Biology:Holmesina

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Holmesina is an extinct genus of pampathere, a group of armadillo-like xenarthrans that were distantly related to extant armadillos. Like armadillos, and unlike the other extinct branch of megafaunal cingulates the glyptodonts, the shell was made up of flexible plates which allowed the animal to move more easily.

Holmesina occidentalis
Life reconstruction of Holmesina floridanus and size comparation

Holmesina individuals were much larger than any modern armadillo: They could reach a length of 2 metres (6.6 ft), and a weight of 227 kilograms (500 lb), while the modern giant armadillo does not attain more than 54 kilograms (119 lb).[1]

Taxonomy

Joseph Leidy initially described Holmesina fossils from Florida as Glyptodon septentrionalis in 1889. However, shortly after a close relationship with the pampatheriids was realized, wherein the finds were reassigned to the South American Pampatherium ("Chlamytherium") humboldtii, therein revised to its own species, Chlamytherium septentrionalis, by Elias Howard Sellards in 1915.[2] After additional fossils from Texas were described, George Gaylord Simpson assigned the finds to its own genus, Holmesina, in 1930.[3]

Distribution

They traveled north during the faunal interchange, and adapted well to North America, like the ground sloths, glyptodonts, armadillos, capybaras, and other South American immigrants. During the Late Pleistocene, Holmesina dispersed from North America back into South America, as evidenced by the morphological similarity of Late Pleistocene species in South America.[4] Their fossils are found from Brazil to the United States,[5] mostly in Texas and Florida.

Diet

Holmesina species were herbivores that grazed on coarse vegetation; armadillos are mostly insectivorous or omnivorous.[6] H. paulacoutoi was a generalist plant-eater but had a preference for C4 plants;[7] it has been estimated based on δ13C and δ18O values from fossils from Sergipe in Brazil that grasses made up 55% of the diet of H. paulacoutoi, with a further 29% being fruits and 16% being leaves.[8]

Palaeopathology

Three H. cryptae specimens have been described bearing evidence of bacterial and fungal infections, along with sand flea ectoparasitism.[9]

References

  1. ↑ "Yahoo! Groups". https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/CenozoicLife/conversations/topics/149. 
  2. ↑ Cahn, Alvin R. (1922). "Chlamytherium septentrionalis, a Fossil Edentate New to the Fauna of Texas". Journal of Mammalogy 3 (1): 22–24. doi:10.2307/1373448. ISSN 0022-2372. 
  3. ↑ Simpson, George Gaylord; Simpson, George Gaylord (1930). Holmesina septentrionalis, extinct giant armadillo of Florida. 442 (1930). New York: American Museum of Natural History. https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/342904. 
  4. ↑ Scillato-Yané, G. J.; Carlini, A. A.; Tonni, E. P.; Noriega, J. I. (1 October 2005). "Paleobiogeography of the late Pleistocene pampatheres of South America". Journal of South American Earth Sciences. Quaternary Paleontology and biostratigraphy of southern South Africa 20 (1): 131–138. doi:10.1016/j.jsames.2005.06.012. ISSN 0895-9811. Bibcode: 2005JSAES..20..131S. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0895981105001288. Retrieved 10 September 2024. 
  5. ↑ "Holmesina Simpson 1930". Paleobiology Database. https://paleobiodb.org/classic/checkTaxonInfo?taxon_no=43540. 
  6. ↑ Vizcaíno, S. F.; De Iuliis, G.; Bargo, M. S. (1998). "Skull Shape, Masticatory Apparatus, and Diet of Vassallia and Holmesina (Mammalia: Xenarthra: Pampatheriidae): When Anatomy Constrains Destiny". Journal of Mammalian Evolution 5 (4): 291–322. doi:10.1023/A:1020500127041. 
  7. ↑ Lessa, Carlos Micael Bonfim; Gomes, Verônica Santos; Cherkinsky, Alexander; Dantas, Mário André Trindade (December 2021). "Isotopic paleoecology (δ13C, δ18O) of two megamammals assemblages from the late pleistocene of Brazilian intertropical region" (in en). Journal of South American Earth Sciences 112. doi:10.1016/j.jsames.2021.103576. Bibcode: 2021JSAES.11203576L. https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0895981121004223. Retrieved 3 May 2024. 
  8. ↑ Dantas, Mário André Trindade; Cherkinsky, Alexander; Lessa, Carlos Micael Bonfim; Santos, Luciano Vilaboim; Cozzuol, Mario Alberto; Omena, Érica Cavalcante; Silva, Jorge Luiz Lopes da; Sial, Alcides Nóbrega et al. (14 July 2020). "Isotopic paleoecology (δ13C, δ18O) of a late Pleistocene vertebrate community from the Brazilian Intertropical Region". Revista Brasileira de Paleontologia 23 (2): 138–152. doi:10.4072/rbp.2020.2.05. https://sbpbrasil.org/publications/index.php/rbp/article/view/150. Retrieved 23 October 2025. 
  9. ↑ Moura, Jorge Felipe; Nascimento, Carolina Santa Isabel; Peixoto, Bernardo de C.P. e M.; de Barros, Gabriel E.B.; Robbi, Beatriz; Fernandes, Marcelo Adorna (August 2021). "Damaged armour: Ichnotaxonomy and paleoparasitology of bioerosion lesions in osteoderms of Quaternary extinct armadillos" (in en). Journal of South American Earth Sciences 109. doi:10.1016/j.jsames.2021.103255. Bibcode: 2021JSAES.10903255M. https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0895981121001012. Retrieved 30 September 2024. 

Further reading

  • J. C. Cisneros. 2005. New Pleistocene vertebrate fauna from El Salvador. Revista Brasileira de Paleontologia 8(3):239-255
  • P. J. Gaudioso, G. M. Gasparini, and R. M. Barquez. 2016. Paleofauna del Pleistoceno de Termas de Rio Hondo, Santiago del Estero, Argentina. Ameghiniana 53(6):54-54
  • J. I. Mead, S. L. Swift, R. S. White, H. G. McDonald, and A. Baez. 2007. Late Pleistocene (Rancholabrean) glyptodont and pampathere (Xenarthra, Cingulata) from Sonora, Mexico. Revista Mexicana de Ciencias Geológicas 24(3):439-449

Template:Cingulata Genera Wikidata ☰ Q140865 entry



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