A Puma concolor (Carnivora: Felidae) in the Middle-Late Holocene landscapes of the Brazilian Northeast (Bahia): submerged cave deposits and stable isotopes

Abstract Puma concolor is currently widespread in South America, but its fossil record is still poorly known in the Continent, particularly in Brazil. Here we report the find of a nearly complete skeleton of P. concolor recovered from underwater Quaternary deposits at the Impossivel-Ioio Cave System, Chapada Diamantina (Bahia, Brazil). The P. concolor remains were found disarticulated but piled together; they are in general quite well preserved. Radiocarbon dating from a tooth sample (upper carnassial) indicates a Middle-Late Holocene age of ca. 4 ka BP. A series of comparative morphometric analyses suggest that the specimen is a male and shares similar size proportions to extant specimens in the region. Isotopic analyses made with a tooth sample indicate a diet largely based on C3 feeding herbivores, potentially associated to landscapes predominantly covered by Seasonally Dry Tropical Forest, similar to the Present-day Caatinga vegetation. The δ18O outcome value of -3.4‰ and the modeled puma’s negative trend in adaptability towards the present (after 6 ka) seem to be consistent with the hypothesized Middle-Holocene (∼4 ka) shift in climatic tendencies in the Brazilian Northeast from a more relatively humid environment to a drier climate with longer drought periods, presenting severe semiarid conditions somewhat similar to the precolonial conditions. Cave surroundings fit well with the description of the present progressive trend of changes in physiognomy related to land-use and associated with processes of fragmentation and desertification in the Caatinga.