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

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 os...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences
Main Authors: Williams, Mark, Siveter, David J, Ashworth, Allan C, Wilby, Philip R, Horne, David J, Lewis, Adam R, Marchant, David R
Format: Text
Language:English
Published: The Royal Society 2008
Subjects:
Research Article
Boreas
Olympus
Olympus Range
Antarc*
Antarctica
Tundra
Online Access:http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2603191
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18647723
https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2008.0396
Description
Summary: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 14 Myr ago. Their presence supports the notion of warmer, tundra-like environmental conditions persisting in the Dry Valleys until the Middle Miocene.

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