Late Pleistocene Hippidion saldiasi Roth, 1899 (Mammalia, Perissodactyla) from Calama, northern Chile

This paper describes the Hippidion bones recovered from the Atacama Desert (Calama, Second Region of Chile). The analyzed assemblage corresponds to a nearly complete skeleton from Betecsa 1 site and more poorly preserved remains from Kamac Mayu site. In both H. saldiasi is identified. Two C-14 radiometric determinations indicate late Pleistocene age for these remains (21,070 +/- 100 BP and 21,380 +/- 100 BP). Environmental and diet inferences from stable isotope analysis are also presented. The delta C-13 value from Betecsa 1 horses (-15.45 from bone sample and -16.68 from enamel sample) suggest a dietary adaptation exclusively C-3 feeders. This is the first skull and associated skeleton recovered of this species.