MORPHOLOGY AND PALEOECOLOGY OF THE LATE PLEISTOCENE EXTINCT DUNG BEETLE ONTHOPHAGUS PILAUCO (COLEOPTERA, SCARABAEIDAE, ONTHOPHAGINI)
The extinct dung beetle Onthophagus pilauco Tello, Verdú, Rossini & Zunino represents the southernmost paleorecord of the onthophagine dung beetle fauna in the New World. Here, we report new fore-, mid-, and posterior leg fossil remains of this extinct beetle and present a morphological compari...
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Asociación Paleontológica Argentina
2024-12-01
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| Series: | Publicación Electrónica de la Asociación Paleontológica Argentina |
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| Online Access: | https://www.peapaleontologica.org.ar/index.php/peapa/article/view/510 |
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| author | Francisco Tello Luis Libido Victor Moctezuma |
| author_facet | Francisco Tello Luis Libido Victor Moctezuma |
| author_sort | Francisco Tello |
| collection | DOAJ |
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The extinct dung beetle Onthophagus pilauco Tello, Verdú, Rossini & Zunino represents the southernmost paleorecord of the onthophagine dung beetle fauna in the New World. Here, we report new fore-, mid-, and posterior leg fossil remains of this extinct beetle and present a morphological comparison of the leg phenotypes observed in the fossil record. Moreover, we illustrate and describe the fossil legs and provide paleoecological inferences based on morphological analysis. We hypothesized that the differences in size and morphology of the remains are related to sexual dimorphism. To test this hypothesis, we applied parametric and non-parametric statistical approaches to the measurement of leg traits. Based on the leg traits identified in O. pilauco, we also discuss the phylogenetic affinities with modern species. Significant differences in foretibial morphology (i.e., length, width, tooth shape, curvedness) support the sexual dimorphism hypothesis. We found that O. pilauco’s forelegs shared a lack of secondary denticles with the O. hippopotamus species complex, although our diagnostic suggests that this trait evolved independently in these species groups. Finally, we discuss the paleoecology of the species based on the morphology of males and females and propose that this extinct species had paracoprid and hypophagic nesting behavior.
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| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-6b3c9879c1354a508b319bbea9885534 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2469-0228 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-12-01 |
| publisher | Asociación Paleontológica Argentina |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Publicación Electrónica de la Asociación Paleontológica Argentina |
| spelling | doaj-art-6b3c9879c1354a508b319bbea98855342024-12-05T14:01:18ZengAsociación Paleontológica ArgentinaPublicación Electrónica de la Asociación Paleontológica Argentina2469-02282024-12-0124210.5710/PEAPA.09.09.2024.510MORPHOLOGY AND PALEOECOLOGY OF THE LATE PLEISTOCENE EXTINCT DUNG BEETLE ONTHOPHAGUS PILAUCO (COLEOPTERA, SCARABAEIDAE, ONTHOPHAGINI)Francisco Tello0Luis Libido1Victor Moctezuma2Universidad de Atacama | Universidad Austral de Chile | Fundación para los Estudios Patrimoniales Pleistocenos de OsornoUniversidad Austral de ChileUniversidad Autónoma de Tlaxcala The extinct dung beetle Onthophagus pilauco Tello, Verdú, Rossini & Zunino represents the southernmost paleorecord of the onthophagine dung beetle fauna in the New World. Here, we report new fore-, mid-, and posterior leg fossil remains of this extinct beetle and present a morphological comparison of the leg phenotypes observed in the fossil record. Moreover, we illustrate and describe the fossil legs and provide paleoecological inferences based on morphological analysis. We hypothesized that the differences in size and morphology of the remains are related to sexual dimorphism. To test this hypothesis, we applied parametric and non-parametric statistical approaches to the measurement of leg traits. Based on the leg traits identified in O. pilauco, we also discuss the phylogenetic affinities with modern species. Significant differences in foretibial morphology (i.e., length, width, tooth shape, curvedness) support the sexual dimorphism hypothesis. We found that O. pilauco’s forelegs shared a lack of secondary denticles with the O. hippopotamus species complex, although our diagnostic suggests that this trait evolved independently in these species groups. Finally, we discuss the paleoecology of the species based on the morphology of males and females and propose that this extinct species had paracoprid and hypophagic nesting behavior. https://www.peapaleontologica.org.ar/index.php/peapa/article/view/510Fossil recordsMorphologyExtinct speciesQuaternaryInsectsDung beetles |
| spellingShingle | Francisco Tello Luis Libido Victor Moctezuma MORPHOLOGY AND PALEOECOLOGY OF THE LATE PLEISTOCENE EXTINCT DUNG BEETLE ONTHOPHAGUS PILAUCO (COLEOPTERA, SCARABAEIDAE, ONTHOPHAGINI) Publicación Electrónica de la Asociación Paleontológica Argentina Fossil records Morphology Extinct species Quaternary Insects Dung beetles |
| title | MORPHOLOGY AND PALEOECOLOGY OF THE LATE PLEISTOCENE EXTINCT DUNG BEETLE ONTHOPHAGUS PILAUCO (COLEOPTERA, SCARABAEIDAE, ONTHOPHAGINI) |
| title_full | MORPHOLOGY AND PALEOECOLOGY OF THE LATE PLEISTOCENE EXTINCT DUNG BEETLE ONTHOPHAGUS PILAUCO (COLEOPTERA, SCARABAEIDAE, ONTHOPHAGINI) |
| title_fullStr | MORPHOLOGY AND PALEOECOLOGY OF THE LATE PLEISTOCENE EXTINCT DUNG BEETLE ONTHOPHAGUS PILAUCO (COLEOPTERA, SCARABAEIDAE, ONTHOPHAGINI) |
| title_full_unstemmed | MORPHOLOGY AND PALEOECOLOGY OF THE LATE PLEISTOCENE EXTINCT DUNG BEETLE ONTHOPHAGUS PILAUCO (COLEOPTERA, SCARABAEIDAE, ONTHOPHAGINI) |
| title_short | MORPHOLOGY AND PALEOECOLOGY OF THE LATE PLEISTOCENE EXTINCT DUNG BEETLE ONTHOPHAGUS PILAUCO (COLEOPTERA, SCARABAEIDAE, ONTHOPHAGINI) |
| title_sort | morphology and paleoecology of the late pleistocene extinct dung beetle onthophagus pilauco coleoptera scarabaeidae onthophagini |
| topic | Fossil records Morphology Extinct species Quaternary Insects Dung beetles |
| url | https://www.peapaleontologica.org.ar/index.php/peapa/article/view/510 |
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