Skip to content Skip to navigation

Article: The oldest mammals from Antarctica, early Eocene of the La Meseta Formation, Seymour Island

Publication: Palaeontology
Volume: 58
Part: 1
Publication Date: January 2015
Page(s): 101 – 110
Author(s): Javier N. Gelfo, Thomas Mörs, Malena Lorente, Guillermo M. López and Marcelo Reguero
Addition Information

How to Cite

GELFO, J.N, MÖRS, T., LORENTE, M., LÓPEZ, G.M., REGUERO, M. 2015. The oldest mammals from Antarctica, early Eocene of the La Meseta Formation, Seymour Island. Palaeontology, 58, 1, 101-110.

Author Information

  • Javier N. Gelfo - División Paleontología de Vertebrados, Museo de La Plata, La Plata, Argentina (email: jgelfo@fcnym.unlp.edu.ar)
  • Javier N. Gelfo - CONICET
  • Javier N. Gelfo - Cátedra Paleontología Vertebrados, Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo, Universidad Nacional de La Plata, Avenida 122 y 60, (1900) La Plata Argentina
  • Thomas Mörs - Department of Palaeobiology, Swedish Museum of Natural History, Stockholm, Sweden (email: thomas.mors@nrm.se)
  • Malena Lorente - División Paleontología de Vertebrados, Museo de La Plata, La Plata, Argentina (email: mlorente@fcnym.unlp.edu.ar)
  • Malena Lorente - CONICET
  • Guillermo M. López - División Paleontología de Vertebrados, Museo de La Plata, La Plata, Argentina (email: glopez@fcnym.unlp.edu.ar)
  • Guillermo M. López - Cátedra Paleontología Vertebrados, Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo, Universidad Nacional de La Plata, Avenida 122 y 60, (1900) La Plata Argentina
  • Marcelo Reguero - División Paleontología de Vertebrados, Museo de La Plata, La Plata, Argentina (email: regui@fcnym.unlp.edu.ar)
  • Marcelo Reguero - CONICET
  • Marcelo Reguero - Instituto Antártico Argentino, Balcarce 290, (C1064AAF), Buenos Aires, Argentina

Publication History

  • Issue published online: 7 JAN 2015
  • Article first published online: 16 JUL 2014
  • Manuscript Accepted: 3 JUN 2014
  • Manuscript Received: 16 APR 2014

Funded By

ANPCyT-Agencia Nacional de Promoción Científica y Tecnológica. Grant Number: PICTO 2010-0093
CONICET-Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Grant Number: PIP 0462
Swedish Research Council. Grant Number: 2009-4447
Swedish Polar Research Secretariat. Grant Number: 2010-84

Online Version Hosted By

Wiley Online Library (Open Access)
Get Article: Wiley Online Library [Open Access]

References

  • Ameghino, F. 1889. Contribución al conocimiento de los mamíferos fósiles de la República Argentina. Actas Academia Nacional de Ciencias en Córdoba, 6, i–xxxii, 1–1027.
  • Ameghino, F. 1901. Notices préliminaires sur des ongulés nouveaux des terrains crétacés de Patagonie. Boletín de la Academia Nacional de Ciencias en Córdoba, 16, 350–426.
  • Bergqvist, L. 2008. Postcranial skeleton of the upper Paleocene (Itaboraian) ‘Condylarthra’ (Mammalia) of Itaboraí Basin, Brazil. 107–133. In Sargis, E. J. and Dagosto, M. (eds). Mammalian evolutionary morphology: a tribute to Frederick S. Szalay. Vertebrate Paleobiology and Paleoanthropology Series, 1, 440 pp.
  • Bond, M., Reguero, M. A., Vizcaíno, S. F. and Marenssi, S. A. 2006. A new ‘South American ungulate’ (Mammalia: Litopterna) from the Eocene of the Antarctic Peninsula. 163–176. In Francis, J. E., Pirrie, D. and Crame, J. A. (eds). Cretaceous-Tertiary high-latitude palaeoenvironments, James Ross Basin, Antarctica. Special Publications, Geological Society of London, 258, 216 pp.
  • Bond, M., Reguero, M. A., Vizcaíno, S. F. and Ortiz-Jaureguizar, E. 2009. Notiolofos, a replacement name for Notolophus Bond, Reguero, Vizcaíno and Marenssi, 2006, a preoccupied name. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, 29, 979.
  • Bond, M., Kramarz, A., MacPhee, R. and Reguero, M. 2011. A new astrapothere (Mammalia, Meridiungulata) from La Meseta Formation, Seymour (Marambio) Island, and a reassessment of previous records of Antarctic astrapotheres. American Museum Novitates, 3718, 1–16.
  • Borsuk-Bialynicka, M. 1988. New remains of Archaeoceti from Palaeogene of Antarctica. Polar Research, 9, 437–445.
  • Buono, M. R., Fernández, M. S., Tambussi, C., Mörs, T. and Reguero, M. A. 2011. Un arqueoceto (Cetacea: Archaeoceti) del Eoceno temprano tardío de Isla Marambio (formación La Meseta), Antártida. Ameghiniana, 48, 149R–150R.
  • Carlini, A. A., Scillato-Yané, G. J., Vizcaíno, S. F. and Dozo, M. T. 1992. Un singular Myrmecophagidae (Xenarthra, Vermilingua) de edad Colhuehuapense (Oligoceno tardío-Mioceno temprano) de Patagonia, Argentina. Ameghiniana, 29, 176.
  • Chornogubsky, L., Goin, F. J. and Reguero, M. A. 2009. A reassessment of Antarctic polydolopid marsupials (Middle Eocene, La Meseta Formation). Antarctic Science, 21, 285–297.
  • Cifelli, R. L. 1983. Eutherian tarsals from the late Paleocene of Brazil. American Museum Novitates, 2761, 1–31.
  • Cifelli, R. L. and Villarroel, C. 1997. Paleobiology and affinities of Megadolodus. 265–287. In Kay, R. F., Madden, R. H., Cifelli, R. L. and Flynn, J. J. (eds). Vertebrate paleontology in the neotropics: the Miocene fauna of La Venta, Colombia. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, DC, 608 pp.
  • Coombs, W. P. J. 1978. Theoretical aspects of cursorial adaptations in dinosaurs. Quarterly Review of Biology, 53, 393–418.
  • Eagles, G. and Jokat, W. 2014. Tectonic reconstructions for paleobathymetry in Drake Passage. Tectonophysics, 611, 28–50.
  • Feldmann, R. M. 1989. Whitening fossils for photographic purposes. 342–346. In Feldmann, R. M., Chapman, R. E. and Hannibal, J. T. (eds). Paleotechniques. Paleontological Society Special Publication, 4, 358 pp.
  • Fortelius, M. 1985. Ungulate cheek teeth: developmental, functional, and evolutionary interrelations. Acta Zoologica Fennica, 180, 1–76.
  • Fostowicz-Frelik, L. 2003. An enigmatic whale tooth from the upper eocene of Seymour Island, Antarctica. Polar Research, 24, 13–28.
  • Gelfo, J. N. and Lorente, M. 2012. The alleged astragalar remains of Didolodus Ameghino, 1897 (Mammalia, Panameriungulata) and a critic of isolated bone association models. Bulletin of Geosciences, 87 (2), 1–11.
  • Gelfo, J. N., Lopez, G. M. and Bond, M. 2008. A new Xenungulata (Mammalia) from the Paleocene of Patagonia, Argentina. Journal of Paleontology, 82, 329–335.
  • Gelfo, J. N., López, G. M., Abello, M. A., Reguero, M., Santillana, S. N. and Marenssi, S. 2013. The record of Palaeogene Ugulates and the demise of the South America–Antarctica land connection. 53. In Lobo, F. J., Pérez, L. F. and Martos, Y. M. (eds). Symposium: The Scotia Arc: geodynamic evolution and global implications. Granada, España, 129 pp.
  • Goin, F. J., Case, J. A., Woodburne, M. O., Vizcaíno, S. F. and Reguero, M. A. 1999. New discoveries of ‘opossum-like’ marsupials from Antarctica (Seymour Island, medial Eocene). Journal of Mammalian Evolution, 6, 335–364.
  • Goin, F. J., Reguero, M. A., Pascual, R., Von Koenigswald, W., Woodburne, M. O., Case, J. A., Vieytes, C., Marenssi, S. A. and Vizcaíno, S. F. 2006. First gondwanatherian mammal from Antarctica. 135–144. In Francis, J. E., Pirrie, D. and Crame, J. A. (eds). Cretaceous-Tertiary high-latitude palaeoenvironments, James Ross Basin, Antarctica. Geological Society of London, Special Publications, 258, 216 pp.
  • Goin, F. J., Zimicz, N., Reguero, M. A., Santillana, S. N., Marenssi, S. A. and Moly, J. J. 2007. New mammal from the Eocene of Antarctica, and the origins of the Microbiotheria. Revista de la Asociación Geológica Argentina, 62, 597–603.
  • Ivany, L. C., Lohmann, K. C., Hasiuk, F., Blake, D. B., Glass, A., Aronson, R. B. and Moody, R. M. 2008. Eocene climate record of a high southern latitude continental shelf: Seymour Island, Antarctica. Geological Society of American Bulletin, 120, 659–678.
  • Koenigswald, W. V. 1997. Brief survey of enamel diversity at the schmelzmuster level in Cenozoic placental mammals. 137–161. In Koenigswald, W. V. and Sander, P. M. (eds). Tooth enamel microstructure. Balkema, Rotterdam, 288 pp.
  • Koenigswald, W. V. 2000. Two different strategies in enamel differentiation: Marsupialia versus Placentalia. 107–118. In Teaford, M., Ferguson, M. W. J. and Smith, P. (eds). Development, function and evolution of teeth. Cambridge University Press, New York, 328 pp.
  • Line, S. R. P. and Bergqvist, L. P. 2005. Enamel structure of Paleocene mammals of the São José de Itaboraí basin, Brazil. ‘Condylarthra’, Litopterna, Notoungulata, Xenungulata, and Astrapotheria. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, 25, 924–928.
  • Linnaeus, C. 1758. Tomus I. Systema Naturae, Tenth Edition. Laurentii Salvii, Holmiae, [1–4], 1–824.
  • López, G. M. 2010. Divisaderan: land mammal age or local fauna? 410–420. In Madden, R., Carlini, A., Vucetich, M. G. and Kay, R. (eds). The paleontology of Gran Barranca: evolution and environmental change through the Middle Cenozoic of Patagonia. Cambridge University Press, New York, 448 pp.
  • MacPhee, R. D. E. and Reguero, M. A. 2010. Reinterpretation of the middle Eocene record of Tardigrada (Pilosa, Edentata) from La Meseta Formation, Seymour Island, Antarctica. American Museum Novitates, 3689, 1–21.
  • Marenssi, S. A. 1995. Sedimentología y paleoambientes de sedimentación de la formación La Meseta, Isla Marambio, Antártida. Unpublished PhD Thesis, Universidad de Buenos Aires, 502 pp.
  • Marenssi, S. A., Santillana, S. N. and Rinaldi, C. A. 1998. Paleoambientes sedimentarios de la aloformación La Meseta (Eoceno), Isla Marambio (Seymour), Antártida. Instituto Antártico Argentino, Contribución, 464, 51 pp.
  • Mitchell, E. D. 1989. A new cetacean from the late Eocene La Meseta formation, Seymour Island, Antarctic Peninsula. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences, 46, 2219–2235.
  • Montes, M., Nozal, F., Santillana, S., Marenssi, S. and Olivero, E. 2013. Mapa Geológico de la isla Marambio (Seymour) Escala 1:20.000 Primera Edición. Serie Cartográfica Geocientífica Antártica. Madrid-Instituto Geológico y Minero de España; Buenos Aires-Instituto Antártico Argentino.
  • Paula Couto, C. 1952. Fossil mammals from the beginning of the Cenozoic in Brazil. Condylarthra, Litopterna, Xenungulata and Astrapotheria. Bulletin of American Museum of Natural History, 99, 355–394.
  • Reguero, M., Goin, F., Acosta Hospitaleche, C., Dutra, T. and Marenssi, S. 2013a. Late Cretaceous/Palaeogene west Antarctica terrestrial biota and its intercontinental affinities. Springer Briefs in Earth System Sciences, London, 120 pp.
  • Reguero, M., Abello, M. A., Gelfo, J. N., López, G. M., Candela, A. M., Santillana, S. N. and Marenssi, S. A. 2013b. Land vertebrates biogeography of West Antarctica/South America and the final break-up of Gondwana. 180–182. In Leppe, M. (ed.). Avances en Ciencia Antártica Latinoamericana: VII Congreso Latinoamericano de Ciencia Antártica. Estudio Avanzado de Zonas Áridas (CEAZA) e Instituto Antártico Chileno, La Serena, Chile, 598 pp.
  • Riggs, E. 1935. A skeleton of Astrapotherium. Geological Series of Field Museum of Natural History, 6, 167–177.
  • Sadler, P. 1988. Geometry and stratification of uppermost Cretaceous and Palaeogene units of Seymour Island, northern Antarctic Peninsula. 303–320. In Feldmann, R. M. and Woodburne, M. O. (eds). Geology and paleontology of Seymour Island, Antarctic Peninsula. Geological Society of America, Memoir, 169, 566 pp.
  • Shockey, B. J. and Flynn, J. J. 2007. Morphological diversity in the postcranial skeleton of Casamayoran (?Middle to Late Eocene) Notoungulata and foot posture in notoungulates. American Museum Novitates, 3601, 1–26.
  • Simpson, G. G. 1948. The beginning of the age of mammals in South America. Part 1. Introduction. Systematics: Marsupialia, Edentata, Condylarthra, Litopterna and Notioprogonia. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History, 91, 1–232.
  • Simpson, G. G., Minoprio, J. L. and Patterson, B. 1962. The mammalian fauna of the Divisadero Largo Formation, Mendoza, Argentina. Bulletin of Museum of Comparative Zoology, 127, 239–293.
  • Soria, M. F. 1980. Una nueva y problemática forma de ungulado del Casamayorense. Actas II Congreso Argentino de Paleontología y Bioestratigrafía y I Congreso Latinoamericano de Paleontología (Buenos Aires, 1978), Actas II, 193–203.
  • Soria, M. F. 2001. Los Proterotheridae (Litopterna, Mammalia), sistemática, origen y filogenia. Monografías del Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales, 1, 1–167.
  • Vizcaíno, S. F. and Scillato-Yané, G. J. 1995. An Eocene tardigrade (Mammalia, Xenarthra) from Seymour Island, west Antarctica. Antarctic Science, 7 (4), 407–408.
  • Vizcaíno, S. F., Reguero, M. A., Marenssi, S. A. and Santillana, S. N. 1997. New land mammal-bearing localities from the Eocene La Meseta Formation, Seymour Island, Antarctica. 997–1000. In Ricci, C. A. (ed.). The Antarctic region: geological evolution and processes. Terra Antarctica Publication, Siena, 1206 pp.
  • Woodburne, M. O. and Zinsmeister, W. J. 1984. The first land mammal from Antarctica and its biogeographic implications. Journal of Paleontology, 54, 913–948.
PalAss Go! URL: http://go.palass.org/5wc | Twitter: Share on Twitter | Facebook: Share on Facebook | Google+: Share on Google+