The Astarte (Bivalvia: Astartidae) that document the earliest opening of Bering Strait

The presence of the bivalve mollusks Astarte ( Tridonta ) borealis Schumacher and A. ( T. ) hopkinsi new species, in uppermost Miocene or lower Pliocene strata of the Milky River Formation on the Alaska Peninsula, southwestern Alaska, signals the earliest opening of Bering Strait. These species migr...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of Paleontology
Main Authors: Marincovich, Louie, Barinov, Konstantin B., Oleinik, Anton E.
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Cambridge University Press (CUP) 2002
Subjects:
Paleontology
Arctic
Arctic Ocean
Bering Strait
Pacific
Alaska
Tridonta borealis
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0022336000041664
https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0022336000041664
Description
Summary:The presence of the bivalve mollusks Astarte ( Tridonta ) borealis Schumacher and A. ( T. ) hopkinsi new species, in uppermost Miocene or lower Pliocene strata of the Milky River Formation on the Alaska Peninsula, southwestern Alaska, signals the earliest opening of Bering Strait. These species migrated from the Arctic Ocean into the North Pacific when the Bering Strait first flooded and, along with co-occurring marine diatoms, are primary evidence for the earliest opening of the strait, in the latest Miocene or early Pliocene. These paleogeographically important Alaskan Astarte have been cited in this context, but have not been previously illustrated or discussed.

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