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Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 June 2013
This chapter presents a paleoecological analysis of non-carnivorous Santacrucianmarsupials of the orders Paucituberculata and Microbiotheria. Differentecological niches are inferred from estimates of body mass, diet, and locomotorbehavior. Body masses were estimated using a regression analysis based on livingmarsupials. Possible dietary preferences were explored by an analysis of thedevelopment of molar shearing crests. Inferences about locomotor behaviors ofsome species with well-preserved postcranial skeletal remains were derived froma published morphofunctional analysis. From the wide range of estimated bodymasses and diet several niches were inferred: small- to medium-sizedinsectivores, small- to medium-sized insectivore–frugivores, and medium-to large-sized frugivores. According to our results, Paucituberculata andMicrobiotheria of the Santa Cruz Formation constitute an ecologically diverseassemblage that inhabited forested habitats, developed under warm temperaturesand seasonal rainfall. These forested habitats could have supported severalnon-carnivorous marsupial niches, offering diverse resources both in the spatialdimensions and in the trophic ones.
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