The palaeobiology of high latitude birds from the early Eocene greenhouse of Ellesmere Island, Arctic Canada.
Fossils attributable to the extinct waterfowl clade Presbyornithidae and the large flightless Gastornithidae from the early Eocene (~52-53 Ma) of Ellesmere Island, in northernmost Canada are the oldest Cenozoic avian fossils from the Arctic. Except for its slightly larger size, the Arctic presbyorni...
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ftunicolboulder:oai:scholar.colorado.edu:geol_facpapers-1002 2023-05-15T14:33:49+02:00 The palaeobiology of high latitude birds from the early Eocene greenhouse of Ellesmere Island, Arctic Canada. Stidham, Thomas A Eberle, Jaelyn J 2016-02-12T08:00:00Z application/pdf https://scholar.colorado.edu/geol_facpapers/4 https://scholar.colorado.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1002&context=geol_facpapers unknown CU Scholar https://scholar.colorado.edu/geol_facpapers/4 https://scholar.colorado.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1002&context=geol_facpapers Geological Sciences Faculty Contributions Altitude Animals Arctic Regions Birds Canada Fossils Geography Humerus Islands Paleontology Time Factors text 2016 ftunicolboulder 2018-10-07T09:05:45Z Fossils attributable to the extinct waterfowl clade Presbyornithidae and the large flightless Gastornithidae from the early Eocene (~52-53 Ma) of Ellesmere Island, in northernmost Canada are the oldest Cenozoic avian fossils from the Arctic. Except for its slightly larger size, the Arctic presbyornithid humerus is not distinguishable from fossils of Presbyornis pervetus from the western United States, and the Gastornis phalanx is within the known size range of mid-latitude individuals. The occurrence of Presbyornis above the Arctic Circle in the Eocene could be the result of annual migration like that of its living duck and geese relatives, or it may have been a year-round resident similar to some Eocene mammals on Ellesmere and some extant species of sea ducks. Gastornis, along with some of the mammalian and reptilian members of the Eocene Arctic fauna, likely over-wintered in the Arctic. Despite the milder (above freezing) Eocene climate on Ellesmere Island, prolonged periods of darkness occurred during the winter. Presence of these extinct birds at both mid and high latitudes on the northern continents provides evidence that future increases in climatic warming (closer to Eocene levels) could lead to the establishment of new migratory or resident populations within the Arctic Circle. Text Arctic Ellesmere Island University of Colorado, Boulder: CU Scholar Arctic Ellesmere Island Canada |
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Open Polar |
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University of Colorado, Boulder: CU Scholar |
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ftunicolboulder |
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topic |
Altitude Animals Arctic Regions Birds Canada Fossils Geography Humerus Islands Paleontology Time Factors |
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Altitude Animals Arctic Regions Birds Canada Fossils Geography Humerus Islands Paleontology Time Factors Stidham, Thomas A Eberle, Jaelyn J The palaeobiology of high latitude birds from the early Eocene greenhouse of Ellesmere Island, Arctic Canada. |
topic_facet |
Altitude Animals Arctic Regions Birds Canada Fossils Geography Humerus Islands Paleontology Time Factors |
description |
Fossils attributable to the extinct waterfowl clade Presbyornithidae and the large flightless Gastornithidae from the early Eocene (~52-53 Ma) of Ellesmere Island, in northernmost Canada are the oldest Cenozoic avian fossils from the Arctic. Except for its slightly larger size, the Arctic presbyornithid humerus is not distinguishable from fossils of Presbyornis pervetus from the western United States, and the Gastornis phalanx is within the known size range of mid-latitude individuals. The occurrence of Presbyornis above the Arctic Circle in the Eocene could be the result of annual migration like that of its living duck and geese relatives, or it may have been a year-round resident similar to some Eocene mammals on Ellesmere and some extant species of sea ducks. Gastornis, along with some of the mammalian and reptilian members of the Eocene Arctic fauna, likely over-wintered in the Arctic. Despite the milder (above freezing) Eocene climate on Ellesmere Island, prolonged periods of darkness occurred during the winter. Presence of these extinct birds at both mid and high latitudes on the northern continents provides evidence that future increases in climatic warming (closer to Eocene levels) could lead to the establishment of new migratory or resident populations within the Arctic Circle. |
format |
Text |
author |
Stidham, Thomas A Eberle, Jaelyn J |
author_facet |
Stidham, Thomas A Eberle, Jaelyn J |
author_sort |
Stidham, Thomas A |
title |
The palaeobiology of high latitude birds from the early Eocene greenhouse of Ellesmere Island, Arctic Canada. |
title_short |
The palaeobiology of high latitude birds from the early Eocene greenhouse of Ellesmere Island, Arctic Canada. |
title_full |
The palaeobiology of high latitude birds from the early Eocene greenhouse of Ellesmere Island, Arctic Canada. |
title_fullStr |
The palaeobiology of high latitude birds from the early Eocene greenhouse of Ellesmere Island, Arctic Canada. |
title_full_unstemmed |
The palaeobiology of high latitude birds from the early Eocene greenhouse of Ellesmere Island, Arctic Canada. |
title_sort |
palaeobiology of high latitude birds from the early eocene greenhouse of ellesmere island, arctic canada. |
publisher |
CU Scholar |
publishDate |
2016 |
url |
https://scholar.colorado.edu/geol_facpapers/4 https://scholar.colorado.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1002&context=geol_facpapers |
geographic |
Arctic Ellesmere Island Canada |
geographic_facet |
Arctic Ellesmere Island Canada |
genre |
Arctic Ellesmere Island |
genre_facet |
Arctic Ellesmere Island |
op_source |
Geological Sciences Faculty Contributions |
op_relation |
https://scholar.colorado.edu/geol_facpapers/4 https://scholar.colorado.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1002&context=geol_facpapers |
_version_ |
1766307003749105664 |