On the type materials of the genera Interatherium Ameghino, 1887 and Icochilus Ameghino, 1889 (Interatheriidae, Notoungulata, Mammalia) from early Miocene of the Santa Cruz Province, Argentina.

The first known Interatheriinae (Interatheriidae, Notoungulata) were described by Florentino Ameghino based on fossils collected by his brother Carlos in diverse Argentinean early Miocene outcrops in the Santa Cruz Province, which are housed at different institutions. In order to perform a systematic study of the subfamily, it is essential to revise as much specimens as possible, but first of all the type material of the species under study. Due to the fact that Florentino Ameghino never referred to any type specimens with a collection number in any of his publications, their identification becomes a complex task. In consequence, when studying the species erected by Ameghino within the genera Interatherium and Icochilus, we identified a lack of correspondence between some materials catalogued as type specimens and the original descriptions. In this contribution, we present the type specimens of 18 out of the 21 Santacrucian species of Interatherium (4) and Icochilus (14) within the paleontological collection of the Museo de La Plata and Ameghino National Collection at the Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales "Bernardino Rivadavia". Four case studies are presented: a) specimens correctly identified; b) materials erroneously catalogued as type specimens; c) specimens catalogued as type, whose status cannot be evaluated because they are lost; and d) specimens not catalogued as types, but herein recognised as such. As the selection of the type species of Icochilus was pending, Ic. extensus is herein designated as such. The lectotypes of Ic. extensus and Ic. multidentatus are selected among their identified syntypes.

Identification of type materials of the species of Protypotherium Ameghino, 1885 and Patriarchus Ameghino, 1889 (Notoungulata: Interatheriidae) erected by Florentino Ameghino.

The first collections of Interatheriinae (Interatheriidae, Notoungulata) were created by the brothers Florentino and Carlos Ameghino, based on fossil specimens collected from diverse outcrops of Argentina and housed at different national institutions. In order to perform a systematic study of the subfamily, it is essential to revise as much specimens as possible, but first of all those that were used to establish the respective species, that is, the type material. Florentino Ameghino never referred to the collection number of the type specimens of the species he erected in any of his publications; this fact added to the occasional absence of illustrations and adequate descriptions, all of which make their identification a complex task. Thus, when studying the species erected by Florentino Ameghino within Protypotherium and Patriarchus, we recognised a lack of correspondence between some specimens that appeared labelled as types in the collections and the original descriptions of these species. In this contribution, we identify the type specimens of the eleven species of Protypotherium and eight of Patriarchus founded by Florentino Ameghino, housed in the Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales "Bernardino Rivadavia" (Buenos Aires, Argentina) and the Zoological Museum of the University of Copenhagen (Denmark). Three case studies are presented: a) specimens correctly identified; b) specimens erroneously catalogued as type material; and c) specimens not established as types in Ameghino's catalogue, but herein recognised as such. Lectotype and paralectotype of P. antiquum are herein designated.

The phylogenetic affinities of the extinct glyptodonts.

Among the fossils of hitherto unknown mammals that Darwin collected in South America between 1832 and 1833 during the Beagle expedition were examples of the large, heavily armored herbivores later known as glyptodonts. Ever since, glyptodonts have fascinated evolutionary biologists because of their remarkable skeletal adaptations and seemingly isolated phylogenetic position even within their natural group, the cingulate xenarthrans (armadillos and their allies). In possessing a carapace comprised of fused osteoderms, the glyptodonts were clearly related to other cingulates, but their precise phylogenetic position as suggested by morphology remains unresolved. To provide a molecular perspective on this issue, we designed sequence-capture baits using in silico reconstructed ancestral sequences and successfully assembled the complete mitochondrial genome of Doedicurus sp., one of the largest glyptodonts. Our phylogenetic reconstructions establish that glyptodonts are in fact deeply nested within the armadillo crown-group, representing a distinct subfamily (Glyptodontinae) within family Chlamyphoridae. Molecular dating suggests that glyptodonts diverged no earlier than around 35 million years ago, in good agreement with their fossil record. Our results highlight the derived nature of the glyptodont morphotype, one aspect of which is a spectacular increase in body size until their extinction at the end of the last ice age.