Elephant Seal (Mirounga sp.) from The Pleistocene of the Antofagasta Region, Northern Chile
The genus Mirounga is the largest living member of the Phocidae family (true seals) and includes two species: M. angustirostris and M. leonina. These species exhibit a noticeable antitropical distribution in the Northern and Southern hemispheres, respectively. The evolutionary history of elephant se...
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ftbioone:10.1080/02724634.2014.918883 2024-06-02T08:06:00+00:00 Elephant Seal (Mirounga sp.) from The Pleistocene of the Antofagasta Region, Northern Chile Ana M. Valenzuela-Toro Carolina S. Gutstein Mario E. Suárez Rodrigo Otero Nicholas D. Pyenson Ana M. Valenzuela-Toro Carolina S. Gutstein Mario E. Suárez Rodrigo Otero Nicholas D. Pyenson world 2015-05-01 text/HTML https://doi.org/10.1080/02724634.2014.918883 en eng The Society of Vertebrate Paleontology doi:10.1080/02724634.2014.918883 All rights reserved. https://doi.org/10.1080/02724634.2014.918883 Text 2015 ftbioone https://doi.org/10.1080/02724634.2014.918883 2024-05-07T00:50:56Z The genus Mirounga is the largest living member of the Phocidae family (true seals) and includes two species: M. angustirostris and M. leonina. These species exhibit a noticeable antitropical distribution in the Northern and Southern hemispheres, respectively. The evolutionary history of elephant seals, especially in regard to establishing this antitropical pattern, is poorly known. Nearly all fossils of the genus are isolated remains from the Pleistocene of California (M. angustirostris) and South Africa (M. leonina). Here, we describe new fossil material of Mirounga sp. (incomplete maxilla, dentary, and humerus), from the middle to late Pleistocene of Antofagasta Region, northern Chile. This material constitutes the first fossil occurrence of this species in South America and suggests that during part of the Pleistocene, phocids coexisted with otariids along the eastern edge of the South Pacific Ocean, which contrasts with the current biogeographic pattern in this ocean basin, providing new information about the structure of the pinniped community during the Pleistocene of South America. Text Elephant Seal Elephant Seals BioOne Online Journals Pacific Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 35 3 e918883 |
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English |
description |
The genus Mirounga is the largest living member of the Phocidae family (true seals) and includes two species: M. angustirostris and M. leonina. These species exhibit a noticeable antitropical distribution in the Northern and Southern hemispheres, respectively. The evolutionary history of elephant seals, especially in regard to establishing this antitropical pattern, is poorly known. Nearly all fossils of the genus are isolated remains from the Pleistocene of California (M. angustirostris) and South Africa (M. leonina). Here, we describe new fossil material of Mirounga sp. (incomplete maxilla, dentary, and humerus), from the middle to late Pleistocene of Antofagasta Region, northern Chile. This material constitutes the first fossil occurrence of this species in South America and suggests that during part of the Pleistocene, phocids coexisted with otariids along the eastern edge of the South Pacific Ocean, which contrasts with the current biogeographic pattern in this ocean basin, providing new information about the structure of the pinniped community during the Pleistocene of South America. |
author2 |
Ana M. Valenzuela-Toro Carolina S. Gutstein Mario E. Suárez Rodrigo Otero Nicholas D. Pyenson |
format |
Text |
author |
Ana M. Valenzuela-Toro Carolina S. Gutstein Mario E. Suárez Rodrigo Otero Nicholas D. Pyenson |
spellingShingle |
Ana M. Valenzuela-Toro Carolina S. Gutstein Mario E. Suárez Rodrigo Otero Nicholas D. Pyenson Elephant Seal (Mirounga sp.) from The Pleistocene of the Antofagasta Region, Northern Chile |
author_facet |
Ana M. Valenzuela-Toro Carolina S. Gutstein Mario E. Suárez Rodrigo Otero Nicholas D. Pyenson |
author_sort |
Ana M. Valenzuela-Toro |
title |
Elephant Seal (Mirounga sp.) from The Pleistocene of the Antofagasta Region, Northern Chile |
title_short |
Elephant Seal (Mirounga sp.) from The Pleistocene of the Antofagasta Region, Northern Chile |
title_full |
Elephant Seal (Mirounga sp.) from The Pleistocene of the Antofagasta Region, Northern Chile |
title_fullStr |
Elephant Seal (Mirounga sp.) from The Pleistocene of the Antofagasta Region, Northern Chile |
title_full_unstemmed |
Elephant Seal (Mirounga sp.) from The Pleistocene of the Antofagasta Region, Northern Chile |
title_sort |
elephant seal (mirounga sp.) from the pleistocene of the antofagasta region, northern chile |
publisher |
The Society of Vertebrate Paleontology |
publishDate |
2015 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1080/02724634.2014.918883 |
op_coverage |
world |
geographic |
Pacific |
geographic_facet |
Pacific |
genre |
Elephant Seal Elephant Seals |
genre_facet |
Elephant Seal Elephant Seals |
op_source |
https://doi.org/10.1080/02724634.2014.918883 |
op_relation |
doi:10.1080/02724634.2014.918883 |
op_rights |
All rights reserved. |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1080/02724634.2014.918883 |
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Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology |
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35 |
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3 |
container_start_page |
e918883 |
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1800750889742368768 |