Cenozoic High Latitude Heterochroneity of Southern Hemisphere Marine Faunas

Discovery of 11 genera, in five classes within the Mollusca, Echinodermata, and Arthropoda in upper Eocene rocks on Seymour Island, Antarctica, previously known only from Late Cenozoic in mid-latitudes, suggests that the high latitude region of the Southern Hemisphere acted as a center of origin and...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Science
Main Authors: Zinsmeister, William J., Feldmann, Rodney M.
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) 1984
Subjects:
Antarctic
Arctic
Seymour
Seymour Island
Antarc*
Antarctica
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.224.4646.281
https://www.science.org/doi/pdf/10.1126/science.224.4646.281
Description
Summary:Discovery of 11 genera, in five classes within the Mollusca, Echinodermata, and Arthropoda in upper Eocene rocks on Seymour Island, Antarctica, previously known only from Late Cenozoic in mid-latitudes, suggests that the high latitude region of the Southern Hemisphere acted as a center of origin and dispersal for a broad spectrum of taxa. Precursors to modern deep- and shallow-water mid-latitude forms evolved and flourished in the high latitudes until conditions in lower latitudes favored their dispersal. These observations of Antarctic marine invertebrates corroborate those recently made about terrestrial mammals and plants in the Arctic.

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