Diversity of Cingulate Xenarthrans in the Middle—Late Eocene of Northwestern Argentina

The study of Paleogene mammals of intermediate and low latitudes has increased in the last decades and has been clearly demonstrated their importance in the comprehension of the evolution and faunistic changes outside Patagonia. The study of these faunas permits establishing new comparisons among contemporaneous faunistic associations, completing the distributional patterns, and evaluating evolutionary changes in the lineages in relation to climatic conditions prevailing in each of the different regions. In this work we study the diversity of Dasypodidae recovered from the Geste Formation (Northwestern Argentina). Bearing levels of Geste Formation were referred alternatively to a Barrancan subage of Casamayoran SALMA (middle Eocene, Lutetian—Bartonian) or a Mustersan SALMA (middle—late Eocene, Bartonian— Priabonian) on faunistic comparations with their equivalent in Patagonia, although absolute isotopic data indicates ca. 37–35 Ma (late Eocene, Priabonian). We described the following taxa of Dasypodidae: ...