QUATERNARY MAMMALS FROM ES-08 CAVE, PRUDENTE DE MORAIS MUNICIPALITY, MINAS GERAIS STATE: TAPHONOMIC AND TAXONOMIC ANALYSES.

The work developed at the cave ES-08, localized in Escrivania's outcrop, at Prudente de Morais, MG, was done to understand: (i) the mechanisms of transport and sedimentation that contributed to mold the sedimentary deposit that consists of a fossiliferous carbonated soil; (ii) to identify taxonomically the bioclasts; (iii) to identify the taphonomic processes and their agents; and (iv) to propound a taphonomic method of collection of fossils preserved in carbonate matrix deposited in caves. Among the 191 bioclasts collected, 40 fossils were identified and attributed to the following taxa: Mylodontidae, Dasypus novemcinctus, Lagomorpha, Cuniculus major, Speothos sp., Eira barbara e Tayassu pecari. The taphonomic alterations observed in the fossils, the characteristics of the cave and of the deposit itself show that the fossiliferous sediment was deposited through the action of mudflow. The method adopted for the taphonomic collection was essential. Through this method we could rescue a high number of fossils in good conditions and observed how the bioclasts were arranged in the carbonate matrix, representing an unusual study on skeletal remains preserved in carbonated matrix in caves.