Invertebrates from the Low Head Member (Polonez Cove Formation, Oligocene) at Vaureal Peak, King George Island, West Antarctica

Eight taxa of marine invertebrates, including two new bivalve species, are described from the Low Head Member of the Polonez Cove Formation (latest early Oligocene) cropping out in the Vaureal Peak area, King George Island, West Antarctica. The fossil assemblage includes representatives of Brachiopo...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Antarctic Science
Main Authors: Quaglio, Fernanda, Anelli, Luiz E., Santos, Paulo R. dos, Perinott, José Alexandre de Jesus, Rocha-Campos, Antonio C.
Other Authors: Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP)
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Cambridge University Press 2008
Subjects:
bivalves
brachiopods
Bryozoa
Echinoidea
Palaeogene
Pectinidae
Polychaeta
taxonomy
Antarctic
Antarctic Peninsula
Drake Passage
King George Island
Low Head
Polonez Cove
West Antarctica
Antarc*
Antarctic Science
Antarctica
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/11449/42536
https://doi.org/10.1017/S0954102007000867
Description
Summary:Eight taxa of marine invertebrates, including two new bivalve species, are described from the Low Head Member of the Polonez Cove Formation (latest early Oligocene) cropping out in the Vaureal Peak area, King George Island, West Antarctica. The fossil assemblage includes representatives of Brachiopoda (genera Neothyris sp. and Liothyrella sp.), Bivalvia (Adamussium auristriatum sp. nov., ?Adamussium cf. A. alanbeui Jonkers, and Limatula (Antarctolima) ferraziana sp. nov.), Bryozoa, Polychaeta (serpulid tubes) and Echinodermata. Specimens occur in debris flows deposits of the Low Head Member, as part of a fan delta setting in a high energy, shallow marine environment. Liothyrella sp., Adamussium auristriatum sp. nov. and Limatula ferraziana sp. nov. are among the oldest records for these genera in King George Island. In spite of their restrict number and diversification, bivalves and brachiopods from this study display an overall dispersal pattern that roughly fits in the clockwise circulation of marine currents around Antarctica accomplished in two steps. The first followed the opening of the Tasmanian Gateway at the Eocene/Oligocene boundary, along the eastern margin of Antarctica, and the second took place in post-Palaeogene time, following the Drake Passage opening between Antarctic Peninsula and South America, along the western margin of Antarctica.

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