Eocene basilosaurid whales from the la Meseta formation, Marambio (Seymour) Island, Antarctica

• Main Authors: Buono, M.R., Fernández, M.S., Reguero, M.A., Marenssi, S.A., Santillana, S.N., Mörs, T.
• Format: Journal/Newspaper
• Language: unknown
• Subjects: Basilosauridae; Cetacea; Cheek teeth; Mandibles; Paleogene; bone; dispersal; Eocene; fossil record; paleobiogeography; paleoenvironment; Southern Hemisphere; tooth; whale; Antarctic Peninsula; Antarctica; West Antarctica; Bartonia; Antarc*; Antarctic; Seymour Island
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12110/paper_00027014_v53_n3_p296_Buono

Basal fully aquatic whales, the basilosaurids are worldwide known from Bartonian-Priabonian localities, indicating that this group was widely distributed during the late middle Eocene. In the Northern Hemisphere, fossils of basilosaurids are abundant, while records in the Southern Hemisphere are scarce and, in some cases (i.e., Antarctica), doubtful. The presence of basilosaurids in Antarctica was, until now, uncertain because most of the records are based on fragmentary materials that preclude an accurate assignment to known archaeocete taxa. Here we report the findings of mandibles, teeth, and innominate bone remains of basilosaurids recovered from the La Meseta Formation (TELM 4 Lutetian-Bartonian and; TELM 7 Priabonian), in Marambio (Seymour) Island (James Ross Basin, Antarctic Peninsula). These findings confirm the presence of Basilosauridae in the marine realm of Antarctica, increasing our knowledge of the paleobiogeographic distribution of basilosaurids during the middle-late Eocene. In addition, one of these records is among the oldest occurrences of basilosaurids worldwide, indicating a rapid radiation and dispersal of this group since at least the early middle Eocene.