The oldest plesiosaur (Reptilia, Sauropterygia) from Antarctica

Antarctic plesiosaurs are known from the Upper Cretaceous López de Bertodano and Snow Hill Island formations (Campanian to upper Maastrichtian), which crop out within the James Ross Basin region of the Antarctic Peninsula. Here we describe the first plesiosaur fossils from the Lachman Cra...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Polar Research
Main Authors: Alexander Wilhelm Armin Kellner, Tiago Rodrigues Simões, Douglas Riff, Orlando Grillo, Pedro Romano, Helder de Paula, Renato Ramos, Marcelo Carvalho, Juliana Sayão, Gustavo Oliveira, Taissa Rodrigues
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Norwegian Polar Institute 2011
Subjects:
James Ross Island
Antarctica
plesiosauria
Late Cretaceous
Museu Nacional
oldest
Environmental sciences
GE1-350
Oceanography
GC1-1581
Antarctic
The Antarctic
Antarctic Peninsula
Ross Island
Hill Island
Snow Hill Island
Lachman
Lachman Crags
Snow Hill
Antarc*
Polar Research
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.3402/polar.v30i0.7265
https://doaj.org/article/4551190776d14f62ab1afea3642a3642
Description
Summary:Antarctic plesiosaurs are known from the Upper Cretaceous López de Bertodano and Snow Hill Island formations (Campanian to upper Maastrichtian), which crop out within the James Ross Basin region of the Antarctic Peninsula. Here we describe the first plesiosaur fossils from the Lachman Crags Member of the Santa Marta Formation, north-western James Ross Island. This material constitutes the stratigraphically oldest plesiosaur occurrence presently known from Antarctica, extending the occurrence of plesiosaurians in this continent back to Santonian times (86.3–83.5 Mya). Furthermore, MN 7163-V represents the first plesiosaur from this region not referable to the Elasmosauridae nor Aristonectes, indicating a greater diversity of this group of aquatic reptiles in Antarctica than previously suspected.

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