Trace fossils on megafaunal bone remains from Quaternary natural tank deposits of Brazil: A case study in João Cativo Paleontological site, Megafauna Valley, Brazil

Abstract Northeastern Brazilian natural tank deposits stand out among the sedimentary deposits bearing megafauna remains in South America. João Cativo Paleontological Site (JCPS, Itapipoca, Ceará State, Brazil) is included in the Megafauna Valley and is one of the main sources of paleoecological data in that area. This study reveals trace fossils detected on Quaternary megafauna remains recovered from JCPS, allowing interpretation of paleosynecological interactions among the Quaternary megafauna taxa of the Brazilian Intertropical Region (RIB) and associated taxa. Only four of the 951 fossil specimens (cranial, post-cranial, osteoderms, and teeth) collected in the 1960s had biogenic signatures related to predation/scavenging and pre-historic human handling. Scratches on two rib fragments and a metapodial of Eremotherium laurillardi are attributed to the ichnospecies Machichnus fatimae and suggest a feeding interaction between a canid (probably Protocyon troglodytes) and the carcass of E. laurillardi. The anthropic mark corresponds to incisions made by a lithic weapon in the femur of a Palaeolama major, likely with the intent of slicing and sawing the carcass into smaller pieces.