Globally discordant Isocrinida (Crinoidea) migration confirms asynchronous Marine Mesozoic Revolution

• Published in: Communications Biology
• Main Authors: Whittle, RJ, Hunter, AW, Cantrill, DJ, McNamara, KJ
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: NATURE PUBLISHING GROUP 2018
• Subjects: Antarc*; Antarctica
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/11343/304302

The Marine Mesozoic Revolution (MMR, starting ~200 million years ago) changed the ecological structure of sea floor communities due to increased predation pressure. It was thought to have caused the migration of less mobile invertebrates, such as stalked isocrinid crinoids, into deeper marine environments by the end of the Mesozoic. Recent studies questioned this hypothesis, suggesting the MMR was globally asynchronous. Alternatively, Cenozoic occurrences from Antarctica and South America were described as retrograde reversions to Palaeozoic type communities in cool water. Our results provide conclusive evidence that isocrinid migration from shallow to deep water did not occur at the same time all over the world. The description of a substantial new fauna from Antarctica and Australia, from often-overlooked isolated columnals and articulated crinoids, in addition to the first compilation to our knowledge of Cenozoic Southern Hemisphere isocrinid data, demonstrates a continuous record of shallow marine isocrinids from the Cretaceous-Paleogene to the Eocene/Oligocene boundary.