination of morphological traits that differ from L. halli (i.e., slight decrease in size from I2 to I5, more robust canine and anterior root of P3, P1 oblique, gap between P1 and P2, centrocrista more inflected labially, StC well developed in M1, and metacone anteroposteriorly compressed in M4). In addition, the disproportion between the skull size and its dentition mirrors the mandibular-dental mismatch observed in the holotype of L. juga, reinforcing its assignment to the extinct species as the most parsimonious interpretation. No specimen preserving cranial material has been attributed to Lestodelphys juga (other than specimen MACN-Pv 6408, which preserves a fragmentary maxilla with molars in addition to a fragmentary dentary with m3-4, and was tentatively referred to that species), increasing the relevance of the new material. Finally, in the context of this new record, we analyze the variability of the genus and discuss the diagnostic characters traditionally used to differentiate the two species. Among these, size has often been emphasized. However, we observed an overlap in dental measurements between L. juga and L. halli, indicating that size alone may not constitute a reliable diagnostic feature.
Fil: Suarez Gomez, Sandra Catalina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mendoza. Instituto Argentino de Nivología, Glaciología y Ciencias Ambientales. Provincia de Mendoza. Instituto Argentino de Nivología, Glaciología y Ciencias Ambientales. Universidad Nacional de Cuyo. Instituto Argentino de Nivología, Glaciología y Ciencias Ambientales; Argentina
Fil: Lorente, Malena. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata; Argentina
Fil: Voglino, Damián. Dirección Provincial de Patrimonio Cultural; Argentina
Fil: Aguilar, José L.. Museo Paleontológico “Fray Manuel de Torres”; Argentina
Fil: Forasiepi, Analia Marta. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mendoza. Instituto Argentino de Nivología, Glaciología y Ciencias Ambientales. Provincia de Mendoza. Instituto Argentino de Nivología, Glaciología y Ciencias Ambientales. Universidad Nacional de Cuyo. Instituto Argentino de Nivología, Glaciología y Ciencias Ambientales; Argentina
description A new record (specimen MPS 150) of Lestodelphys is described, collected close to the Arrecifes River, San Pedro, Buenos Aires Province (Argentina), from Late Pleistocene deposits (Lujanian Age). It preserves a facial portion of the skull, including dentition. Although its dental measurements overlap with those of the extinct species Lestodelphys juga and the largest specimens of the extant species Lestodelphys halli, the specimen exhibits a distinctive combination of morphological traits that differ from L. halli (i.e., slight decrease in size from I2 to I5, more robust canine and anterior root of P3, P1 oblique, gap between P1 and P2, centrocrista more inflected labially, StC well developed in M1, and metacone anteroposteriorly compressed in M4). In addition, the disproportion between the skull size and its dentition mirrors the mandibular-dental mismatch observed in the holotype of L. juga, reinforcing its assignment to the extinct species as the most parsimonious interpretation. No specimen preserving cranial material has been attributed to Lestodelphys juga (other than specimen MACN-Pv 6408, which preserves a fragmentary maxilla with molars in addition to a fragmentary dentary with m3-4, and was tentatively referred to that species), increasing the relevance of the new material. Finally, in the context of this new record, we analyze the variability of the genus and discuss the diagnostic characters traditionally used to differentiate the two species. Among these, size has often been emphasized. However, we observed an overlap in dental measurements between L. juga and L. halli, indicating that size alone may not constitute a reliable diagnostic feature.
publishDate 2025
dc.date.none.fl_str_mv 2025-12
dc.type.none.fl_str_mv info:eu-repo/semantics/article
info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion
http://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_6501
info:ar-repo/semantics/articulo
format article
status_str publishedVersion
dc.identifier.none.fl_str_mv http://hdl.handle.net/11336/273736
Suarez Gomez, Sandra Catalina; Lorente, Malena; Voglino, Damián; Aguilar, José L.; Forasiepi, Analia Marta; New fossil evidence of the extinct opossum Lestodelphys juga from the Argentinian Pampas: Implications for species delimitation and morphological diversity; Pergamon-Elsevier Science Ltd; Journal of South American Earth Sciences; 167; 105795; 12-2025; 1-12
0895-9811
CONICET Digital
CONICET
url http://hdl.handle.net/11336/273736
identifier_str_mv Suarez Gomez, Sandra Catalina; Lorente, Malena; Voglino, Damián; Aguilar, José L.; Forasiepi, Analia Marta; New fossil evidence of the extinct opossum Lestodelphys juga from the Argentinian Pampas: Implications for species delimitation and morphological diversity; Pergamon-Elsevier Science Ltd; Journal of South American Earth Sciences; 167; 105795; 12-2025; 1-12
0895-9811
CONICET Digital
CONICET
dc.language.none.fl_str_mv eng
language eng
dc.relation.none.fl_str_mv info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/doi/10.1016/j.jsames.2025.105795
info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/url/https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0895981125004572
dc.rights.none.fl_str_mv info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.5/ar/
eu_rights_str_mv openAccess
rights_invalid_str_mv https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.5/ar/
dc.format.none.fl_str_mv application/pdf
application/pdf
dc.publisher.none.fl_str_mv Pergamon-Elsevier Science Ltd
publisher.none.fl_str_mv Pergamon-Elsevier Science Ltd
dc.source.none.fl_str_mv reponame:CONICET Digital (CONICET)
instname:Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas
reponame_str CONICET Digital (CONICET)
collection CONICET Digital (CONICET)
instname_str Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas
repository.name.fl_str_mv CONICET Digital (CONICET) - Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas
repository.mail.fl_str_mv dasensio@conicet.gov.ar; lcarlino@conicet.gov.ar
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score 13.223955

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