Name: Rodrigo Ventura Germano
Type: MSc dissertation
Publication date: 31/08/2020
Advisor:

Name	Role
Fernando Henrique de Souza Barbosa	Co-advisor *
Taissa Rodrigues Marques da Silva	Advisor *

Examining board:

Name	Role
Fernando Henrique de Souza Barbosa	Co advisor *
Louisiane de Carvalho Nunes	External Examiner *
Maria Somália Sales Viana	External Examiner *
Mariela Cordeiro de Castro	External Alternate *
Taissa Rodrigues Marques da Silva	Advisor *
Uiara Gomes Cabral	External Alternate *

Summary: Eremotherium laurillardi is one of the several species of megamammals that populated
Brazil during the Pleistocene until they became extinct during the transition between the
Pleistocene and the Holocene. Its remains are found throughout Brazil, but mainly in the
Brazilian Intertropical Region (BIR) in natural tank or cave fossiliferous deposits. The study
of their paleopathologies can contribute with paleoecological information, since most injuries
preserved in fossils occur through the interaction of the organism with the environment. In
Brazil, paleopathological studies in general are still scarce, but currently there is an increasing
number of works focused on the megafauna. In this work, we describe and interpret bone
alterations present in elements of the vertebral column of E. laurillardi. 990 vertebrae from the
caves Toca das Onças (municipality of Jacobina, Bahia) and Toca dos Ossos (municipality of
Ourolândia, Bahia) were analyzed macroscopically for paleopathological features. Only 34
specimens showed these features: three cervical vertebrae, 12 thoracic vertebrae, 5 lumbar
vertebrae, and 14 caudal vertebrae. Among these, only 7 belonged to young individuals and
the majority of the affected vertebrae were thoracic and lumbar. Eight injuries were diagnosed:
congenital anomaly, Calcium Pyrophosphate Deposition Disease, spondyloarthropathy,
spondylosis deformans, compression fracture, infection, Schmorl’s node, and bone tumor. This
is the first record of congenital anomaly and bone tumor in E. laurillardi, as well as the first
report of the association of spondyloarthropathy and a tumor, Schmorl’s node and infection
and Calcium Pyrophosphate Deposition Disease and infection. Caudal vertebrae a greater
amount and variety of bone lesions, and this might be a reflection of the use of the tail as a
support for a bipedal posture and defense use.

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