Centro de Investigaciones en Ciencias de la Tierra (CICTERRA), Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Físicas y Naturales (FCEFyN), Universidad Nacional de Córdoba (UNC), Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET) - Ingenieur Ismael Bordabehere y Av. Haya de la Torre, Ciudad Universitaria, Córdoba, Argentina
Demmel Ferreira, María M. 2026. “Anatomía Endocraneal Del furnárido fósil Pseudoseisura Cursor (Aves, Passeriformes): Perspectivas paleoecológicas E Implicancias Evolutivas”. El Hornero 41 (1). https://doi.org/10.56178/eh.v41i1.1530.
Furnariidae corresponde a una familia endémica del Neotrópico y es una de las familias de Passeriformes más diversas, y si bien esta es una de las familias neotropicales con mejor registro fósil, en Passeriformes en general el registro es escaso, por lo que la interpretación de la evolución del grupo puede resultar un desafío. Pseudoseisura cursor procedente del Ensenadense (Pleistoceno temprano – medio) de la provincia de Buenos Aires, Argentina, es considerado como el taxón hermano de las especies actuales del género. Este trabajo describe la anatomía endocraneal de esta especie y la compara con aquellas de otros Furnariidae actuales para inferir aspectos ecológicos. Se realizó un modelo 3D del endocráneo (i.e., proxy del cerebro) a partir de micro-CT obtenidas del holotipo, el cual fue descripto y medido (medidas lineales y de superficie). Se calcularon su masa corporal y el volumen endocraneal, como así también sus capacidades auditivas. Comparado con el Cacholote Castaño (Pseudoseisura lophotes), el endocráneo de P. cursor muestra similitudes generales, pero presenta diferencias específicas, como un mayor desarrollo dorsoventral de los Wulsts y un bulbo olfatorio y flóculos más largos, posiblemente relacionados con su condición ancestral o adaptaciones funcionales. Aunque P. cursor tenía una mayor masa corporal en comparación con el Cacholote Castaño su cerebro era proporcionalmente más pequeño, con un volumen 9.73 veces su masa corporal (23.59 veces en Cacholote Castaño), lo cual podría vincularse con la tendencia de reducción corporal en especies actuales y modularidad funcional del cerebro. Además, P. cursor mostró capacidades auditivas similares a las del Hornero (Furnarius rufus) y el Chinchero Chico (Lepidocolaptes angustirostris), posiblemente debido a que el hábitat habría sido similar.
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