Basal Primatomorpha colonized Ellesmere Island (Arctic Canada) during the hyperthermal conditions of the early Eocene climatic optimum.
Anthropogenically induced warming is transforming Arctic ecosystems across a geologically short timescale, but earlier episodes of Earth history provide insights on the nature and limitations of biotic change in a rapidly warming Arctic. Late early Eocene strata (~52 Ma) of the Margaret Formation on...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:d180fa23d87b43dd81a9404459ad46ba 2023-05-15T14:53:35+02:00 Basal Primatomorpha colonized Ellesmere Island (Arctic Canada) during the hyperthermal conditions of the early Eocene climatic optimum. Kristen Miller Kristen Tietjen K Christopher Beard 2023-01-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0280114 https://doaj.org/article/d180fa23d87b43dd81a9404459ad46ba EN eng Public Library of Science (PLoS) https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0280114 https://doaj.org/toc/1932-6203 1932-6203 doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0280114 https://doaj.org/article/d180fa23d87b43dd81a9404459ad46ba PLoS ONE, Vol 18, Iss 1, p e0280114 (2023) Medicine R Science Q article 2023 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0280114 2023-03-26T01:34:30Z Anthropogenically induced warming is transforming Arctic ecosystems across a geologically short timescale, but earlier episodes of Earth history provide insights on the nature and limitations of biotic change in a rapidly warming Arctic. Late early Eocene strata (~52 Ma) of the Margaret Formation on Ellesmere Island, Nunavut, Canada sample a warm temperate ecosystem with a polar light regime situated at ~77°N paleolatitude. This extinct boreal ecosystem hosted a diversity of early Cenozoic vertebrates, including thermophilic taxa such as crocodilians and tapiroid perissodactyls. Here we describe two new species of the early primatomorphan Ignacius from Ellesmere, which are by far the northernmost known records for Paleogene Primatomorpha. Ellesmere species of Ignacius are sister taxa, indicating a single colonization of Ellesmere from farther south in North America coincident with the onset of the hyperthermal Early Eocene Climatic Optimum (EECO). The Ellesmere Ignacius clade differs from closely related taxa inhabiting mid-latitudes in being larger (thereby conforming to Bergmann's rule) and having modified dentition and muscles of mastication for a dietary regime emphasizing hard objects, possibly reflecting an increased reliance on fallback foods during long polar winters. The late early Eocene mammalian fauna of Ellesmere indicates that its unique paleoenvironment rendered it uninhabitable to some clades, including euprimates, while selected taxa were able to adapt to its challenging conditions and diversify. Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic Ellesmere Island Nunavut Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Arctic Nunavut Ellesmere Island Canada PLOS ONE 18 1 e0280114 |
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Open Polar |
collection |
Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
Medicine R Science Q |
spellingShingle |
Medicine R Science Q Kristen Miller Kristen Tietjen K Christopher Beard Basal Primatomorpha colonized Ellesmere Island (Arctic Canada) during the hyperthermal conditions of the early Eocene climatic optimum. |
topic_facet |
Medicine R Science Q |
description |
Anthropogenically induced warming is transforming Arctic ecosystems across a geologically short timescale, but earlier episodes of Earth history provide insights on the nature and limitations of biotic change in a rapidly warming Arctic. Late early Eocene strata (~52 Ma) of the Margaret Formation on Ellesmere Island, Nunavut, Canada sample a warm temperate ecosystem with a polar light regime situated at ~77°N paleolatitude. This extinct boreal ecosystem hosted a diversity of early Cenozoic vertebrates, including thermophilic taxa such as crocodilians and tapiroid perissodactyls. Here we describe two new species of the early primatomorphan Ignacius from Ellesmere, which are by far the northernmost known records for Paleogene Primatomorpha. Ellesmere species of Ignacius are sister taxa, indicating a single colonization of Ellesmere from farther south in North America coincident with the onset of the hyperthermal Early Eocene Climatic Optimum (EECO). The Ellesmere Ignacius clade differs from closely related taxa inhabiting mid-latitudes in being larger (thereby conforming to Bergmann's rule) and having modified dentition and muscles of mastication for a dietary regime emphasizing hard objects, possibly reflecting an increased reliance on fallback foods during long polar winters. The late early Eocene mammalian fauna of Ellesmere indicates that its unique paleoenvironment rendered it uninhabitable to some clades, including euprimates, while selected taxa were able to adapt to its challenging conditions and diversify. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Kristen Miller Kristen Tietjen K Christopher Beard |
author_facet |
Kristen Miller Kristen Tietjen K Christopher Beard |
author_sort |
Kristen Miller |
title |
Basal Primatomorpha colonized Ellesmere Island (Arctic Canada) during the hyperthermal conditions of the early Eocene climatic optimum. |
title_short |
Basal Primatomorpha colonized Ellesmere Island (Arctic Canada) during the hyperthermal conditions of the early Eocene climatic optimum. |
title_full |
Basal Primatomorpha colonized Ellesmere Island (Arctic Canada) during the hyperthermal conditions of the early Eocene climatic optimum. |
title_fullStr |
Basal Primatomorpha colonized Ellesmere Island (Arctic Canada) during the hyperthermal conditions of the early Eocene climatic optimum. |
title_full_unstemmed |
Basal Primatomorpha colonized Ellesmere Island (Arctic Canada) during the hyperthermal conditions of the early Eocene climatic optimum. |
title_sort |
basal primatomorpha colonized ellesmere island (arctic canada) during the hyperthermal conditions of the early eocene climatic optimum. |
publisher |
Public Library of Science (PLoS) |
publishDate |
2023 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0280114 https://doaj.org/article/d180fa23d87b43dd81a9404459ad46ba |
geographic |
Arctic Nunavut Ellesmere Island Canada |
geographic_facet |
Arctic Nunavut Ellesmere Island Canada |
genre |
Arctic Ellesmere Island Nunavut |
genre_facet |
Arctic Ellesmere Island Nunavut |
op_source |
PLoS ONE, Vol 18, Iss 1, p e0280114 (2023) |
op_relation |
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0280114 https://doaj.org/toc/1932-6203 1932-6203 doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0280114 https://doaj.org/article/d180fa23d87b43dd81a9404459ad46ba |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0280114 |
container_title |
PLOS ONE |
container_volume |
18 |
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1 |
container_start_page |
e0280114 |
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