Biology subjects

Le Verger, K.

Publications and source records attributed to Le Verger, K..

3 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2026

PALAEOROBOTICS UNCOVERS DEVASTATING MAMMALIAN TAIL STRIKE DYNAMICS

Extant animals occupy only a fraction of evolutionary design space, leaving many extinct morphologies without living analogues for functional testing. We combined comparative anatomy of 32 glyptodont species with a life-sized palaeorobotic tail rig to determine strike severity in club-tailed giant from the Pleistocene megafauna Doedicurus. The robophysical model, informed by fossil geometry and inertia, matched simulated fossil-tail collision momentum (98-105%) and generated peak forces of 81.1 kN at 6.4 m{middle dot}s-{superscript 1}, with an impulse of 427 N{middle dot}s, far exceeding equine extremity fracture forces. Peak force scaled near-linearly with strike velocity, implying [~]183 kN at projected top speed of 15 m{middle dot}s-{superscript 1}. Measurements suggest Doedicurus delivered high-severity strikes, supporting antipredator defence as primary selective driver of extreme tail weaponization, and establish palaeorobotic validation of extinct animal biomechanics.

bioengineering↗

bioRxiv2026

Diverse megamammals exploited by humans, chronology and palaeoecology at Taima-Taima, Late Pleistocene, South America

The arrival of humans to the Americas at the end of the Pleistocene has been one of the foundations of the hypothesis that hunter-gatherer groups had a direct role in the extinction of megafauna. However, empirical evidence of the exploitation of megafauna by humans and associated chronological context are still scarce, especially in South America. Using evidence of modifications on osteological remains, we provide a reassessment of the megafauna that was exploited at the classic Taima-Taima site (Venezuela), with an updated chronology and paleoenvironmental inferences. Our results show that, at least, five species of extinct megaherbivores were probably exploited at the site, expanding the previous records, restricted to the proboscidean Notiomastodon platensis and the giant armadillo Glyptotherium cf. G. cylindricum. The new data of the other exploited taxa include the terrestrial sloth Glossotherium, the macrauchenid cf. Xenorhinotherium bahiense and a toxodontid; both killing and slaughtering activities were likely practised at the site. Seven new enamel radiocarbon dates show an age of 15.3-17.8 cal kyr BP for the fossiliferous strata, although this is likely to be a minimum age given the materials propensity for modern carbon uptake. The study of phytoliths and starch grains from the dental calculus of N. platensis identified five plant taxa from the phytoliths: arboreal dicotyledons, Poaceae, Marantaceae, Asteraceae and Arecaceae. Ecometrics studies of dental diversity reveal how no other single site on the continent preserves such a diversity of grazing and browsing megaherbivores exploited by humans.

paleontology↗

bioRxiv2021

Comparative anatomy and phylogenetic contribution of intracranial osseous canals and cavities in armadillos and glyptodonts (Xenarthra, Cingulata).

The evolutionary history of the Cingulata, as for many groups, remains a highly debated topic to this day, particularly for one of their most emblematic representatives: the glyptodonts. There is no consensus among morphological and molecular phylogenies relative to their position within Cingulata. As demonstrated by recent works, the study of the internal anatomy constitutes a promising path for enriching morphological matrices for the phylogenetic study of armadillos. However, internal cranial anatomy remains under-studied in the Cingulata. Here we explored and compared the anatomy of intracranial osseous canals and cavities in a diverse sample of extant and extinct cingulates, including the earliest well-preserved glyptodont crania. The virtual 3D reconstruction (using X-ray microtomography) of selected canals, i.e., the nasolacrimal canal, the palatine canal, the sphenopalatine canal, the canal for the frontal diploic vein, the transverse canal, the orbitotemporal canal, the canal for the capsuloparietal emissary vein and the posttemporal canal, and alveolar cavities related to cranial vascularization, innervation or tooth insertion allowed us to compare the locations, trajectories and shape of these structures and to discuss their potential interest for cingulate systematics. We tentatively reconstructed evolutionary scenarios for eight selected traits on these structures, in which glyptodonts often showed a greater resemblance to pampatheres, to the genus Proeutatus and/or to chlamyphorines. This latter pattern was partly congruent with recent molecular hypotheses, but more research is needed on these resemblances and on the potential effects of development and allometry on the observed variations. Overall, these comparisons have enabled us to highlight new anatomical variation that may be of great interest to further explore the evolutionary history of cingulates and the origins of glyptodonts on a morphological basis.

evolutionary biology↗