A DIPLOGLOSSINE RECORD FROM THE PLEISTOCENE OF CUBA

1. A DIPLOGLOSSINE RECORD FROM THE PLEISTOCENE
OF CUBA
E.V. Syromyatnikova1,2,* and E. Aranda3
1Borissiak Paleontological Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia
2Zoological Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences, St. Petersburg, Russia
3Museo Nacional de Historia Natural de Cuba, La Habana, Cuba
Funded by RFBR (Russian Foundation for Basic Research) and CITMA (Ministerio de Ciencia, Tecnología y Medio Ambiente) under the research project no. 18-
54-34004

2. El Abrón Cave, Sierra de la Güira, Pinar del Río Province, Cuba
(Syromyatnikova et al., 2021)

3. The excavations in El Abrón Cave in 2019
• El Abrón Cave is richly fossiliferous, nine layers of
different thicknesses are recognised

4. extant Diploglossus delasagra (Cocteau, 1838) Diploglossus from El Abrón Cave
• The material on Diploglossus comes from layer
VII (0.80–1.72 m) with a radiocarbon date of 17
406 ± 161 14C BP (20 050–21 474 cal BP) of the
late Pleistocene age.
• The material on Diploglossus from El Abrón Cave
includes three almost complete dentaries and one
maxilla.

5. CONCLUSIONS:
• Diploglossus from the late Pleistocene of El Abrón Cave closely matches extant
Diploglossus delasagra, which is the most common species of Diploglossus in Cuba.
• However, some differences are apparent in the size of bones, shape of facial
process of maxilla, shape of the coronoid facet of dentary, and presence of an
additional foramen of maxilla.
• The specimens of Diploglossus from El Abrón Cave represent the first fossil
record of this genus in Cuba.