In this paper, 191 ceramic zoomorphic motifs from the lowlands of the Parana River (northeastern Argentina) are taxonomically identified. Subsequently, this iconographic record is compared with the available zooarchaeological record to contrast the animals depicted in pre-Hispanic art with those actually consumed. The sample analyzed, obtained from museum collections and author excavations, was recovered from complex hunter-gatherer sites dating from between 1056 +/- 47 and 488 +/- 24 years C-14 BP. The data show discordance between the animals routinely hunted for food (fish, small rodents, and deer) and those frequently portrayed in the pre-Hispanic ceramic (birds, felines, capybaras, and ophidians). This analysis attempts to further our understanding of human-animal interaction and to delve into the symbolic roles that some faunal species played in the small-scale societies that inhabited the area during the Late Holocene.