cretaceous small scavengers feeding traces in tetrapod bones from patagonia, argentina白垩纪小食腐动物喂养的痕迹从巴塔哥尼亚四足动物的骨头,阿根廷.pdfVIP

Cretaceous Small Scavengers: Feeding Traces in Tetrapod Bones from Patagonia, Argentina 1 ´ ´ 2 3 Silvina de Valais *, Sebastian Apesteguıa , Alberto C. Garrido ´ ´ ´ ´ ´ 1 CONICET - Instituto de Investigacion en Paleobiologıa y Geologıa, Universidad Nacional de Rıo Negro, Fisque Menuco (General Roca), Rıo Negro, Argentina, 2 CONICET - ´ ´ ´ Fundacion de Historia Natural ‘‘Felix de Azara’’, CEBBAD, Universidad Maimonides, Buenos Aires, Argentina, 3 Museo Provincial de Ciencias Naturales ‘‘Prof. Dr. Juan A. ´ ´ ´ Olsacher’’ – Direccion Provincial de Minerıa, Zapala, Neuquen, Argentina Abstract Ecological relationships among fossil vertebrate groups are interpreted based on evidence of modification features and paleopathologies on fossil bones. Here we describe an ichnological assemblage composed of trace fossils on reptile bones, mainly sphenodontids, crocodyliforms and maniraptoran theropods. They all come from La Buitrera, an early Late Cretaceous locality in the Candeleros Formation of northwestern Patagonia, Argentina. This locality is significant because of the abundance of small to medium-sized vertebrates. The abundant ichnological record includes traces on bones, most of them attributable to tetrapods. These latter traces include tooth marks that provde evidence of feeding activities made during the sub-aerial exposure of tetrapod carcasses. Other traces are attributable to arthropods or root