The first record of milk teeth of South American fossil procyonids comes from the Late Miocene-Early Pliocene at "Farola Monte Hermoso," Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. Five extant genera of Procyonidae inhabit South America (Bassaricyon Allen, Nasuella Hollister, Potos Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire and Cuvier, Procyon Storr, and Nasua Storr). Of these only Procyon and Nasua are present in the fossil record (Late Pleistocene-Holocene), in several localities in Brazil, Uruguay, and Bolivia. In addition, six other fossil genera were named, but only two are considered valid: Cyonasua and Chapadmalania. Thus, Cyonasua encompasses ten formally named species and Chapadmalania two. The new specimen, MLP 09-X-5-1, is assigned to cf. Cyonasua. In addition, anatomical evidence implies a much more carnivorous diet in Late Miocene-Early Pleistocene procyonids than that of extant South American taxa. Finally, I examine and discuss the "competitive displacement" hypothesis regarding the extinction of native marsupial carnivores after the arrival of immigrant placental carnivores in South America.

Submitted by Marco Antônio de Ramos Chagas (mchagas@ufv.br) on 2016-04-18T16:56:33Z No. of bitstreams: 1 texto completo.pdf: 4391164 bytes, checksum: fe826323367260be065130ad2dcce0d4 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-18T16:56:33Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 texto completo.pdf: 4391164 bytes, checksum: fe826323367260be065130ad2dcce0d4 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2015-12-07 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / Afim de minimizar a competição intra e interespecífica, diferentes organizações sociais de quatis (Nasua sp.) adotam distintas estratégias de forrageio. Embora machos adultos sejam solitários e com período de atividade prolongado, se reaproximam dos bandos para a reprodução e compartilham parte do nicho com estes. O período de atividade de Nasua nasua, principalmente de machos solitários, precisa ser melhor estudado neste bioma. A coordenação dos períodos de atividade e inatividade dos bandos e solitários tende a reduzir a competição. Armadilhas fotográficas foram dispostas em pontos de um fragmento periurbano de Floresta Atlântica Tropical Continental por onze meses entre 2014 e 2015, registrando 1002 fotografias, sendo 134 de indivíduos solitários, 16 de bando e 852 fotografias de espécies distintas. A frequência de registros por armadilha fotográfica mostrou áreas de uso preferencial para ambas organizações sociais de N. nasua e demais espécies. O período de atividade de quatis indica a necessidade de se entender suas relações sociecológicas e a conservação de fragmentos de biomas ameaçados para a conservação desse animal. / For minimizing intra and interspecific competition, different social organizations of coatis (Nasua sp.) adopt different foraging strategies. While adult males are unmarried and with extended active period, they, again, approaches the flocks for reproduction and share with them part of the ecological niche. The Nasua nasua activity period, mainly of solitary males, need to be better studied in this biome. Coordination of activity and inactivity periods of flocks and of solitary animals tends to reduce the competition. Camera traps were placed at points of a peri-urban fragment of Semideciduous Seasonal Forest for eleven months from 2014 to 2015, recording 1,002 photographs, namely, 134 of solitary individuals, 16 of flocks, and 852 photographs of different species. The attendance records by camera trap showed areas of preferred use for both social organizations of N. nasua and other species. The coatis activity period indicates the need for understanding their socioecological relations and the conservation of threatened biomes fragments for conservation of this animal.

The coati is a procionidae foun in American cerrado. It is as animal with little morphological features, characterized by the neural system. The objective of this work was to study the origin and distribution of the brachial plexus of this taxon. Five adult specimens were dissected, however, without a definitr age, donated by IBAMA or collected dead on the banks of higways. The specimes were fixed in aqueous formaldehyde solution, 10% and kept immersed the same solution before and dissection. The formationof the brachial plexus occurred between the ventral branch of the fifth cervical spinal nerve (C5), to the first thoracic (T1), origined the nerves supraescapular, subescapulares (cranial e caudal), toracodorsal, axilar, radial, musculocutâneo, mediano, ulnar e peitorais (cranial e caudal) and distributed in the neck, chest and forelimb. / O quati é um procionídeo encontrado no cerrado americano. Consiste em um animal silvestre com aspectos morfológicos do sistema nervoso pouco caracterizado. O objetivo deste trabalho é estudar a origem e distribuição do plexo braquial deste táxon. Foram dissecados cinco espécimes adultos, porém, sem idade definida, doados pelo IBAMA ou coletados mortos às margens de rodovias. Os espécimes foram fixados em solução aquosa de formol, a 10% e conservados imersos em igual solução, antes a após a dissecação. A formação do plexo braquial ocorreu entre o ramo ventral do quinto nervo cervical espinhal (C₅), até o primeiro torácico (T₁), dando origem aos nervos supraescapular, subescapulares (cranial e caudal), toracodorsal, axilar, radial, musculocutâneo, mediano, ulnar e peitorais (cranial e caudal) distribuindo-se no pescoço, tórax e membro torácico. / Mestre em Ciências Veterinárias

Although five genera of procyonids are currently present in South America, only two of the extant genera, Procyon and Nasua are represented in the South American fossil record. A recent discovery of a procyonid lower second molar in Late Pleistocene deposits of Aurora do Tocantins, northern Brazil, offers potential to further our understanding of the stratigraphic and temporal range of South American fossil procyonids. We use geometric morphometric analysis of two-dimensional landmarks and semilandmarks to explore morphological variation in the lower second molars of extant Procyon lotor and Procyon cancrivorus and multivariate methods to support the identification of the Pleistocene specimen as P. cancrivorus. This material represents the second fossil record of P. cancrivorus in South America Procyonids entered South America in two phases: the first comprising by Cyonasua and Chapadmalania during the Late Miocene, and the other recent genera, beginning in the Late Pleistocene. These Late Miocene procyonids were more carnivorous than Late Pleistocene-Recent omnivorous taxa and possible went extinct due to competition with other placental carnivorans that entered South America and diversified during the latest Pliocene-Early Pleistocene.

Although five genera of procyonids are currently present in South America, only two of the extant genera, Procyon and Nasua are represented in the South American fossil record. A recent discovery of a procyonid lower second molar in Late Pleistocene deposits of Aurora do Tocantins, northern Brazil, offers potential to further our understanding of the stratigraphic and temporal range of South American fossil procyonids. We use geometric morphometric analysis of two-dimensional landmarks and semilandmarks to explore morphological variation in the lower second molars of extant Procyon lotor and Procyon cancrivorus and multivariate methods to support the identification of the Pleistocene specimen as P. cancrivorus. This material represents the second fossil record of P. cancrivorus in South America Procyonids entered South America in two phases: the first comprising by Cyonasua and Chapadmalania during the Late Miocene, and the other recent genera, beginning in the Late Pleistocene. These Late Miocene procyonids were more carnivorous than Late Pleistocene-Recent omnivorous taxa and possible went extinct due to competition with other placental carnivorans that entered South America and diversified during the latest Pliocene-Early Pleistocene.

The family Procyonidae (raccoons, coatis, olingos, ringtails, kinkajous, and their extinct relatives) consists of six extant genera and is restricted to North and South America. Currently recognized fossil species suggest that procyonid diversity was previously much greater, including six extinct genera throughout South America. However, it is unusual that so many confamilial taxa are represented in a relatively brief span of time and restricted geographic region, and, considering that six of ten are based on badly preserved specimens, often fragments of bone with worn teeth, the validity of many of these taxa is suspect. As a step towards reevaluating past procyonid diversity in South America, we sought to identify the degree of intra- and interspecific variation in six molariform teeth of extant Procyon, particularly to identify which teeth are potentially most useful for identifying fossil procyonids. The six molariform cheek teeth analyzed consistently yielded smaller intra- than interspecific variation, permitting high accuracy of taxonomic classification. However, this accuracy varied by tooth, and the upper and lower first molars proved to be the most reliable. Thus, these particular teeth should be preferred, if available, as bases for recognizing extinct species of procyonids or reevaluating currently recognized extinct species, as a means to prevent nomina dubia.