A high latitude hesperornithiform (Aves) from Devon Island: palaeobiogeography and size distribution of North American hesperornithiforms
A new hesperornithiform bird specimen from Devon Island in the Canadian High Arctic is represented by three cervical vertebrae and is assigned to Canadaga arctica. The new specimen is only the second occurrence of C. arctica and corresponds in morphology and size to the type specimen from Bylot Isla...
Published in: | Journal of Systematic Palaeontology |
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2011
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ftsouthampton:oai:eprints.soton.ac.uk:201163 2023-07-30T04:01:21+02:00 A high latitude hesperornithiform (Aves) from Devon Island: palaeobiogeography and size distribution of North American hesperornithiforms Wilson, Laura E. Chin, Karen Cumbaa, Stephen Dyke, Gareth 2011 https://eprints.soton.ac.uk/201163/ unknown Wilson, Laura E., Chin, Karen, Cumbaa, Stephen and Dyke, Gareth (2011) A high latitude hesperornithiform (Aves) from Devon Island: palaeobiogeography and size distribution of North American hesperornithiforms. Journal of Systematic Palaeontology, 9 (1), 9-23. (doi:10.1080/14772019.2010.502910 <http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14772019.2010.502910>). Article PeerReviewed 2011 ftsouthampton https://doi.org/10.1080/14772019.2010.502910 2023-07-09T21:24:06Z A new hesperornithiform bird specimen from Devon Island in the Canadian High Arctic is represented by three cervical vertebrae and is assigned to Canadaga arctica. The new specimen is only the second occurrence of C. arctica and corresponds in morphology and size to the type specimen from Bylot Island, also in the High Arctic. This new fossil adds to the record of North American hesperornithiforms, which had a well-documented Arctic presence. Body size comparisons of all North American specimens from the Campanian reveal that the largest known hesperornithiforms were from high latitudes, but otherwise no clear correlation between body size and latitude is apparent. The largest hesperornithiforms (Canadaga arctica and Heperornis regalis) are found at the highest latitudes, while the smallest forms (Baptornis advenus and Parahesperornis alexi) are found at the southern extent of the birds’ range. Coniornis (a medium body-sized genus) is only found in the middle of the range. No size trends are discernable within the genus Hesperornis or within the species H. regalis. The presence of large hesperornithiforms at high latitudes may indicate that either strong seasonal distribution of resources contributed to larger body sizes at higher latitudes, or Campanian thermal gradients along the Western Interior Seaway were significant enough to affect body size for thermoregulatory reasons (sensu Bergmann's rule). The absence of body size trends within mid-latitude Hesperornis specimens suggests that the climatic gradient in the southern portion of the Seaway was not strong enough to force morphological evolutionary responses, or that character displacement, migration and/or other factors affected body size. Sample size and the inherent problems of an incomplete fossil record must also be considered. Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic Bylot Island Devon Island University of Southampton: e-Prints Soton Arctic Bylot Island Devon Island ENVELOPE(-88.000,-88.000,75.252,75.252) Journal of Systematic Palaeontology 9 1 9 23 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
University of Southampton: e-Prints Soton |
op_collection_id |
ftsouthampton |
language |
unknown |
description |
A new hesperornithiform bird specimen from Devon Island in the Canadian High Arctic is represented by three cervical vertebrae and is assigned to Canadaga arctica. The new specimen is only the second occurrence of C. arctica and corresponds in morphology and size to the type specimen from Bylot Island, also in the High Arctic. This new fossil adds to the record of North American hesperornithiforms, which had a well-documented Arctic presence. Body size comparisons of all North American specimens from the Campanian reveal that the largest known hesperornithiforms were from high latitudes, but otherwise no clear correlation between body size and latitude is apparent. The largest hesperornithiforms (Canadaga arctica and Heperornis regalis) are found at the highest latitudes, while the smallest forms (Baptornis advenus and Parahesperornis alexi) are found at the southern extent of the birds’ range. Coniornis (a medium body-sized genus) is only found in the middle of the range. No size trends are discernable within the genus Hesperornis or within the species H. regalis. The presence of large hesperornithiforms at high latitudes may indicate that either strong seasonal distribution of resources contributed to larger body sizes at higher latitudes, or Campanian thermal gradients along the Western Interior Seaway were significant enough to affect body size for thermoregulatory reasons (sensu Bergmann's rule). The absence of body size trends within mid-latitude Hesperornis specimens suggests that the climatic gradient in the southern portion of the Seaway was not strong enough to force morphological evolutionary responses, or that character displacement, migration and/or other factors affected body size. Sample size and the inherent problems of an incomplete fossil record must also be considered. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Wilson, Laura E. Chin, Karen Cumbaa, Stephen Dyke, Gareth |
spellingShingle |
Wilson, Laura E. Chin, Karen Cumbaa, Stephen Dyke, Gareth A high latitude hesperornithiform (Aves) from Devon Island: palaeobiogeography and size distribution of North American hesperornithiforms |
author_facet |
Wilson, Laura E. Chin, Karen Cumbaa, Stephen Dyke, Gareth |
author_sort |
Wilson, Laura E. |
title |
A high latitude hesperornithiform (Aves) from Devon Island: palaeobiogeography and size distribution of North American hesperornithiforms |
title_short |
A high latitude hesperornithiform (Aves) from Devon Island: palaeobiogeography and size distribution of North American hesperornithiforms |
title_full |
A high latitude hesperornithiform (Aves) from Devon Island: palaeobiogeography and size distribution of North American hesperornithiforms |
title_fullStr |
A high latitude hesperornithiform (Aves) from Devon Island: palaeobiogeography and size distribution of North American hesperornithiforms |
title_full_unstemmed |
A high latitude hesperornithiform (Aves) from Devon Island: palaeobiogeography and size distribution of North American hesperornithiforms |
title_sort |
high latitude hesperornithiform (aves) from devon island: palaeobiogeography and size distribution of north american hesperornithiforms |
publishDate |
2011 |
url |
https://eprints.soton.ac.uk/201163/ |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-88.000,-88.000,75.252,75.252) |
geographic |
Arctic Bylot Island Devon Island |
geographic_facet |
Arctic Bylot Island Devon Island |
genre |
Arctic Bylot Island Devon Island |
genre_facet |
Arctic Bylot Island Devon Island |
op_relation |
Wilson, Laura E., Chin, Karen, Cumbaa, Stephen and Dyke, Gareth (2011) A high latitude hesperornithiform (Aves) from Devon Island: palaeobiogeography and size distribution of North American hesperornithiforms. Journal of Systematic Palaeontology, 9 (1), 9-23. (doi:10.1080/14772019.2010.502910 <http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14772019.2010.502910>). |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1080/14772019.2010.502910 |
container_title |
Journal of Systematic Palaeontology |
container_volume |
9 |
container_issue |
1 |
container_start_page |
9 |
op_container_end_page |
23 |
_version_ |
1772812089377685504 |