Thalassocnus is a sloth (Mammalia, Tardigrada) adapted to an aquatic lifestyle. It was first described from the Neogene deposits of the Pisco Formation of Peru, from where most of the specimens come. The genus is represented by five species ranging from the late Miocene to the late Pliocene, occupying successive stratigraphic levels. Morpho-functional studies of the cranial and postcranial skeleton of Thalassocnus have demonstrated the progressive adaptation of these sloths to a marine environment, establishing gradual differences from from the geologically oldest to the youngest species of the genus. The first records of Thalassocnus outside the Pisco Formation have been referred to the Neogene Bahía Inglesa Formation, in northern Chile, where older species were recovered. In this paper, we describe materials from two new Pliocene localities in Chile: the Coquimbo and the Horcón formations, in northern and central Chile, respectively. The Coquimbo Formation material was collected from the Lomas del Sauce locality and consists of a partial skeleton of a single individual. Detailed comparisons of the elements with diagnostic features enabled the referral of this specimen to T. carolomartini. The material from the Horcón Formation was collected from the Playa La Luna locality and consists of an isolated phalanx, which is attributed to one of the species of Thalassocnus younger than T. natans. Thus, we present the first record of younger species of Thalassocnus in Chile and the southernmost occurrence of the genus.

A taphonomic and systematic study of an assemblage of large mammals preserved in an early Upper Pleistocene deposit in Imanolen Arrobia (Deba, northern Spain) is hereby reported. Skeletal profiles, long bone fragmentation and tooth marks reveal that carnivores transported wild goats and chamois carcasses to the cave for their consumption. The abundance of juvenile remains suggests that these carnivores preferentially preyed on immature individuals. After considering the frequencies of different carnivores in the assemblage and other taphonomic and neo-taphonomic features and, even though the wolf (Canis lupus) cannot be completely discarded, the leopard (Panthera pardus) is proposed as the plausible responsible for the hunting and transport of the ungulate remains to the cave. The bones were subsequently probably modified by foxes (Vulpes vulpes) that used the cave as a breeding den. By way of comparative data from the Cantabrian region and especially from the Basque Country, a metric study drawing comparisons between the most frequent species (Capra pyrenaica, Rupicapra pyrenaica, Panthera pardus and Vulpes vulpes) evinces that the Imanolen Arrobia measurements are within the range of variation of fossil species in the northern Iberian Peninsula.

At the eastern margin of the Precordillera and close to the boundary with Sierras Pampeanas, the Rinconada Formation displays extensional faults, boudinaged sequences and scarce slump folds for which age is not well constrained. It represents a stacking of “broken formations” intercalated with scarce debris flows. A calcareous iron-rich sample from the upper levels of the Rinconada Formation yielded 134 conodont elements, including Dapsilodus obliquicostatus, Decoriconus fragilis, Oulodus sp., Pseudooneotodus beckmanni, P. b. bicornis and Wurmiella excavata together with ozarkodinids of the “Oz.” bohemica—“Oz.” snajdri lineage. The record of “Oz.” aff. snajdri suggests a late Homerian—early Gorstian (late Wenlock—early Ludlow) minimum depositional age for the upper debris flows of the Rinconada Formation. The studied conodont fauna improves the biostratigraphic correlation of the Rinconada melange with other successions in the Precordillera and the world as well as provides clues on the tectonostratigraphic development of the SW Gondwanan foreland during Silurian times.

Eleven new records of marine gastropods from several localities in west-central Argentina are hereby presented, including the following new species: Proconulus kotrus, Calliotropis (Riselloidea) ligosta, Lyosoma truquicoensis, Exelissa crassicostata, Cirsocerithium agriorivensis, Cataldia? binodosa, Vanikoropsis? leviplicata and Tornatellaea neuquina. These records were recovered from two Early Cretaceous units of the Neuquén Basin, the Mulichinco (Valanginian) and the Agrio (upper Valanginian—upper Hauterivian/lowermost Barremian) formations. The families Proconulidae, Calliotropidae, Neritidae, Cryptaulacidae, ?Pseudomelaniidae, Vanikoridae, Epitoniidae and Acteonidae are represented whilst one record is yet to be assigned at the family level.

In this systematic study of palynological assemblages from the upper part of the type section of the La Veteada Formation, 38 species of trilete and monolete spores are described and/or illustrated. Two new species are instituted: Lundbladispora verrucosa and Secarisporites triangularis, and a new combination Secarisporites imperialis (Jansonius) is proposed. Trilete spores comprise a dominant group in the analyzed palynoflora and show a reduced frequency from the base to the top of the section (from 32.2 to 14.5%). Cinguli-cavate spores (derived from herbaceous lycophytes) are dominant and represented by the genera Densoisporites, Lundbladispora and Secarisporites. Smooth and apiculate trilete spores (derived from ferns and sphenopsids) are represented by genera such as Calamospora, Punctatisporites, Granulatisporites, Brevitriletes, Cyclogranisporites and Osmundacidites. This upper section of the La Veteada Formation was deposited in fluvialhypersaline/ brackish lacustrine environments under arid to semiarid climatic conditions. The areas surrounding these water-bodies dominated by evaporites were vegetated mainly by herbaceous lycopsids (Isoetales, Selaginellales, Lycopodiales) and ferns. Pteridophytes (Filicales, Zygopteridales), bryophytes and herbaceous sphenophytes were developed along the river courses and in the surrounding areas of freshwater bodies (ponds and small lakes) on the flood plain. The presence of Densoisporites complicatus, D. nejburgii, D. playfordii, D. solidus, Leptolepidites jonkeri, Lundbladispora brevicula, L. obsoleta, L. springsurensis, L. wilmotti, Ringosporites fossulatus, Secarisporites bullatus, S. imperialis and S. lacunatus confirm a late Permian (Lopingian) age for the upper La Veteada Formation. The palynofloras contain significant proportions of lycopsid tetrads; as is the case with many extra-Gondwanic strata of Lopingian/Early Triassic age.