Neocnus gliriformis (Cuban rodent-like sloth)

[another specialist]

Neocnus gliriformis-Cuba

www.extinct.minks-lang.de/index_english.html

[another specialist]

Biogeography of the West Indies: Patterns and Perspectives By Charles A. Woods, Florence E. Sergile

[another specialist]

Jun 21, 2008 21:38:36 GMT another specialist said:

Neocnus minor-Cuba (same as Neocnus major ?)

www.extinct.minks-lang.de/index_english.html

Dec 7, 2008 11:03:03 GMT @noisi said:

This is a synonym of Neocnus gliriformis.

source:

Marjorie M. Condis; Osvaldo Jiménez; Fernando Balseiro: 'Mamiferos del Registro Fósil y Asociados a Sitios Arqueológicas de Cuba (Terciaria y Cuaternario)' (2007)

[another specialist]

Jun 21, 2008 21:34:41 GMT another specialist said:

Neocnus bairiensis-Cuba (same as Neocnus major ?)

www.extinct.minks-lang.de/index_english.html

Dec 7, 2008 11:04:21 GMT @noisi said:

This is a synonym of Neocnus gliriformis.

source:

Marjorie M. Condis; Osvaldo Jiménez; Fernando Balseiro: 'Mamiferos del Registro Fósil y Asociados a Sitios Arqueológicas de Cuba (Terciaria y Cuaternario)' (2007)

[another specialist]

Jun 21, 2008 21:37:56 GMT another specialist said:

Neocnus major-Cuba

www.extinct.minks-lang.de/index_english.html

Jun 22, 2008 17:58:01 GMT another specialist said:

Biogeography of the West Indies: Patterns and Perspectives By Charles A. Woods, Florence E. Sergile

Dec 7, 2008 11:03:32 GMT @noisi said:

This is a synonym of Neocnus gliriformis.

source:

Marjorie M. Condis; Osvaldo Jiménez; Fernando Balseiro: 'Mamiferos del Registro Fósil y Asociados a Sitios Arqueológicas de Cuba (Terciaria y Cuaternario)' (2007)

[another specialist]

08. Neocnus gliriformis-Cuban Ground Sloth-Cuba

syn. Neocnus amplus, Neocnus baireiensis, Neocnus major, Neocnus minor

extinctanimals.proboards22.com/index.cgi?board=exsloths&action=display&thread=419

[Sebbe]

Updated checklist of endemic terrestrial mammals of the West Indies

Neocnus gliriformis (Matthew, 1931). Amer. Mus.
Novitates 511: 4.
COMMON NAME Cuban rodent-like sloth
TYPE LOCALITY Casimba in the Sierra de
Jatibonico, Cuba
DISTRIBUTION Cuba
STATUS Extinct
SYNONYM Cubanocnus gliriformis (of Varona,
1974b); Neocnus major Arredondo, 1961; Neocnus
minor Arredondo, 1961; Neocnus baireiensis
Mayo, 1980, Neocnus amplus Arredondo and
Arredondo 1999
COMMENT See comment for the genus as well as
White and MacPhee (2001). The synonymy of N.
amplus is based on the following reasons. The
material for the description of this taxon is a single
bone (a very fragmented distal part of the left
femur). The proximal part of the femur (normally
with the most diagnostic characters) is absent
(Arredondo and Arredondo 1999). The characters
in the diagnosis are weak and distinctiveness is
based on comparisons of femura from two species
(minor and baireiensis) that are considered
synonym of N. major (White and MacPhee 2001).
Therefore, the morphological variation in the femur
in Neocnus is significant. The type locality of
amplus is Cueva Paredones, in Caimito, Havana
province. It is a cave with an extensive history of
exploration dating from the 1950s. Silva-Taboada
et al. (2007) suggest that sexual dimorphism and
chronoclines are important factors in Cuban sloths,
and consider N. major to be N. gliriformis. White
and MacPhee (2001), however, consider that there
is no evidence (based on an analysis of a large
number of individuals) for sexual dimorphism in
living or fossil sloths.

www.researchgate.net/publication/273831338_UPDATED_CHECKLIST_OF_ENDEMIC_TERRESTRIAL_MAMMALS_OF_THE_WEST_INDIES

[Sebbe]

Assessing the role of humans in Greater Antillean land vertebrate extinctions: new insights from Cuba.

The Caribbean archipelago is a hotspot of biodiversity characterized by a high rate of extinction. Recent studies have examined these losses, but the causes of the Antillean Late Quaternary vertebrate extinctions, and especially the role of humans, are still unclear. Previous results provide support for climate-related and human-induced extinctions, but often downplaying other complex bio-ecological factors that are difficult to model or to detect from the fossil and archaeological record. Here, we discuss Caribbean vertebrate extinctions and the potential role of humans derived from new and existing fossil and archaeological data from Cuba. Our results indicate that losses of Cuba’s native fauna occurred in waves: one during the late Pleistocene and early Holocene, a second during the middle Holocene, and a third one during the last 2 ka, combining the arrival of agroceramists and later of Europeans. The coexistence of now-extinct species with multiple cultural groups in Cuba for over 4 ka implies that Cuban indigenous nonceramic cultures exerted far fewer extinction pressures to native fauna than the later agroceramists and Europeans that followed. This suggests a determinant value to increased technological sophistication and demographics as plausible effective extinction drivers. Beyond looking at dates of first human arrival alone, future studies should also consider cultural diversity with attention to different bio-ecological factors that influence these biodiversity changes.

www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.01.27.922237v3.full

[Sebbe]

New insights on the quaternary fossil record of Isla de la Juventud, Cuba.

The fossil record of Isla de la Juventud, the second largest island in the Cuban archipelago, is very limited in the number of taxa and localities so far studied but can be key to further understand the biogeographical history and extinction of the fauna in the region. Here, we report the faunal assemblages of two recently discovered Quaternary deposits containing numerous vertebrates and land snails in northern Isla de la Juventud. The first locality, a marble breccia on the coast of Punta Bibijagua, contained remains of an extinct rodent and a sloth. The second locality, a dissolution fissure filled with fossil-bearing sediment in a marble quarry in Sierra de Casas, contained a rich assemblage of land snails and vertebrates. Nineteen species, 14 genera and nine families of gastropods were identified, of which 11 species and two genera are endemic. The snail fossil assemblage is similar to the community of living gastropods in the locality. Moreover, 12 taxa, four of them extinct, 11 genera from ten families of terrestrial vertebrates were recognized; including the first report of fossils frogs, toads, lizards, snakes, and tortoises from Isla de la Juventud. Because remains at Sierra de Casas were collected ex-situ, any possible stratigraphic relationship among them was lost, but we were able to determine the presence of at least two taphonomic modes that suggest different depositional histories. Furthermore, we found no evidence of extinction or extirpation among land snails in the region, but of the vertebrates’ assemblage two rodents, two sloths and a tortoise went extinct. These five taxa also disappeared in the mainland, suggesting that the extinction was in some cases taxonomic specific across the Cuban Archipelago.

www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0895981120301991