LAUSR

The fossil record of carnivorous mammals in Uruguay is scarce and fragmentary, but informative. In the present contribution, two new records of canids allocated in sediments of the Dolores Formation (late Pleistocene-early Holocene) are described. These records, based on their anatomical-comparative study and multivariate analysis, correspond to two foxes: one of medium size, Cerdocyon thous, conforms to the first record of this taxon in the country, meanwhile the other one, of larger size, is referred to Dusicyon avus and is the first fossil record of this animal in the south of the territory and the second record in the whole country. Until now, the only carnivorous mammals registered in this formation were the hunters of large herbivores (Arctotherium sp. and Smilodon populator). In this way, these discoveries complement and expand the set of placental mammals with a carnivorous diet for this unit, particularly with the capacity to predate over small- and medium-size mammals.