Neosclerocalyptus paskoensis Zurita, 2002

Verger, Kévin Le, 2023, Xenarthrans of the collection of Santiago Roth from the Pampean Region of Argentina (Pleistocene), in Zurich, Switzerland, Swiss Journal of Palaeontology (3) 142 (1), pp. 1-39 : 18

Neosclerocalyptus paskoensis Zurita, 2002

Referred material: Right mandible, incomplete left mandible, several tooth fragments, cervical vertebra, seven vertebrae, humerus, right and left radius, ulna, and foot, 32 postcranial fragments, six large plates of osteoderms from the carapace, four annular rings, 59 isolated or fragmented osteoderms: PIMUZ A/ V 438 ( Figs. 3 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 ).

Comment: Although PIMUZ A/V 438 corresponds to an almost complete skeleton, the absence of a complete cranium or carapace makes its determination difficult. Tis specimen still has an incomplete mandible and, of all Neosclerocalyptus species, N. paskoensis has the most gracile mandible (Zurita et al., 2008), an anatomical feature I observe in PIMUZ A/V 438 compared to other specimens in the Roth collection at PIMUZ. I therefore favor a reassignment of specimen PIMUZ A/V 438 to the species N. paskoensis . However, to confirm this description, a complete review of the genus Neosclerocalyptus is necessary, together with an improvement of their diagnoses.

Figures

Fig. 3 Plate of isolated or connected osteoderms for each species in the Roth collection at PIMUZ (from pelvic buckler,scapular buckler, or dorsal shield—see text). Almost all belong to the Cingulata, and the collection includes also osteoderms of Pilosa. Scale bar =1 cm

Fig. 5 Plate of the most complete postcranial remains of the forelimb from the Roth collection at PIMUZ and a ground sloth scapula. Among the Cingulata, the best represented clades are large-sized armadillos (Eutatini, Pampatheriinae) and glyptodonts. In the ground sloths, only the mylodonts are not represented here. Scale bar= 1 cm

Fig. 6 Plate of the most complete postcranial remains of the hindlimb from the Roth collection at PIMUZ and a glyptodont pelvic girdle. Among the Cingulata, the best represented clades are large-sized armadillos (Eutatini, Pampatheriinae) and glyptodonts. In the ground sloths, only the megatherines are not represented here. Scale bar= 1 cm

Fig. 7 Plate of the most complete postcranial remains for the hand and the foot from the Roth collection at PIMUZ.For the hand of the cingulates, only an Eutatini and a glyptodont are presented and for the ground sloths, a megatherine and a scelidothere are illustrated to show associated remains. For the foot, the collection is richer with an Eutatini, several glyptodonts, a mylodont and a scelidothere represented here. Scale bar=1 cm

Fig. 8 Plate of mandibles/hemimandibles belonging to the Cingulata from the Roth collection at PIMUZ.The most complete remains illustrated here correspond to the Eutatini and glyptodonts. Scale bar =1 cm