New mammalian and avian records from the late Eocene La Meseta and Submeseta formations of Seymour Island, Antarctica
The middle–late Eocene of Antarctica was characterized by dramatic change as the continent became isolated from the other southern landmasses and the Antarctic Circumpolar Current formed. These events were crucial to the formation of the permanent Antarctic ice cap, affecting both regional and globa...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:7b477363473b496aaad8476d3c953994 2023-10-01T03:52:08+02:00 New mammalian and avian records from the late Eocene La Meseta and Submeseta formations of Seymour Island, Antarctica Sarah N. Davis Christopher R. Torres Grace M. Musser James V. Proffitt Nicholas M.A. Crouch Ernest L. Lundelius Matthew C. Lamanna Julia A. Clarke 2020-01-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.8268 https://doaj.org/article/7b477363473b496aaad8476d3c953994 EN eng PeerJ Inc. https://peerj.com/articles/8268.pdf https://peerj.com/articles/8268/ https://doaj.org/toc/2167-8359 doi:10.7717/peerj.8268 2167-8359 https://doaj.org/article/7b477363473b496aaad8476d3c953994 PeerJ, Vol 8, p e8268 (2020) Xenarthra Gruiformes Sphenisciformes Eocene Seymour Island Antarctica Medicine R article 2020 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.8268 2023-09-03T00:43:05Z The middle–late Eocene of Antarctica was characterized by dramatic change as the continent became isolated from the other southern landmasses and the Antarctic Circumpolar Current formed. These events were crucial to the formation of the permanent Antarctic ice cap, affecting both regional and global climate change. Our best insight into how life in the high latitudes responded to this climatic shift is provided by the fossil record from Seymour Island, near the eastern coast of the Antarctic Peninsula. While extensive collections have been made from the La Meseta and Submeseta formations of this island, few avian taxa other than penguins have been described and mammalian postcranial remains have been scarce. Here, we report new fossils from Seymour Island collected by the Antarctic Peninsula Paleontology Project. These include a mammalian metapodial referred to Xenarthra and avian material including a partial tarsometatarsus referred to Gruiformes (cranes, rails, and allies). Penguin fossils (Sphenisciformes) continue to be most abundant in new collections from these deposits. We report several penguin remains including a large spear-like mandible preserving the symphysis, a nearly complete tarsometatarsus with similarities to the large penguin clade Palaeeudyptes but possibly representing a new species, and two small partial tarsometatarsi belonging to the genus Delphinornis. These findings expand our view of Eocene vertebrate faunas on Antarctica. Specifically, the new remains referred to Gruiformes and Xenarthra provide support for previously proposed, but contentious, earliest occurrence records of these clades on the continent. Article in Journal/Newspaper Antarc* Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula Antarctica Ice cap Seymour Island Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula Seymour ENVELOPE(-56.767,-56.767,-64.283,-64.283) Seymour Island ENVELOPE(-56.750,-56.750,-64.283,-64.283) The Antarctic PeerJ 8 e8268 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
Xenarthra Gruiformes Sphenisciformes Eocene Seymour Island Antarctica Medicine R |
spellingShingle |
Xenarthra Gruiformes Sphenisciformes Eocene Seymour Island Antarctica Medicine R Sarah N. Davis Christopher R. Torres Grace M. Musser James V. Proffitt Nicholas M.A. Crouch Ernest L. Lundelius Matthew C. Lamanna Julia A. Clarke New mammalian and avian records from the late Eocene La Meseta and Submeseta formations of Seymour Island, Antarctica |
topic_facet |
Xenarthra Gruiformes Sphenisciformes Eocene Seymour Island Antarctica Medicine R |
description |
The middle–late Eocene of Antarctica was characterized by dramatic change as the continent became isolated from the other southern landmasses and the Antarctic Circumpolar Current formed. These events were crucial to the formation of the permanent Antarctic ice cap, affecting both regional and global climate change. Our best insight into how life in the high latitudes responded to this climatic shift is provided by the fossil record from Seymour Island, near the eastern coast of the Antarctic Peninsula. While extensive collections have been made from the La Meseta and Submeseta formations of this island, few avian taxa other than penguins have been described and mammalian postcranial remains have been scarce. Here, we report new fossils from Seymour Island collected by the Antarctic Peninsula Paleontology Project. These include a mammalian metapodial referred to Xenarthra and avian material including a partial tarsometatarsus referred to Gruiformes (cranes, rails, and allies). Penguin fossils (Sphenisciformes) continue to be most abundant in new collections from these deposits. We report several penguin remains including a large spear-like mandible preserving the symphysis, a nearly complete tarsometatarsus with similarities to the large penguin clade Palaeeudyptes but possibly representing a new species, and two small partial tarsometatarsi belonging to the genus Delphinornis. These findings expand our view of Eocene vertebrate faunas on Antarctica. Specifically, the new remains referred to Gruiformes and Xenarthra provide support for previously proposed, but contentious, earliest occurrence records of these clades on the continent. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Sarah N. Davis Christopher R. Torres Grace M. Musser James V. Proffitt Nicholas M.A. Crouch Ernest L. Lundelius Matthew C. Lamanna Julia A. Clarke |
author_facet |
Sarah N. Davis Christopher R. Torres Grace M. Musser James V. Proffitt Nicholas M.A. Crouch Ernest L. Lundelius Matthew C. Lamanna Julia A. Clarke |
author_sort |
Sarah N. Davis |
title |
New mammalian and avian records from the late Eocene La Meseta and Submeseta formations of Seymour Island, Antarctica |
title_short |
New mammalian and avian records from the late Eocene La Meseta and Submeseta formations of Seymour Island, Antarctica |
title_full |
New mammalian and avian records from the late Eocene La Meseta and Submeseta formations of Seymour Island, Antarctica |
title_fullStr |
New mammalian and avian records from the late Eocene La Meseta and Submeseta formations of Seymour Island, Antarctica |
title_full_unstemmed |
New mammalian and avian records from the late Eocene La Meseta and Submeseta formations of Seymour Island, Antarctica |
title_sort |
new mammalian and avian records from the late eocene la meseta and submeseta formations of seymour island, antarctica |
publisher |
PeerJ Inc. |
publishDate |
2020 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.8268 https://doaj.org/article/7b477363473b496aaad8476d3c953994 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-56.767,-56.767,-64.283,-64.283) ENVELOPE(-56.750,-56.750,-64.283,-64.283) |
geographic |
Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula Seymour Seymour Island The Antarctic |
geographic_facet |
Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula Seymour Seymour Island The Antarctic |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula Antarctica Ice cap Seymour Island |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula Antarctica Ice cap Seymour Island |
op_source |
PeerJ, Vol 8, p e8268 (2020) |
op_relation |
https://peerj.com/articles/8268.pdf https://peerj.com/articles/8268/ https://doaj.org/toc/2167-8359 doi:10.7717/peerj.8268 2167-8359 https://doaj.org/article/7b477363473b496aaad8476d3c953994 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.8268 |
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PeerJ |
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8 |
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e8268 |
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1778517821207085056 |