Nematherium (Xenarthra, Folivora) from the Serravallian of La Venta, Department of Huila, Colombia; chronological and biogeographical implications

Abstract

The restudy of a sloth specimen from the Honda Group (La Venta, Department of Huila, Colombia), more precisely from the upper levels of the La Victoria Formation and the lower levels of the Villavieja Formation (Serravallian, middle Miocene), suggests its assignment to Nematherium sp. (Mammalia, Folivora). This is the first record of Nematherium for Colombia, and given that until now the genus had been recorded from the Burdigalian (early Miocene) of southern South America, the record presented herein extends its geographic and chronological distribution.