Exceptionally preserved lacustrine ostracods from the Middle Miocene of Antarctica : implications for high-latitude palaeoenvironment at 77 degrees south

• Published in: Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences
• Main Authors: Williams, Mark, Siveter, David J., Ashworth, Allan C., Wilby, Philip, Horne, David J., Lewis, Adam R., Marchant, David R.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Royal Society 2008
• Subjects: Earth Sciences; Boreas; Olympus; Olympus Range; Antarc*; Antarctica; Tundra
• Online Access: http://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/5606/; https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/5606/1/Antarctic_ostracod_final.pdf; http://publishing.royalsociety.org/

A newly discovered Konservat-Lagerstätte from the Middle Miocene of the western Olympus Range, Dry Valleys, Antarctica, yields cypridoidean ostracods complete with preserved body and appendages. This is the first record of three-dimensionally fossilized animal soft tissues from the continent. The ostracods are preserved in goethite, secondary after pyrite, representing a novel mode of exceptional preservation. They signal a high-latitude (greater than 77°south) lake setting (Palaeolake Boreas) viable for benthic animal colonization prior to 14Myr ago. Their presence supports the notion of warmer, tundra-like environmental conditions persisting in the Dry Valleys until the Middle Miocene.