Pehuen Co: Updated taxonomic review of a late Pleistocene ichnological site in Argentina

Abstract

The paleoichnological site of Pehuen Co, located on the southern coast of Buenos Aires province, Argentina, was discovered in 1986 and the first paper was published in 1987. New discoveries made in the following years have revealed well-preserved Pleistocene mammal and bird footprints of high diversity. Investigations at this site have continued to the present. The most important aim of this paper is to revise the previous ichnotaxonomic assignations, and to present some new discoveries. The described tracks include eleven mammal (Neomegatherichnum pehuencoensis, Mylodontidichnum rosalensis, Glyptodontichnus pehuencoensis nov. igen. and isp., Eumacrauchenichnus patachonicus, Proboscipeda australis nov. comb., Dolichotichnus marae nov. igen. and isp., Ursichnus sudamericanus nov. isp., Hippipeda isp., Lamaichnum guanicoe, Lamaichnum tulipensis nov.comb, Pecoripeda commune nov. comb.) and four bird icnotaxa (Phoenicopterichnum pehuencoensis, Charadriipeda isp., Gruipeda isp., and Aramayoichnus rheae nov. igen. and isp.). The second goal of this paper is to emphasize the worldwide significance of the Pehuen Co site relative to other Pleistocene vertebrate tracksites. Pehuen Co site is unique because of the quality of preservation, and the abundance and diversity of the footprints.