Roedores do Quaternário de Minas Gerais e Bahia, Brasil - ICB ...

ABSTRACTRodents are an important part of the mammal fauna of the South Americancontinent, representing over twenty percent of the known species of mammals. As theyhave specific ecological requirements and a wide distribution, the rodents are widelyused for studies of paleoecological and paleoenvironmental reconstructions. Studies onfossil rodents of the Quaternary are rare in Brazil, and only the fauna of Lagoa Santaand sites in Rio Grande do Sul are well known. The material studied was collected atToca da Vista, north of Bahia state and contains many bone fragments of smallmammals and birds. In nearly three Thousand bones, fifty relevant parts were separated,which allowed the identification in significant taxonomic level. Based on this materialwere identified eight taxa belonging to three distinct families (Cricetidae, and CaviidaeEchimyidae). By means of comparison between the fossil faunas and the current onecan be inferred that the environment in which the fossils rodents lived would be veryclose to the current environment, with the notable presence of open vegetation withareas of gallery forests.INTRODUÇÃOA Toca da Boa Vista, localizada no município de Campo Formoso, Bahia, é amaior caverna do Brasil, com mais de cem quilômetros mapeados (Auler et al. 2006).Essa região apresenta grande importância paleontológica, pois tem revelado registrosimportantes da fauna pleistocênica (Auler & Smart, 2002). Quase todos os grupos demamíferos presentes na América do Sul foram registrados nesta caverna (Cartelle,31