Migration of Triassic tetrapods to Antarctica
Summary The earliest known tetrapods in Antarctica occur in fluvial deposits just above the Permian-Triassic boundary in the central Transantarctic Mountains. These fossils belong to the Lystrosaurus Zone fauna that is best known from the Karoo basin in South Africa. The Antarctic fauna is less dive...
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| Format: | Text |
| Language: | English |
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| Online Access: | http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.561.8691 http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2007/1047/ea/of2007-1047ea047.pdf |
| Summary: | Summary The earliest known tetrapods in Antarctica occur in fluvial deposits just above the Permian-Triassic boundary in the central Transantarctic Mountains. These fossils belong to the Lystrosaurus Zone fauna that is best known from the Karoo basin in South Africa. The Antarctic fauna is less diverse because of fewer collecting opportunities and a higher paleolatitude (65º vs. 41º). Many species are in common. Lystrosaurus maccaigi, which is found near the base of the Triassic in Antarctica, has been reported only from the Upper Permian in the Karoo. Two other species of Lystrosaurus in Antarctica are also likely to have originated in the Permian. We hypothesize that tetrapods expanded their range into higher latitudes during global warming at the Permian-Triassic boundary. The migration route of tetrapods into Antarctica was most likely along the foreland basin that stretched from South Africa to the central Transantarctic Mountains along the Panthalassan margin of Gondwana. |
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