On the presence of Glyptotherium in the Late Pleistocene of Northeastern Brazil, and the status of Glyptodon and Chlamydotherium. Paleobiogeographic implications

Two genera of late Pleistocene Glyptodontinae have been referred for Northeastern Brazil: Glyptodon and Chlamydotherium. New materials from Pernambuco and Rio Grande do Norte States, Northeast of Brazil, composed dominantly by isolated osteoderms, are referred for the first time to the North American genus Glyptotherium. The study also suggests that all material from Lagoa Santa, Minas Gerais State, previously regarded as Glyptodon clavipes and part of that referred by Lund as Hoplophorus euphractus also belongs to Glyptotherium. Concerning the poorly defined genus Chlamydotherium, the restudy of the type material of C. oliveirai indicates that it corresponds to juvenile glyptodontine specimens. Traditionally, the Brazilian mammalian fauna of tropical to intertropical regions has been interpreted as endemic. However, new records of mammals in North eastern Brazil, as represented by Pachyarmatherium and Glyptotherium, suggest more complex biogeographic relationships among Pleistocene faunas from Northern South America, Central and Southern North America.