Keywords
Argentina
Córdoba
egagrópilas
Gran Chaco
microvertebrados
rapaces
Abstract
Small mammal bones and teeth remains are frequent in archaeological and palaeontological sites, and in modern urban and rural areas. Distributed throughout the American continent, the Barn Owl (Tyto alba) is one of the most common accumulators of this kind of remains. Therefore, it is necessary to analyze its predation behavior concerning the prey obtained and discarded within pellets in specific environments elsewhere. This work aims to conduct a taphonomic analysis of bone and dental remains from pellets of Barn Owl collected in two different site types (roost and nest) and ecological zones (Arid Chaco and Mountain Chaco) of the dry area of the Great Chaco ecoregion, in southern South America. Taxonomic composition, relative abundance of skeletal elements, breakage patterns, digestion in cranial and postcranial elements were evaluated to characterize the taphonomic patterns generated by this predator. The results confirm their inclusion in the light modification category. However, the digestion and breakage values obtained in this analysis differ from the actualistic models reported in other studies carried out in Africa, Europe, and South America. The overrepresentation of caviomorph rodents (ca. 60%) in one of the assemblages analyzed is novel for the South American southern cone. Among them, the first record of Jayat´s Chacoan Cavy (Microcavia jayat) for lowland areas of the province of Córdoba is reported. We expect these results to be used as a reference framework or modern analogue in the interpretation of archaeological and fossil record formation as well as to reinforce and strengthen palaeoenvironmental inferences.
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