Abstract
The Pampean Region contains sedimentary sequences with abundant mammal fossil records, which constitute the chronological outline of the Plio–Pleistocene of South America. These classic localities have been used for more than a century to correlate with other South American regions. Throughout this time, a series of misinterpretations have appeared. To understand the stratigraphic significance of these localities and the geochronological situation of each unit referring to the Pleistocene, a critical historical study of the antecedents was carried out, evaluating the state of each unit. The biostratigraphic studies of the Pampean Region’s mammalian faunas improved the understanding of biogeographic changes taking into account the environmental fluctuations of the Pleistocene.
Highlights
The Pampean Region contains sedimentary sequences with abundant mammal fossil records, which constitute the chronological outline of the Plio–Pleistocene of South America
We summarize the main biotic and abiotic events that occurred in Pampean Region in the Pleistocene: glaciations; diastrophism, marine regressions, and transgressions; marked replacements of distribution and quality of the vast southern plains; a geographical connection between the Americas; and the Great American Biotic Interchange (GABI) and the Quaternary Megafauna Extinction (QME) modified the landscape of the region, and strongly influenced its present status
Cione and Tonni [10] recommended the substitution of the Land Mammals Ages (LMA) by a chronostratigraphic/geochronological classification based on biostratigraphy, according to the stratigraphic code of Argentina
Summary
The Pampean Region (Figure 1) is located approximately between latitude 30–39◦ S and longitude 57–66◦ W and occupies a large area (~ 600,000 km ). The climate of the region is controlled by the Atlantic Anticyclone, whose effect decreases in influence from the northeast to the southwest [18]. Two subregions are recognized: the Humid Pampa in the northeast and the Dry. Pampa in the southwest [19,20]. The Pleistocene sediments of the Pampean Region were deposited mainly under arid to semi-arid climatic conditions, alternating with indicator levels of more humid conditions [26]. The paleoclimate record indicates that this fluctuation results from the interaction between the air masses of the Pacific and Atlantic anticyclones [27]. Pacific Anticyclone loses its humidity when crossing the Andes Mountains and arrives cold and dry in the Pampean Region.
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