Exceptionally preserved lacustrine ostracods from the Middle Miocene of Antarctica: implications for high-latitude palaeoenvironment at 77° south

• Published in: Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences
• Main Authors: Williams, Mark, Siveter, David J, Ashworth, Allan C, Wilby, Philip R, Horne, David J, Lewis, Adam R, Marchant, David R
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: The Royal Society 2008
• Subjects: Boreas; Olympus; Olympus Range; Antarc*; Antarctica; Tundra
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2008.0396; https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/pdf/10.1098/rspb.2008.0396; https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/full-xml/10.1098/rspb.2008.0396

A newly discovered Konservat-Lagerstätte from the Middle Miocene of the western Olympus Range, Dry Valleys, Antarctica, yields cypridoidean ostracods complete with preserved body and appendages. This is the first record of three-dimensionally fossilized animal soft tissues from the continent. The ostracods are preserved in goethite, secondary after pyrite, representing a novel mode of exceptional preservation. They signal a high-latitude (greater than 77° south) lake setting (Palaeolake Boreas) viable for benthic animal colonization prior to 14 Myr ago. Their presence supports the notion of warmer, tundra-like environmental conditions persisting in the Dry Valleys until the Middle Miocene.