1
|
Crichton AI, Beck RMD, Couzens AMC, Worthy TH, Camens AB, Prideaux GJ. A probable koala from the Oligocene of central Australia provides insights into early diprotodontian evolution. Sci Rep 2023; 13:14521. [PMID: 37666885 PMCID: PMC10477348 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-41471-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/11/2023] [Accepted: 08/27/2023] [Indexed: 09/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Diprotodontians are the morphologically and ecologically most diverse order of marsupials. However, an approximately 30-million-year gap in the Australian terrestrial vertebrate fossil record means that the first half of diprotodontian evolution is unknown. Fossil taxa from immediately either side of this gap are therefore critical for reconstructing the early evolution of the order. Here we report the likely oldest-known koala relatives (Phascolarctidae), from the late Oligocene Pwerte Marnte Marnte Local Fauna (central Australia). These include coeval species of Madakoala and Nimiokoala, as well as a new probable koala (?Phascolarctidae). The new taxon, Lumakoala blackae gen. et sp. nov., was comparable in size to the smallest-known phascolarctids, with body-mass estimates of 2.2-2.6 kg. Its bunoselenodont upper molars retain the primitive metatherian condition of a continuous centrocrista, and distinct stylar cusps B and D which lacked occlusion with the hypoconid. This structural arrangement: (1) suggests a morphocline within Phascolarctidae from bunoselenodonty to selenodonty; and (2) better clarifies the evolutionary transitions between molar morphologies within Vombatomorphia. We hypothesize that the molar form of Lumakoala blackae approximates the ancestral condition of the suborder Vombatiformes. Furthermore, it provides a plausible link between diprotodontians and the putative polydolopimorphians Chulpasia jimthorselli and Thylacotinga bartholomaii from the early Eocene Tingamarra Local Fauna (eastern Australia), which we infer as having molar morphologies consistent with stem diprotodontians.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Arthur I Crichton
- College of Science and Engineering, Flinders University, Bedford Park, 5042, Australia.
| | - Robin M D Beck
- School of Science, Engineering and Environment, University of Salford, Salford, England
| | - Aidan M C Couzens
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA
| | - Trevor H Worthy
- College of Science and Engineering, Flinders University, Bedford Park, 5042, Australia
| | - Aaron B Camens
- College of Science and Engineering, Flinders University, Bedford Park, 5042, Australia
| | - Gavin J Prideaux
- College of Science and Engineering, Flinders University, Bedford Park, 5042, Australia
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Beck RM, Voss RS, Jansa SA. Craniodental Morphology and Phylogeny of Marsupials. BULLETIN OF THE AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY 2022. [DOI: 10.1206/0003-0090.457.1.1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/15/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Robin M.D. Beck
- School of Science, Engineering and Environment University of Salford, U.K. School of Biological, Earth & Environmental Sciences University of New South Wales, Australia Division of Vertebrate Zoology (Mammalogy) American Museum of Natural History
| | - Robert S. Voss
- Division of Vertebrate Zoology (Mammalogy) American Museum of Natural History
| | - Sharon A. Jansa
- Bell Museum and Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior University of Minnesota
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Oliveira ÉV, Carneiro LM, Goin FJ. A new derorhynchid (Mammalia, Metatheria) from the early Eocene Itaboraí fauna of Brazil with comments on its affinities. AN ACAD BRAS CIENC 2021; 93:e20201554. [PMID: 34378646 DOI: 10.1590/0001-3765202120201554] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/29/2020] [Accepted: 02/22/2021] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
A new early Eocene, small-sized metatherian from the Itaboraí fauna is described. The new taxon is recognized on the basis of an incomplete dentary recovered from fissure fillings in the travertine limestones from the Itaboraí Basin, State of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The phylogenetic analysis placed the new genus and species as the sister taxon of Derorhynchus, undescribed Derorhynchidae, and Coona plus Pauladelphys. When compared to Derorhynchus, the new taxon exhibits a shorter dentary, in which the first lower premolar is not separated from the second by a diastema, and shows second and third lower molars with subequal trigonid and talonid width (in Derorhynchus the talonids are wider than the trigonids). This new taxon shows some plesiomorphic traits when compared with the remaining derorhynchids, such as the shallower dentary (less than 1.5 mm), and conical entoconids rather than flattened in shape. The combination of very small size (~13-20g), sharp crests, tall and slender cuspids, broad talonid basins, as well as trigonid taller than the talonid is suggestive of an insectivorous diet for the new taxon.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Édison Vicente Oliveira
- PPGEOC, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Geociências, Departamento de Geologia, Centro de Tecnologia e Geociências, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Av. Acadêmico Hélio Ramos, s/n, Cidade Universitária, 50740-530, Recife, PE, Brazil.,Paleolab, Laboratório de Paleontologia, Departamento de Geologia, Centro de Tecnologia e Geociências, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Av. Acadêmico Hélio Ramos, s/n, Cidade Universitária, 50740-530, Recife, PE, Brazil
| | - Leonardo M Carneiro
- PPGEOC, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Geociências, Departamento de Geologia, Centro de Tecnologia e Geociências, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Av. Acadêmico Hélio Ramos, s/n, Cidade Universitária, 50740-530, Recife, PE, Brazil.,Laboratório de Paleontologia e Paleoecologia da Sociedade de História Natural, Travessa Florêncio Augusto Chagas nº 8B, 2560-230 Torres Vedras, Portugal
| | - Francisco J Goin
- División Paleontología Vertebrados, Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo, Universidad Nacional de La Plata, Paseo del Bosque, s/n, B1900FWA La Plata, Argentina
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
The Early Eocene Climatic Optimum at the Lower Section of the Lumbrera Formation (Ypresian, Salta Province, Northwestern Argentina): Origin and Early Diversification of the Cingulata. J MAMM EVOL 2021. [DOI: 10.1007/s10914-021-09545-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
|
5
|
Chornogubsky L. Interrelationships of Polydolopidae (Mammalia: Marsupialia) from South America and Antarctica. Zool J Linn Soc 2020. [DOI: 10.1093/zoolinnean/zlaa143] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
Polydolopidae is a family of Palaeogene marsupials recorded from outcrops in southern South America and the Antarctic Peninsula. They are mostly represented by skull fragments or maxillary, dentary and molar remains. A taxonomic and systematic revision is carried out with the inclusion of a phylogenetic analysis encompassing almost every polydolopid species and five marsupial species found to be related to them in previous analyses (Bonapartherium hinakusijum, Epidolops ameghinoi, Microbiotherium tehuelchum, Prepidolops didelphoides and Roberthoffstetteria nationalgeographica). The Polydolopidae was recovered as a monophyletic group, even though no resolution about its sister-group can be found. The following genera are recovered: Antarctodolops, Amphidolops, Archaeodolops, Eudolops, Hypodolops gen. nov., Kramadolops, Pliodolops, Pseudolops and two unidentified genera (Gen. et sp. indet 1 and 2). One genus and three new species are recognized. The family appeared at the beginning of the Palaeocene and disappeared during the Early Oligocene. The extinction of the group could be related to climatic deterioration in the Early Oligocene, when temperature and the humidity dropped, provoking desertification in the region where Polydolopids evolved.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Laura Chornogubsky
- CONICET, Sección Paleontología Vertebrados, Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales ‘Bernardino Rivadavia’, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| |
Collapse
|
6
|
Bippus AC, Escapa IH, Wilf P, Tomescu AMF. Fossil fern rhizomes as a model system for exploring epiphyte community structure across geologic time: evidence from Patagonia. PeerJ 2019; 7:e8244. [PMID: 31844594 PMCID: PMC6911690 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.8244] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/18/2017] [Accepted: 11/19/2019] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
Background In extant ecosystems, complex networks of ecological interactions between organisms can be readily studied. In contrast, understanding of such interactions in ecosystems of the geologic past is incomplete. Specifically, in past terrestrial ecosystems we know comparatively little about plant biotic interactions besides saprotrophy, herbivory, mycorrhizal associations, and oviposition. Due to taphonomic biases, epiphyte communities are particularly rare in the plant-fossil record, despite their prominence in modern ecosystems. Accordingly, little is known about how terrestrial epiphyte communities have changed across geologic time. Here, we describe a tiny in situ fossil epiphyte community that sheds light on plant-animal and plant-plant interactions more than 50 million years ago. Methods A single silicified Todea (Osmundaceae) rhizome from a new locality of the early Eocene (ca. 52 Ma) Tufolitas Laguna del Hunco (Patagonia, Argentina) was studied in serial thin sections using light microscopy. The community of organisms colonizing the tissues of the rhizome was characterized by identifying the organisms and mapping and quantifying their distribution. A 200 × 200 µm grid was superimposed onto the rhizome cross section, and the colonizers present at each node of the grid were tallied. Results Preserved in situ, this community offers a rare window onto aspects of ancient ecosystems usually lost to time and taphonomic processes. The community is surprisingly diverse and includes the first fossilized leafy liverworts in South America, also marking the only fossil record of leafy bryophyte epiphytes outside of amber deposits; as well as several types of fungal hyphae and spores; microsclerotia with possible affinities in several ascomycete families; and evidence for oribatid mites. Discussion The community associated with the Patagonian rhizome enriches our understanding of terrestrial epiphyte communities in the distant past and adds to a growing body of literature on osmundaceous rhizomes as important hosts for component communities in ancient ecosystems, just as they are today. Because osmundaceous rhizomes represent an ecological niche that has remained virtually unchanged over time and space and are abundant in the fossil record, they provide a paleoecological model system that could be used to explore epiphyte community structure through time.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Alexander C Bippus
- Department of Botany and Plant Pathology, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR, United States of America
| | - Ignacio H Escapa
- Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Cientificas y Tecnicas (CONICET), Museo Paleontológico Egidio Feruglio, Trelew, Argentina
| | - Peter Wilf
- Department of Geosciences, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, United States of America
| | - Alexandru M F Tomescu
- Department of Biological Sciences, Humboldt State University, Arcata, CA, United States of America
| |
Collapse
|
7
|
Eldridge MDB, Beck RMD, Croft DA, Travouillon KJ, Fox BJ. An emerging consensus in the evolution, phylogeny, and systematics of marsupials and their fossil relatives (Metatheria). J Mammal 2019. [DOI: 10.1093/jmammal/gyz018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/22/2023] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Mark D B Eldridge
- Australian Museum Research Institute, Australian Museum, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Robin M D Beck
- School of Environment and Life Sciences, University of Salford, Manchester, United Kingdom
| | - Darin A Croft
- School of Medicine, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, USA
| | | | - Barry J Fox
- School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of New South Wales, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
| |
Collapse
|
8
|
CARNEIRO LEONARDOM. A new protodidelphid (Mammalia, Marsupialia, Didelphimorphia) from the Itaboraí Basin and its implications for the evolution of the Protodidelphidae. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2019; 91Suppl 2:e20180440. [DOI: 10.1590/0001-3765201820180440] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/04/2018] [Accepted: 07/19/2018] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- LEONARDO M. CARNEIRO
- Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; Universidade Federal do Estado do Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; Laboratório de Paleontologia e Paleoecologia da Sociedade de História Natural, Portugal
| |
Collapse
|
9
|
Eocene metatherians from Anatolia illuminate the assembly of an island fauna during Deep Time. PLoS One 2018; 13:e0206181. [PMID: 30427946 PMCID: PMC6235269 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0206181] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/07/2018] [Accepted: 10/05/2018] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Island biotas have disproportionately influenced the history and development of evolutionary biology, but understanding their genesis and evolution across geological timescales has been hindered by a poor fossil record. Here we augment the insular Eocene (~43 Ma) mammalian fauna known from the Pontide terrane of central Anatolia by describing two new metatherian taxa (stem marsupials) from the Lülük Member of the Uzunçarşıdere Formation in the Orhaniye Basin. Geological and paleontological data indicate that the Pontide terrane was an island on the northern margin of Neotethys during the middle Eocene. Reflecting its geodynamic context in a region of active tectonic convergence, the Eocene Pontide terrane hosted a unique combination of Laurasian and Gondwanan mammals, including an anachronistic radiation of pleuraspidotheriids (archaic ungulates) that went extinct on the European mainland ~13 Ma earlier. Most of the mammalian clades occupying the Pontide terrane colonized it by dispersal across marine barriers rather than being stranded there through vicariance. Endemic radiations of pleuraspidotheriid ungulates and polydolopimorphian metatherians on the Pontide terrane reveal that in situ diversification was an important factor contributing to faunal assembly and evolution. The insular fauna that arose on the Pontide terrane is highly analogous to that of modern Sulawesi, which evolved under strikingly similar geological conditions. Illustrating the ephemeral nature of insular biotas across macroevolutionary timescales, the demise of the Pontide fauna coincided with paleogeographic changes enabling more cosmopolitan taxa to reach it for the first time. The high level of endemism shown by the mammalian fauna of the Uzunçarşıdere Formation eliminates the Pontide terrane as a potential early Eocene dispersal corridor between western Europe and India.
Collapse
|
10
|
|
11
|
Doguzhaeva LA, Bengtson S, Reguero MA, Mörs T. An Eocene orthocone from Antarctica shows convergent evolution of internally shelled cephalopods. PLoS One 2017; 12:e0172169. [PMID: 28248970 PMCID: PMC5332165 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0172169] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/10/2016] [Accepted: 01/31/2017] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Background The Subclass Coleoidea (Class Cephalopoda) accommodates the diverse present-day internally shelled cephalopod mollusks (Spirula, Sepia and octopuses, squids, Vampyroteuthis) and also extinct internally shelled cephalopods. Recent Spirula represents a unique coleoid retaining shell structures, a narrow marginal siphuncle and globular protoconch that signify the ancestry of the subclass Coleoidea from the Paleozoic subclass Bactritoidea. This hypothesis has been recently supported by newly recorded diverse bactritoid-like coleoids from the Carboniferous of the USA, but prior to this study no fossil cephalopod indicative of an endochochleate branch with an origin independent from subclass Bactritoidea has been reported. Methodology/Principal findings Two orthoconic conchs were recovered from the Early Eocene of Seymour Island at the tip of the Antarctic Peninsula, Antarctica. They have loosely mineralized organic-rich chitin-compatible microlaminated shell walls and broadly expanded central siphuncles. The morphological, ultrustructural and chemical data were determined and characterized through comparisons with extant and extinct taxa using Scanning Electron Microscopy/Energy Dispersive Spectrometry (SEM/EDS). Conclusions/Significance Our study presents the first evidence for an evolutionary lineage of internally shelled cephalopods with independent origin from Bactritoidea/Coleoidea, indicating convergent evolution with the subclass Coleoidea. A new subclass Paracoleoidea Doguzhaeva n. subcl. is established for accommodation of orthoconic cephalopods with the internal shell associated with a broadly expanded central siphuncle. Antarcticerida Doguzhaeva n. ord., Antarcticeratidae Doguzhaeva n. fam., Antarcticeras nordenskjoeldi Doguzhaeva n. gen., n. sp. are described within the subclass Paracoleoidea. The analysis of organic-rich shell preservation of A. nordenskjoeldi by use of SEM/EDS techniques revealed fossilization of hyposeptal cameral soft tissues. This suggests that a depositional environment favoring soft-tissue preservation was the factor enabling conservation of the weakly mineralized shell of A. nordenskjoeldi.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Larisa A. Doguzhaeva
- Department of Palaeobiology, Swedish Museum of Natural History, Stockholm, Sweden
- * E-mail:
| | - Stefan Bengtson
- Department of Palaeobiology, Swedish Museum of Natural History, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Marcelo A. Reguero
- Division Paleontologia de Vertebrados, Museo de La Plata, Paseo del Bosque s/n, B1900FWA, La Plata, Argentina
| | - Thomas Mörs
- Department of Palaeobiology, Swedish Museum of Natural History, Stockholm, Sweden
| |
Collapse
|
12
|
|
13
|
Beck RMD. The Skull of Epidolops ameghinoi from the Early Eocene Itaboraí Fauna, Southeastern Brazil, and the Affinities of the Extinct Marsupialiform Order Polydolopimorphia. J MAMM EVOL 2016; 24:373-414. [PMID: 29187780 PMCID: PMC5684316 DOI: 10.1007/s10914-016-9357-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
The skull of the polydolopimorphian marsupialiform Epidolops ameghinoi is described in detail for the first time, based on a single well-preserved cranium and associated left and right dentaries plus additional craniodental fragments, all from the early Eocene (53–50 million year old) Itaboraí fauna in southeastern Brazil. Notable craniodental features of E. ameghinoi include absence of a masseteric process, very small maxillopalatine fenestrae, a prominent pterygoid fossa enclosed laterally by a prominent ectopterygoid crest, an absent or tiny transverse canal foramen, a simple, planar glenoid fossa, and a postglenoid foramen that is immediately posterior to the postglenoid process. Most strikingly, the floor of the hypotympanic sinus was apparently unossified, a feature found in several stem marsupials but absent in all known crown marsupials. “Type II” marsupialiform petrosals previously described from Itaboraí plausibly belong to E. ameghinoi; in published phylogenetic analyses, these petrosals fell outside (crown-clade) Marsupialia. “IMG VII” tarsals previously referred to E. ameghinoi do not share obvious synapomorphies with any crown marsupial clade, nor do they resemble those of the only other putative polydolopimorphians represented by tarsal remains, namely the argyrolagids. Most studies have placed Polydolopimorphia within Marsupialia, related to either Paucituberculata, or to Microbiotheria and Diprotodontia. However, diprotodonty almost certainly evolved independently in polydolopimorphians, paucituberculatans and diprotodontians, and Epidolops does not share obvious synapomorphies with any marsupial order. Epidolops is dentally specialized, but several morphological features appear to be more plesiomorphic than any crown marsupial. It seems likely Epidolops that falls outside Marsupialia, as do morphologically similar forms such as Bonapartherium and polydolopids. Argyrolagids differ markedly in their known morphology from Epidolops but share some potential apomorphies with paucituberculatans. It is proposed that Polydolopimorphia as currently recognised is polyphyletic, and that argyrolagids (and possibly other taxa currently included in Argyrolagoidea, such as groeberiids and patagoniids) are members of Paucituberculata. This hypothesis is supported by Bayesian non-clock phylogenetic analyses of a total evidence matrix comprising DNA sequence data from five nuclear protein-coding genes, indels, retroposon insertions, and morphological characters: Epidolops falls outside Marsupialia, whereas argyrolagids form a clade with the paucituberculatans Caenolestes and Palaeothentes, regardless of whether the Type II petrosals and IMG VII tarsals are used to score characters for Epidolops or not. There is no clear evidence for the presence of crown marsupials at Itaboraí, and it is possible that the origin and early evolution of Marsupialia was restricted to the “Austral Kingdom” (southern South America, Antarctica, and Australia).
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Robin M. D. Beck
- School of Environment & Life Sciences, University of Salford, M5 4WT, Manchester, UK
- School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052 Australia
| |
Collapse
|
14
|
Schwarzhans W, Mörs T, Engelbrecht A, Reguero M, Kriwet J. Before the freeze: otoliths from the Eocene of Seymour Island, Antarctica, reveal dominance of gadiform fishes (Teleostei). JOURNAL OF SYSTEMATIC PALAEONTOLOGY 2016; 15:147-170. [PMID: 28077930 PMCID: PMC5221741 DOI: 10.1080/14772019.2016.1151958] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/24/2015] [Accepted: 01/11/2016] [Indexed: 05/26/2023]
Abstract
The first record of fossil teleostean otoliths from Antarctica is reported. The fossils were obtained from late Early Eocene shell beds of the La Meseta Formation, Seymour Island that represent the last temperate marine climate phase in Antarctica prior to the onset of cooling and subsequent glaciation during the late Eocene. A total of 17 otolith-based teleost taxa are recognized, with 10 being identifiable to species level containing nine new species and one new genus: Argentina antarctica sp. nov., Diaphus? marambionis sp. nov., Macruronus eastmani sp. nov., Coelorinchus balushkini sp. nov., Coelorinchus nordenskjoeldi sp. nov., Palimphemus seymourensis sp. nov., Hoplobrotula? antipoda sp. nov., Notoberyx cionei gen. et sp. nov. and Cepola anderssoni sp. nov. Macruronus eastmani sp. nov. is also known from the late Eocene of Southern Australia, and Tripterophycis immutatus Schwarzhans, widespread in the southern oceans during the Eocene, has been recorded from New Zealand, southern Australia, and now Antarctica. The otolith assemblage shows a typical composition of temperate fishes dominated by gadiforms, very similar at genus and family levels to associations known from middle Eocene strata of New Zealand and the late Eocene of southern Australia, but also to the temperate Northern Hemisphere associations from the Paleocene of Denmark. The Seymour Island fauna bridges a gap in the record of global temperate marine teleost faunas during the early Eocene climate maximum. The dominant gadiforms are interpreted as the main temperate faunal component, as in the Paleocene of Denmark. Here they are represented by the families Moridae, Merlucciidae (Macruroninae), Macrouridae and Gadidae. Nowadays Gadidae are a chiefly Northern Hemisphere temperate family. Moridae, Macruroninae and Macrouridae live today on the lower shelf to deep-water or mesopelagically with Macruroninae being restricted to the Southern Ocean. The extant endemic Antarctic gadiform family Muraenolepididae is missing, as are the dominant modern Antarctic fishes of the perciform suborder Notothenioidei. Recently, there has been much debate on isolated jaw bones of teleost fishes found in the La Meseta Formation and whether they would represent gadiforms (Merlucciidae in this case) or some early, primitive notothenioid. Otoliths are known to often complement rather than duplicate skeletal finds. With this in mind, we conclude that our otolith data support the presence of gadiforms in the early Eocene of Antarctica while it does not rule out the presence of notothenioids at the same time. http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:A30E5364-0003-4467-B902-43A41AD456CC.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Werner Schwarzhans
- Ahrensburger Weg 103, D-22359Hamburg, Germany
- Natural History Museum of Denmark, Zoological Museum, Universitetsparken 15, DK-2100Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Thomas Mörs
- Swedish Museum of Natural History, Department of Palaeobiology, P.O. Box 5007, SE-10405Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Andrea Engelbrecht
- University of Vienna, Department of Palaeontology, Althanstrasse 14, 1090Vienna, Austria
| | - Marcelo Reguero
- Museo de La Plata, División Paleontología de Vertebrados, Paseo del Bosque s/n, B1900FWALa Plata, Argentina
| | - Jürgen Kriwet
- University of Vienna, Department of Palaeontology, Althanstrasse 14, 1090Vienna, Austria
| |
Collapse
|
15
|
Bradham J, Flynn JJ, Croft DA, Wyss AR. New Notoungulates (Notostylopidae and Basal Toxodontians) from the Early Oligocene Tinguiririca Fauna of the Andean Main Range, Central Chile. AMERICAN MUSEUM NOVITATES 2015. [DOI: 10.1206/3841.1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
|
16
|
|
17
|
Góis F, González Ruiz LR, Scillato-Yané GJ, Soibelzon E. A Peculiar New Pampatheriidae (Mammalia: Xenarthra: Cingulata) from the Pleistocene of Argentina and Comments on Pampatheriidae Diversity. PLoS One 2015; 10:e0128296. [PMID: 26083486 PMCID: PMC4470999 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0128296] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/29/2014] [Accepted: 03/04/2015] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Pampatheriidae are a group of cingulates native to South American that are known from the middle Miocene to the lower Holocene. Two genera have been recognized between the lower Pleistocene and the lower Holocene: Pampatherium Gervais and Ameghino (Ensenadan, Bonaerian and Lujanian, lower Pleistocene-lower Holocene) and Holmesina Simpson (Blancan, Irvingtonian, upper Pliocene-lower Holocene). They have been mainly differentiated by their osteoderm morphology and cranio-dental characters. These taxa had a wide latitudinal distribution, extending from the southern part of South America (Península Valdés, Argentina) to North America (Florida, USA). In this contribution, we describe a new genus and species of Pampatheriidae for the lower and middle Pleistocene of Buenos Aires Province and for the upper Pleistocene of Santa Fe Province (Argentina).The new taxon is represented by disarticulated osteoderms, one skull element, two thoracic vertebrae and a right femur and patella. It has extremely complex osteoderm ornamentations and particular morphological characters of the cranial element and femur that are not found in any other species of the family. This new taxon, recorded in the lower-middle Pleistocene (Ensenadan Stage/Age) and in the upper Pleistocene-early Holocene (Lujanian Stage/Age), is incorporated to the Pleistocene mammal assemblage of South America. Finally, the Pampatheriidae diversity is greater during the Lujanian Stage/Age than the Ensenadan Stage/Age.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Flávio Góis
- Laboratorio de Paleontología de Vertebrados, Centro de Investigaciones Científicas y Transferencia de Tecnología a la Producción (CICYTTP–CONICET), Materi y España, 3105 Diamante, Entre Ríos, Argentina
- CONICET, Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas, Rivadavia, 1917, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Laureano Raúl González Ruiz
- Laboratorio de Investigaciones en Evolución y Biodiversidad (LIEB), Universidad Nacional de la Patagonia ‘San Juan Bosco’ sede Esquel (UNPSJB), Ruta Nacional 259, km 16.5, 9200, Esquel, Chubut, Argentina
- CONICET, Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas, Rivadavia, 1917, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Gustavo Juan Scillato-Yané
- División Paleontología Vertebrados, Museo de La Plata, Paseo del Bosque, s/n, 1900, La Plata, Buenos Aires, Argentina
- CONICET, Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas, Rivadavia, 1917, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Esteban Soibelzon
- División Paleontología Vertebrados, Museo de La Plata, Paseo del Bosque, s/n, 1900, La Plata, Buenos Aires, Argentina
- CONICET, Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas, Rivadavia, 1917, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| |
Collapse
|
18
|
Castro MC, Carlini AA, Sánchez R, Sánchez-Villagra MR. A new Dasypodini armadillo (Xenarthra: Cingulata) from San Gregorio Formation, Pliocene of Venezuela: affinities and biogeographic interpretations. Naturwissenschaften 2014; 101:77-86. [PMID: 24414134 DOI: 10.1007/s00114-013-1131-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/19/2013] [Revised: 12/10/2013] [Accepted: 12/11/2013] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
We describe Pliodasypus vergelianus gen. et sp. nov., a Dasypodini armadillo from the middle Pliocene of Venezuela (Vergel Member, San Gregorio Formation). Although scarce, the remains are remarkable because of their geochronologic proximity to the main phase of Great American Biotic Interchange (GABI). The cladistic analysis conducted reveals that Pliodasypus groups with Dasypus and both are sister taxa of Propraopus, whereas Anadasypus is at a basal position. With respect to the records of tribe Dasypodini, after its oldest representative (Anadasypus, middle and late Miocene), the chronologically subsequent form is Pl. vergelianus (middle Pliocene), followed by Dasypus bellus in higher northern latitudes (late Pliocene), and then by widespread occurrences in the Pleistocene of North America (D. bellus) and South America (Propraopus, Dasypus punctatus, and Dasypus novemcinctus). Thus, we infer that Dasypus differentiated in the late Pliocene at low latitudes in the northern South America. It leads to two alternative hypotheses of dispersal: (a) some early Dasypus remained cryptically in South America until the Pleistocene, whereas others dispersed to North America between 2.2 and 2.7 Ma, or (b) they dispersed to North America subsequently to the emersion of the Panamanian isthmus and D. bellus differentiated there; later, during the Pleistocene, D. bellus entered South America and experienced speciation. The same process of re-ingression has been proposed to other xenarthrans, breaking with the traditional assumption that the GABI was unidirectional.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Mariela C Castro
- División Paleontología de Vertebrados, Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo, Universidad Nacional de La Plata,, Paseo del Bosque s/n, B1900WFA, La Plata, Argentina,
| | | | | | | |
Collapse
|
19
|
Abello MA. Analysis of dental homologies and phylogeny of Paucituberculata (Mammalia: Marsupialia). Biol J Linn Soc Lond 2013. [DOI: 10.1111/bij.12048] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Maria Alejandra Abello
- Laboratorio de Sistemática y Biología Evolutiva (LASBE) Museo de La Plata; Paseo del Bosque s/n 1900 La Plata Argentina
| |
Collapse
|
20
|
Paleogene Land Mammal Faunas of South America; a Response to Global Climatic Changes and Indigenous Floral Diversity. J MAMM EVOL 2013. [DOI: 10.1007/s10914-012-9222-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 70] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/27/2022]
|
21
|
Sánchez-Villagra MR. Why are There Fewer Marsupials than Placentals? On the Relevance of Geography and Physiology to Evolutionary Patterns of Mammalian Diversity and Disparity. J MAMM EVOL 2012. [DOI: 10.1007/s10914-012-9220-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 43] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
|
22
|
Persistence of a Mesozoic, non-therian mammalian lineage (Gondwanatheria) in the mid-Paleogene of Patagonia. Naturwissenschaften 2012; 99:449-63. [DOI: 10.1007/s00114-012-0919-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/17/2011] [Revised: 04/23/2012] [Accepted: 04/25/2012] [Indexed: 10/28/2022]
|
23
|
Prevosti FJ, Forasiepi A, Zimicz N. The Evolution of the Cenozoic Terrestrial Mammalian Predator Guild in South America: Competition or Replacement? J MAMM EVOL 2011. [DOI: 10.1007/s10914-011-9175-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 71] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
|
24
|
Bond M, Kramarz A, Macphee RDE, Reguero M. A New Astrapothere (Mammalia, Meridiungulata) from La Meseta Formation, Seymour (Marambio) Island, and a Reassessment of Previous Records of Antarctic Astrapotheres. AMERICAN MUSEUM NOVITATES 2011. [DOI: 10.1206/3718.2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
|
25
|
GOIN FRANCISCOJ, CANDELA ADRIANAM, ABELLO MALEJANDRA, OLIVEIRA EDISONV. Earliest South American paucituberculatans and their significance in the understanding of ‘pseudodiprotodont’ marsupial radiations. Zool J Linn Soc 2009. [DOI: 10.1111/j.1096-3642.2008.00471.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 47] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
|