{{Short description|Underground shelter excavated by prehistoric megafauna}} A '''paleoburrow''' is an underground shelter excavated by extinct paleo-vertebrate megafauna that lived in the prehistoric era.<ref>[http://www.ufrgs.br/paleotocas/Buchmann_et_al_2003.pdf II Congresso sobre Planejamento e Gestão das Zonas Costeiras dos Países de Expressão Portuguesa] UFRGS - agosto/2015</ref><ref>[http://www.cavernas.org.br/anais31cbe/31cbe_541-548.pdf ANAIS do 31º Congresso Brasileiro de Espeleologia] Cavernas.org - agosto/2015</ref><ref name="AJenn-lost">{{cite web|last1=Jenner|first1=Andrew|title=Get Lost in Mega-Tunnels Dug by South American Megafauna|url=http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/crux/2017/03/28/paleoburrows-south-america/|website=Discover|publisher=Kalmbach|accessdate=16 April 2017|date=March 28, 2017|archive-date=19 November 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191119013021/http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/crux/2017/03/28/paleoburrows-south-america/|url-status=dead}}</ref> Most paleoburrows are likely made by giant armadillos, pampatheres, and/or large ground sloths, depending on their size.'''<ref name=":0">{{Cite news |last=Fox |first=Michael |date=13 April 2021 |title=Get a glimpse of southern Brazil’s paleoburrows — dug by prehistoric animals |url=https://theworld.org/stories/2021/04/13/brazil-s-paleoburrows-are-opening-new-branch-paleontology-researchers-face-plenty |work=The World}}</ref>''' Thousands of examples have been identified across South America, mostly in the Brazilian states of Santa Catarina and Rio Grande do Sul.<ref name=":0" />
The first paleoburrow was discovered in Rondonia by Amilcar Adamy in 2010.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last=Jenner |first=Andrew |date=28 March 2017 |title=Get Lost in Mega-Tunnels Dug by South American Megafauna |url=https://www.discovermagazine.com/planet-earth/get-lost-in-mega-tunnels-dug-by-south-american-megafauna |access-date=2024-07-25 |website=Discover Magazine |language=en}}</ref> Paleoburrows, often exposed by development, are threatened by construction and degradation from rain and the elements.<ref name=":0" /> Researchers from several Brazilian universities have formed the Paleoburrows Project to raise awareness about their existence, and fight misinformation.<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite web |title=English Abstract |url=https://www.ufrgs.br/paleotocas/Abstract.htm |access-date=2024-07-25 |website=Paleoburrows Project}}</ref>
== Description == Thousands of sites characterized as paleoburrows have been found across South America,<ref name=":0" /> such as in Ponta do Abunã, in Rondônia, within the Amazon region,<ref>[http://oglobo.globo.com/sociedade/caverna-escavada-por-mamiferos-gigantes-descoberta-na-amazonia-17032201 Caverna escavada por mamíferos gigantes é descoberta na Amazônia] O Globo- agosto/2015</ref> in the Serra do Gandarela National Park, in Minas Gerais,<ref>[http://redesustentabilidade.org.br/parque-nacional-e-criado-em-minas-gerais-mas-deixa-area-de-mata-atlantica-desprotegida/ Parque Nacional é criado em Minas Gerais, mas deixa área de Mata Atlântica desprotegida] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305210957/http://redesustentabilidade.org.br/parque-nacional-e-criado-em-minas-gerais-mas-deixa-area-de-mata-atlantica-desprotegida/ |date=2016-03-05 }} Rede Sustentabilidade.org- agosto/2015</ref> in Monte Bonito, the southern Rio Grande,<ref>[http://www.br116-392.com.br/upload/Boletim%20-%20Paleotoca.pdf O protagonista: um tatu gigante] Boletim BR 116 - agosto/2015</ref> as well as the Toca do Tatu in Santa Catarina.<ref>{{cite web |date=2012 |title=Revista Espeleotema |url=http://www.sbe.com.br/espeleo-tema/espeleo-tema_v23_n2_087-101.pdf}}</ref>
After the extinction of the megafauna about 10,000 years ago, some paleoburrows were reused by indigenous human populations. Recent searches indicate that these structures were used as temporary shelters as well as for ritual purposes. In the interior of some paleoburrows, researchers discovered stone tools, ceramic artifacts, human burials, and inscriptions engraved in the walls.{{Citation needed|date=July 2024}}
Paleoburrows are classified as paleontological sites; however, if the remains of ancient populations are also found, the site may become the object of research for both paleontologists and archaeologists.<ref>{{cite web |author1=VICROSKI, Fabricio J. Nazzari |author2=FRANK, Heinrich Theodor |date=2013 |title=A Problemática das Galerias Subterrâneas na Arqueologia do Sul do Brasil |url=https://www.academia.edu/5446127 |publisher=Anais Eletrônicos do II Congresso Internacional de História Regional}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |author1=AZEVEDO, Leonardo Waisman de Azevedo |author2=COPÉ, Silvia Moehlecke. |title=A Gênese das Galerias Subterrâneas no Planalto Sul-Brasileiro |url=http://revista.sabnet.com.br/index.php/revista-de-arqueologia/article/viewFile/93/92 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151222155213/http://revista.sabnet.com.br/index.php/revista-de-arqueologia/article/viewFile/93/92 |archive-date=2015-12-22 |access-date=2017-04-02 |publisher=Revista de Arqueologia}}</ref>
Paleoburrows dug by giant ground sloths often have large claw marks along the walls.<ref name=":0" /> Many paleoburrows are exposed by local development, but subsequently eventually destroyed by rain, the elements, or construction.'''<ref name=":0" />'''
Paleoburrows are sometimes enlarged by erosion.<ref name=":1" /> One of the largest reaches 2,000 feet in length over all of its branching tunnels, originally over 6 feet tall and 3 to 5 feet wide.<ref name=":1" /> It was made by many animals over generations.<ref name=":1" />
The exact animals which dug the largest burrows, up to 5 feet in diameter, are debated.<ref name=":1" /> One group of scientists, including Heinrich Frank, believe that they were dug by giant ground sloths, possibly ''Catonyx, Glossotherium,'' or ''Lestodon''.<ref name=":1" /> Another group believes that even the largest burrows are attributable to extinct armadillos and/or pampatheres like ''Pampatherium, Holmesina or Propraopus'', even though they were smaller than the sloths.<ref name=":1" />
It is unclear why the burrows were dug to their large sizes.<ref name=":1" /> Whether the burrows were dug by giant armadillos or giant sloths, they are much larger than would be necessary.<ref name=":1" />
== Crotovina == Paleoburrows filled with sediments, deposited over the centuries through rainfall and accumulated due to the porosity of the terrain, are called '''crotovina'''. Generally, fossils found in crotovinas exhibit large proportions similar to known megafauna of their geological period.<ref>[http://chc.cienciahoje.uol.com.br/casa-de-preguica/ Casa de preguiça] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150515191336/http://chc.cienciahoje.uol.com.br/casa-de-preguica/ |date=2015-05-15 }} Ciência Hoje - agosto/2015</ref><ref>[http://www.ufrgs.br/paleotocas/Defini%C3%A7%C3%B5es.htm Paleotocas, Crotovinas e Abrigos Subterrâneos] Projeto Paleotoca - UFRGS - agosto/2015</ref>
== See also == * Burrow fossil
== References == <!-- Inline citations added to your article will automatically display here. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WP:REFB for instructions on how to add citations. --> {{reflist}}
== Further reading == * Andrew Jenner (2017), [http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/crux/2017/03/28/paleoburrows-south-america "Get Lost in Mega-Tunnels Dug by South American Megafauna"], ''Discover Magazine''
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Category:Paleontology Category:Shelters built or used by animals Category:Paleontology in Brazil Category:Burrow fossils