DOCSLIB.ORG

A Monodontid Cetacean from the Early Pliocene of the North Sea

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text

Load more

BULLETIN DE L’INSTITUT ROYAL DES SCIENCES NATURELLES DE BELGIQUE SCIENCES DE LA TERRE, 77: 197-210,2007 BULLETIN VAN HET KONINKLIJK BELGISCH INSTITUUT VOOR NATUURWETENSCHAPPEN AARDWETENSCHAPPEN, 77: 197-210,2007 A monodontid cetacean from the Early Pliocene of the North Sea by Olivier LAMBERT & Pierre GIGASE L a m b e r t O. & G ig a s e P., 2007 -A monodontid cetacean from fosse temporale est plus élevée que chez D. leucas et le rostre the Early Pliocene of the North Sea. Bulletin de I ’Institut royal des ne comporte pas la paire de dents maxillaires modifiées de M. Sciences naturelles de Belgique, Sciences de la Terre 77: 197-210, monoceros. Plusieurs sillons observés à la surface des os crâniens 9 figs, 2 tables, Brussels, October 15,2007 - ISSN 0374-6291. sont interprétés comme des marques de dents de requin, résultant soit d’un épisode de prédation, soit de l’action d’un charognard. Plusieurs os de l’oreille isolés du Néogène d’Anvers sont Abstract également attribués à un Monodontidae. Les nouveaux spécimens décrits ici indiquent que des membres de cette famille ont migré A partial skeleton from the Early Pliocene of Antwerp (north of vers des eaux plus froides avant ou durant le Pliocène précoce, Belgium), including a fragmentary skull, corresponds to the first bien avant les premières mentions pléistocènes de Delphinapterus record of a fossil member of the family Monodontidae in the North leucas dans la Mer du Nord. De plus, la paléobiogéographie des Sea. The vertex of the skull is lower than in the oldest known Delphinidae, Monodontidae et Phocoenidae fossiles suggère une Monodontidae, the latest Miocene Denebola brachycephala, and the origine pacifique pour les ‘crown-Delphinoidea’ de l’Atlantique orbit is more anteriorly shifted. It differs from the two extant species Nord. of the family, the beluga Delphinapterus leucas and the narwhal Monodon monoceros, among others, in a shorter orbit and a shorter Mots-clefs: bélouga, narval, Monodontidae, Pliocène, Mer du and wider antorbital notch. The anterior part of the temporal fossa is Nord, paléobiogéographie. more elevated than in D. leucas and the rostrum lacked the modified pair of maxillary teeth of M. monoceros. Grooves observed at the surface of the skull bones are identified as shark teeth marks, either Introduction the result of a predation event or of scavenging. Several isolated ear bones from the Neogene of Antwerp are similarly referred to Monodontidae. The new specimens described The family Monodontidae includes two extant here imply that members of the family migrated towards colder monospecific genera: the beluga Delphinapterus water before or during earliest Pliocene, well before the first leucas (PALLAS, 1776) and the narwhal Monodon Pleistocene records of Delphinapterus leucas in the North Sea. monoceros L in n a e u s , 1758, both geographically The palaeobiogeography of fossil Delphinidae, Monodontidae and Phocoenidae further suggests a Pacific origin for the crown- restricted to the cold Arctic Ocean and adjoining Delphinoidea of the North Atlantic realm. seas (B r o d ie , 1989;H a y & M a n s f ie l d , 1989). The genus Orcaella G r a y , 1866 was occasionally placed Keywords:beluga, narwhal, Monodontidae, Pliocene, North Sea, in the family Monodontidae but most recent studies palaeobiogeography. identify it as a Delphinidae (M uiZO N , 1988a;ARNOLD & H e in s o h n, 1996; LEDUC et al., 1999). Résumé Except for non-diagnostic material (e.g., N e w t o n , 1882), the only fossil Monodontidae described is Un squelette partiel découvert dans le Pliocène inférieur d’Anvers Denebola brachycephala B a r n e s , 1984 from the (nord de la Belgique), comprenant un crâne fragmentaire, latest Miocene of Mexico (B a r n e s , 1984). Following constitue la première mention d’un membre fossile de la famille Monodontidae en Mer du Nord. Le vertex du crâne est plus WHITMORE (1994), Delphinapterus sp. is a prominent bas que sur le plus ancien Monodontidae connu, Denebola member of the fauna of the Yorktown Formation, brachycephala, Miocène terminal, et l’orbite est positionnée plus Early Pliocene of the east coast of North America (one antérieurement. Ce crâne diffère des deux espèces actuelles de la undescribed skull and numerous ear bones). A periotic famille, le bélouga Delphinapterus leucas et le narval Monodon monoceros, par, entre autres, l’orbite plus courte et l’encoche of Delphinapterinae is cited by M uiZON & D eV r ie s antéorbitaire plus courte et plus large. La partie antérieure de la (1985) from the Early Pliocene of Sacaco, Peru. 198 Olivier LAMBERT & Pierre GIGASE PILLERI (1986) and P il l eri et al. (1989) referred several ear bones from the Miocene of South Southern North Sea Germany and Italy to Monodontidae. Later, BlANUCCI & L a n d in i (2002) and BlANUCCI (1996) relocated these specimens in other odontocete families. Kai lo A ntw erp The purpose of this paper is the description of new monodontid material (a fragmentary skull and some post-cranial fragments) from the early Pliocene of Antwerp, North of Belgium. Predation/scavenging marks are observed on the specimen and their origin is briefly commented. Additionally, several ear bones from the Neogene of the Antwerp area are described and similarly referred to a monodontid. The Fig. 1 — Map of the north of Belgium indicating the palaeobiogeography of the monodontids and other locality of Kallo, NW to Antwerp. Inset: map crown-delphinoids is finally discussed. of the southern part of the North Sea Basin (mod. from LOUW YE et al., 2004). Material and methods cysts from the Kattendijk Formation studied in two Specimens, see Appendix. sections of the Verrebroek Dock and Deurganck Institutional abbreviations. IRSNB, Institut royal des Dock, less than 2 km from the Vrasene Dock, give Sciences naturelles de Belgique, Brussels; M, Fossil an age between 5.0 Ma and 4.7-4.4 Ma, early Early mammal collection of types and figured specimens of the Pliocene (L o u w y e et al., 2004). Two isolated atlases, IRSNB; RMNH, Naturalis Nationaal Natuurhistorisch undoubtedly from the same species, were found in the Museum, Leiden, The Netherlands; ZMA, Zoölogisch same locality and level (Paul Gigase pers. comm.). Museum Amsterdam, The Netherlands. •.THE NETHERLANDS Systematic palaeontology Order Cetacea B r is s o n, 1762 BELGIUM Suborder Odontoceti F l o w e r, 1867 Superfamily Delphinoidea GRAY, 1821 Family Monodontidae GRAY, 1821 2 km Monodontidae indet. Doei Figs 3-8, Tables 1-2 Referred specimen. IRSNB M.1922, specimen including a partial skull, atlas and axis, vertebral Deurganck epiphyses and rib fragments. Dock Locality. Eastern wall of Vrasene Dock, Kallo, western bank of Schelde River, NWW of Antwerp (Figs. 1, 2). Geographic coordinates: 51o15’N-04o14’E. Kallo Vrasene Dock Horizon. Kattendijk Formation, about 6 m above the Verrebroek Dock City of Antwerp basis, Lower Pliocene (De M e u t e r & L a g a , 1976). The thin layer in which the specimen was found, rich Fig. 2 — Map of the Scheldt River and main docks of in large bivalves, is mentioned by HERMAN (1975) at the Antwerp Port giving the position of the the level -13.50 m, located 2-4 m under the Oorderen Vrasene Dock where the main specimen was Sands Member (Lillo Formation). Dinoflagellate found (mod. from LOUW YE et al., 2004). Early Pliocene monodontid _________199 width base rostrum e2x90 Description width right premaxilla at base rostrum 35 Skull width right maxilla at base rostrum 55 The preserved elements of this fragmentary skull, preorbital width of skull e2xl32 lacking the basicranium and nearly the whole rostrum, postorbital width of skull e2xl53 are: most of the right premaxilla, maxilla and frontal on the cranium, a smaller part of the left side, two maximum width of right premaxilla 65 fragments of mesethmoid, the right lacrimal and length of orbit (ventral tip preorbital-ventral tip 68 jugal, an isolated portion of the supraoccipital shield, postorbital) a fragment of the right squamosal and most of the right vertical length of right postorbital process of 42 alisphenoid sutured to fragments of parietal, squamosal frontal and basisphenoid. longitudinal distance anterior margin naris 109 The skull is somewhat smaller than adult - antorbital notch Delphinapterus leucas (see Table 1), probably similar horizontal length of temporal fossa el58 in size to the bottlenose dolphin Tursiops truncatus. Table 1 — Measurements (in mm) of the skull IRSNB Premaxilla. The premaxillary foramen is located 55 M. 1922, Monodontidae indet. from the Early mm posterior to the notch (Fig. 3); a similar posterior Pliocene of Antwerp, North Sea Basin, (e) position o f the foramen is observed in Delphinapterus indicates estimate. leucas, Denebola brachycephala and Monodon monoceros. Among other extant delphinoids, only some phocoenids and Orcaella possess a premaxillary maxilla su lcu s prem axilla dorsal infraorbital median exposition foram ina of maxilla prem axilla m esethm oid / postorbital p ro c e ss premaxillary foram en postero-lateral su lcu s shark teeth marks (grooves lacrimal and scales) antorbital notch dorsal infraorbital foramina postero-median sulcus antero-median sulcus Fig. 3 — Skull of IRSNB M. 1922, Monodontidae indet. from the Early Pliocene of Antwerp, North Sea Basin. A dorsal view. Note the shark teeth marks at the rostrum base. B schematic reconstruction of the preserved portion of the skull in dorsal view. Scale bar = 50 mm. 200 Olivier LAMBERT & Pierre GIGASE foramen somewhat posterior to the antorbital notch. monoceros. It immediately follows the depression and A median triangular depression, made by the joined gives the dorsal surface of the skull a more angulated depressed median parts of the two premaxillae, lateral profile than in D.
Recommended publications
  • Thomas Jefferson Meg Tooth

    Thomas Jefferson Meg Tooth

    The ECPHORA The Newsletter of the Calvert Marine Museum Fossil Club Volume 30 Number 3 September 2015 Thomas Jefferson Meg Tooth Features Thomas Jefferson Meg The catalogue number Review; Walking is: ANSP 959 Whales Inside The tooth came from Ricehope Estate, Snaggletooth Shark Cooper River, Exhibit South Carolina. Tiktaalik Clavatulidae In 1806, it was Juvenile Bald Eagle originally collected or Sculpting Whale Shark owned by Dr. William Moroccan Fossils Reid. Prints in the Sahara Volunteer Outing to Miocene-Pliocene National Geographic coastal plain sediments. Dolphins in the Chesapeake Sloth Tooth Found SharkFest Shark Iconography in Pre-Columbian Panama Hippo Skulls CT- Scanned Squalus sp. Teeth Sperm Whale Teeth On a recent trip to the Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University (Philadelphia), Collections Manager Ned Gilmore gave John Nance and me a behind -the-scenes highlights tour. Among the fossils that belonged to Thomas☼ Jefferson (left; American Founding Father, principal author of the Declaration of Independence, and third President of the United States) was this Carcharocles megalodon tooth. Jefferson’s interests and knowledge were encyclopedic; a delight to know that they included paleontology. Hand by J. Nance. Photo by S. Godfrey. Jefferson portrait from: http://www.biography.com/people/thomas-jefferson-9353715 ☼ CALVERT MARINE MUSEUM www.calvertmarinemuseum.com 2 The Ecphora September 2015 Book Review: The Walking 41 million years ago and has worldwide distribution. It was fully aquatic, although it did have residual Whales hind limbs. In later chapters, Professor Thewissen George F. Klein discusses limb development and various genetic factors that make whales, whales. This is a The full title of this book is The Walking complicated topic, but I found these chapters very Whales — From Land to Water in Eight Million clear and readable.
  • A NEW DWARF SEAL from the LATE NEOGENE of SOUTH AMERICA and the EVOLUTION of PINNIPEDS in the SOUTHERN HEMISPHERE by ANA M

    A NEW DWARF SEAL from the LATE NEOGENE of SOUTH AMERICA and the EVOLUTION of PINNIPEDS in the SOUTHERN HEMISPHERE by ANA M

    [Papers in Palaeontology, Vol. 2, Part 1, 2016, pp. 101–115] A NEW DWARF SEAL FROM THE LATE NEOGENE OF SOUTH AMERICA AND THE EVOLUTION OF PINNIPEDS IN THE SOUTHERN HEMISPHERE by ANA M. VALENZUELA-TORO1,2,NICHOLASD.PYENSON2,3,CAROLINAS. GUTSTEIN1,2,4 and MARIO E. SUAREZ 1 1Red Paleontologica U.Chile, Laboratorio de Ontogenia y Filogenia, Departamento de Biologıa, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Chile, Las Palmeras 3425, Nu~ noa,~ Santiago, Chile; e-mails: [email protected], [email protected], [email protected] 2Department of Paleobiology, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, PO Box 37012, Washington, DC 20013-7012, USA; e-mail: [email protected] 3Departments of Mammalogy and Paleontology, Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture, Seattle, WA 98195, USA 4Current address: Area de Patrimonio Natural, Consejo de Monumentos Nacionales, Vicuna~ Mackenna, 84, Providencia, Santiago, Chile Typescript received 25 May 2015; accepted in revised form 15 September 2015 Abstract: Along the south-western coast of South America, foramen; a femur with a subtrochanteric fossa, among other three genera of fossil phocids (true seals) have been formally characters; in combination with a relatively small body size. described from the late Neogene: Acrophoca and Piscophoca All these features together distinguish A. changorum from all from Chile and Peru, and, more recently, Hadrokirus from other reported pinnipeds. This new taxon not only increases Peru, which all represent medium- to large-sized phocids. the taxonomic and morphological diversity of phocids of the Here, we report the discovery of Australophoca changorum late Neogene of the eastern South Pacific Ocean, but it also gen.
  • The Biology of Marine Mammals

    The Biology of Marine Mammals

    Romero, A. 2009. The Biology of Marine Mammals. The Biology of Marine Mammals Aldemaro Romero, Ph.D. Arkansas State University Jonesboro, AR 2009 2 INTRODUCTION Dear students, 3 Chapter 1 Introduction to Marine Mammals 1.1. Overture Humans have always been fascinated with marine mammals. These creatures have been the basis of mythical tales since Antiquity. For centuries naturalists classified them as fish. Today they are symbols of the environmental movement as well as the source of heated controversies: whether we are dealing with the clubbing pub seals in the Arctic or whaling by industrialized nations, marine mammals continue to be a hot issue in science, politics, economics, and ethics. But if we want to better understand these issues, we need to learn more about marine mammal biology. The problem is that, despite increased research efforts, only in the last two decades we have made significant progress in learning about these creatures. And yet, that knowledge is largely limited to a handful of species because they are either relatively easy to observe in nature or because they can be studied in captivity. Still, because of television documentaries, ‘coffee-table’ books, displays in many aquaria around the world, and a growing whale and dolphin watching industry, people believe that they have a certain familiarity with many species of marine mammals (for more on the relationship between humans and marine mammals such as whales, see Ellis 1991, Forestell 2002). As late as 2002, a new species of beaked whale was being reported (Delbout et al. 2002), in 2003 a new species of baleen whale was described (Wada et al.
  • Download Original 4.92 MB

    Download Original 4.92 MB

    TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT………………………………………………………………………………..………2 INTRODUCTION …………………………………………………………………………………. 3 WHAT IS COMPLEXITY? ………………………………………………………………... 3 HIERARCHY ……………………………………………………………………………... 5 DIVISION OF LABOR & PARTS …………………………………………………………...7 COMPLEXITY VERSUS REDUNDANCY…………………………………………………… 8 REFINED DEFINITION OF COMPLEXITY ………………………………………………… 9 WHY FOCUS ON WHALES?..... ………………………………….......…………………..…9 METHODS………………………………………………………………………………..………14 APPLICATIONS …………………………………………………………………………. 20 SOURCES OF DATA ……………………………………………………………………... 20 RESULTS ………………………………………………………………………………..………..20 DISCUSSION….………………………………………………………………………………..… 28 TREND TOWARDS SIMPLICITY ...………………………………………………………...28 FEEDING BEHAVIOR OF EXTINCT CETACEANS ……………………………………..….. 30 ROLE OF HABITAT IN DENTITION SIMPLIFICATION ……………………………………. 31 CONCLUSIONS …………………………………………………………………………………...35 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ………………………………………………………………..………. .36 APPENDIX A……………………………………………………………………………..……… 37 APPENDIX B……………………………………………………………………………..……… 39 APPENDIX C……………………………………………………………………………..……… 40 REFERENCES……………………………………………………………………………………. 42 [1] ABSTRACT Over billions of years, evolution has given rise to organisms that have increased dramatically in complexity, from microbes alone to communities that include modern humans and the great whales. But change in individual lineages, occurring by chance and in adaptation to unpredictable circumstances, does not necessarily involve increasing complexity. Complexity may increase or decrease depending on the immediate situation.
  • The Evolution of Animal Weapons

    The Evolution of Animal Weapons

    The Evolution of Animal Weapons Douglas J. Emlen Division of Biological Sciences, The University of Montana, Missoula, Montana 59812; email: [email protected] Annu. Rev. Ecol. Evol. Syst. 2008. 39:387-413 Key Words First published online as a Review in Advance on animal diversity, sexual selection, male competition, horns, antlers, tusks September 2, 2008 The Annual Review of Ecology, Evolution, and Abstract Systematics is online at ecolsys.annualreviews.org Males in many species invest substantially in structures that are used in com- This article's doi: bat with rivals over access to females. These weapons can attain extreme 10.1146/annurev.ecolsys.39.110707.173 502 proportions and have diversified in form repeatedly. I review empirical lit- Copyright © 2008 by Annual Reviews. erature on the function and evolution of sexually selected weapons to clarify All rights reserved important unanswered questions for future research. Despite their many 1543-592X/08/1201-0387$20.00 shapes and sizes, and the multitude of habitats within which they function, animal weapons share many properties: They evolve when males are able to defend spatially restricted critical resources, they are typically the most variable morphological structures of these species, and this variation hon- estly reflects among-individual differences in body size or quality. What is not clear is how, or why, these weapons diverge in form. The potential for male competition to drive rapid divergence in weapon morphology remains one of the most exciting and understudied topics in sexual selection research today. 3*7 INTRODUCTION Sexual selection is credited with the evolution of nature's most extravagant structures, and these include showy male adornments that are attractive to females (ornaments) and an arsenal of outgrowths that function in male-male combat (weapons) (Darwin 1871).
  • Neogene Life & Extinctions (Pdf)

    Neogene Life & Extinctions (Pdf)

    Neogene Worlds, Life & Extinctions Norman MacLeod School of Earth Sciences & Engineering, Nanjing University Neogene Worlds, Life & Extinctions Objectives Understand the structure of the Neogene world in terms of timescales, geo- graphy, environments, and organisms. Understand the structure of Neogene extinction events. Understand the major Neogene extinction drivers. Understand the degree to which these putative drivers correlate with Neogene extinction events. Neogene Worlds, Life & Extinctions Presentation Topics Stratigraphy - chronostrati- graphy & geochronology Geography - tectonics & distribution Climate - circulation, temp- 0°0° erature, weather Biota - protists, inverte- brates, vertebrates, plants Evolution - evolutionary faunas, adaptive radiations, major innovations Significant Events - sea-level changes, volcanic eruptions, marine anoxia events, bolide impacts, extinctions 80 PhanerozoicPhanerozoic System Durations 64 48 Duration32 (myr) 16 0 Camb. Ord. Sil. Dev. Carbon. Perm. Trias. Jur. Cret. Paleog. Neog. Data fromQuat. ICS (2020) Cenozoic Epoch Durations 24 19.2 14.4 9.6 Duration (myr) 4.8 0 Paleocene Eocene Oligocene Miocene Pliocene Data from ICS (2020) Neogene Neogene Timescale System/ Numerical Period Series/Epoch Stage/Age Age (Ma) 2.580 Piacenzian Pliocene 3.600 Zanclean 5.333 Messinian 7.246 Tortonian 11.63 Serravillian Miocene 13.82 Neogene Langhian 15.97 Burdigalian 20.44 Aquitainian 23.03 ICS International Chronostrat. Chart 2020/03 Neogene Tectonic Configuration Establishment of modern tectonic plate configurations and establishment of modern atmospheric and marine circulation patterns. Continents continue to drift toward their present positions. Land bridge between North America and South America forms during the Pliocene due to sea-level fall. Mountain ranges appear on almost all continents owing to tectonic collisions & subductions. Tectonic collision between Africa and Europe caused Mediterranean Sea to dry up in Messinian.
  • New Discoveries of Fossil Toothed Whales from Peru: Our Changing Perspective of Beaked Whale and Sperm Whale Evolution

    New Discoveries of Fossil Toothed Whales from Peru: Our Changing Perspective of Beaked Whale and Sperm Whale Evolution

    Quad. Mus. St. Nat. Livorno, 23: 13-27 (2011) DOI code: 10.4457/musmed.2010.23.13 13 New discoveries of fossil toothed whales from Peru: our changing perspective of beaked whale and sperm whale evolution OLIVIER LAMBERT1 SUMMARY: Following the preliminary description of a first fossil odontocete (toothed whale) from the Miocene of the Pisco Formation, southern coast of Peru, in 1944, many new taxa from Miocene and Pliocene levels of this formation were described during the 80’s and 90’s, (families Kentriodontidae, Odobenocetopsidae, Phocoenidae, and Pontoporiidae). Only one Pliocene Ziphiidae (beaked whale) and one late Miocene Kogiidae (dwarf sperm whale) were defined. Modern beaked whales and sperm whales (Physeteroidea = Kogiidae + Physeteridae) share several ecological features: most are predominantly teuthophagous, suction feeders, and deep divers. They further display a highly modified cranial and mandibular morphology, including tooth reduction in both groups, high vertex and sexually dimorphic mandibular tusks in ziphiids, and development of a vast supracranial basin in physeteroids. New discoveries from the Miocene of the Pisco Formation enrich the fossil record of ziphiids and physeteroids and shed light on various aspects of their evolution. From Cerro Colorado, a new species of the ziphiid Messapicetus lead to the description of features previously unknown in fossil members of the family: association of complete upper and lower tooth series with tusks, hypothetical sexual dimorphism in the development of the tusks, skull anatomy of a calf... A new small ziphiid from Cerro los Quesos, Nazcacetus urbinai, is characterized by the reduction of the dentition: a pair of apical mandibular tusks associated to vestigial postapical teeth, likely hold in the gum.
  • Marine Tetrapods (Of the Kitimat Fjord System)

    Marine Tetrapods (Of the Kitimat Fjord System)

    Bangarang February 2014 Backgrounder1 Marine Tetrapods (of the Kitimat Fjord System) Eric Keen Abstract Marine tetrapods are vertebrates secondarily adapted for marine environment who obtain most or all of their nourishment from the sea. This includes marine reptiles, marine mammals (cetaceans, pinnipeds, sirenians, sea otters, sea bats and polar bears) and seabirds. This Backgrounder reviews their general natural history and compiles information relevant to the status, ecology and distribution of those marine tetrapods expected in the Kitimat Fjord System. Of marine mammals, the Kitimat Fjord System is commonly host to two mysticetes, four odontocetes, two phocids, one otariid, and one mustelid. Depending on how one deals with the seasonal use of marine habitats, 35-55 seabirds are expected in the area (excluding shorebirds). Contents Natural History Taxonomy Marine tetrapods Marine mammals Seabirds Evolution Water: The subtle difference Marine mammals Seabirds Biology Anatomy, Morphology Energetics Diving Life History – Marine Mammals Life History – Seabirds Foraging Marine Mammals of the Kitimat Fjord System Toothed cetaceans Mustached cetaceans Pinnipeds Mustelids Seabirds of the Kitimat Fjord System Taxon by Taxon Important Bird Areas (IBAs) 1 Bangarang Backgrounders are imperfect but rigorouss reviews – written in haste, not peer-reviewed – in an effort to organize and memorize the key information for every aspect of the project. They will be updated regularly as new learnin’ is incorporated. 1 Natural History Taxonomy For our purposes, tetrapods (amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals) are considered marine if they obtain most or all of their sea from the marine environment. Marine Mammals The term “marine mammal” is not a natural biological grouping; it encompasses 130 species of cetaceans, pinnipeds (these are the two most common and well known marine mammal groups), sirenians, and fissipeds (Carnivora members with separate digits, including the otters and polar bears), all of whom retrieve most of their food from the sea.
  • A Supermatrix Analysis of Genomic, Morphological, and Paleontological Data from Crown Cetacea

    A Supermatrix Analysis of Genomic, Morphological, and Paleontological Data from Crown Cetacea

    UC Riverside UC Riverside Previously Published Works Title A supermatrix analysis of genomic, morphological, and paleontological data from crown Cetacea Permalink https://escholarship.org/uc/item/5qp747jj Journal BMC Evolutionary Biology, 11(1) ISSN 1471-2148 Authors Geisler, Jonathan H McGowen, Michael R Yang, Guang et al. Publication Date 2011-04-25 DOI http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/1471-2148-11-112 Supplemental Material https://escholarship.org/uc/item/5qp747jj#supplemental Peer reviewed eScholarship.org Powered by the California Digital Library University of California Geisler et al. BMC Evolutionary Biology 2011, 11:112 http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2148/11/112 RESEARCHARTICLE Open Access A supermatrix analysis of genomic, morphological, and paleontological data from crown Cetacea Jonathan H Geisler1*, Michael R McGowen2,3, Guang Yang4 and John Gatesy2 Abstract Background: Cetacea (dolphins, porpoises, and whales) is a clade of aquatic species that includes the most massive, deepest diving, and largest brained mammals. Understanding the temporal pattern of diversification in the group as well as the evolution of cetacean anatomy and behavior requires a robust and well-resolved phylogenetic hypothesis. Although a large body of molecular data has accumulated over the past 20 years, DNA sequences of cetaceans have not been directly integrated with the rich, cetacean fossil record to reconcile discrepancies among molecular and morphological characters. Results: We combined new nuclear DNA sequences, including segments of six genes (~2800 basepairs) from the functionally extinct Yangtze River dolphin, with an expanded morphological matrix and published genomic data. Diverse analyses of these data resolved the relationships of 74 taxa that represent all extant families and 11 extinct families of Cetacea.
  • Albers Odobenocetops

    Albers Odobenocetops

    Cetacea.de Die grotesken Wal- rosswale von Peru: Odobenocetops von Johannes Albers Der Wal — das Walross — die Walrosswale. Man denke sich eine Kreuzung zwi- schen Narwal und Walross, und man gewinnt eine Vorstellung von den skurrilen Walrosswalen, wissenschaftlich Odobenocetops. Zwei fossile Arten sind bekannt. Sie lebten vor ca. 3 — 5 Millionen Jahren und kommen nur in Südperu vor, in der weltberühmten Pisco-Formation. Deren reiches Spektrum fossiler Zahn- und Bar- tenwale hat sich den Forschern seit dem 19. Jahrhundert nur nach und nach er- schlossen. Die Walrosswale, erst ab 1993 beschrieben, setzen allen früheren Entde- ckungen die Krone auf. mit schriftlicher Genehmigung der Redaktion Cetacea.de ([email protected]) nur oder Vervielfältigung © Cetacea.de 2012 / Alle Rechte vorbehalten Veröffentlichung http://www.cetacea.de/palaeocetologie/odobenocetops/odoben_01.htm von Peru: Odobenocetops. Johannes Albers (2003): Die grotesken Walrosswale Teure Hotels Paracas wird es in Hinblick auf Wale ab und obere Stockwerke einer bestimmten Schicht aufwärts in- 1957 erzählt Annemarie Lennartz in teressant: einem Buch von ihrem Leben als Frau Im selben Jahr wie das Buch von eines deutschen Walfängers in Peru. Annemarie Lennartz erschien in der Sie wohnte in der Hafenstadt Pisco Geologischen Rundschau eine volumi- und fuhr gelegentlich aus dem Ort hi- nöse Arbeit von Werner Rüegg über naus in Richtung Süden, zur öde und die Geologie Südperus. Und südlich abseits gelegenen Walfangstation. von Paracas dehnt sich in der Küsten- Manchmal sogar noch ein Stück weiter, wüste rund 350 Kilometer lang die bis zum Küstenort Paracas. Der war Pisco-Formation aus. Rüegg schreibt: buchstäblich eine Oase in der Wüste "In den mittleren und oberen Stock- der drögen Landschaft Südperus, mit werken kommen gelegentlich gestran- Villen, Hotels und Badestränden.
  • Cetacea: Odontoceti: Kogiidae) from the Late Miocene of Peru

    Cetacea: Odontoceti: Kogiidae) from the Late Miocene of Peru

    Foss. Rec., 20, 259–278, 2017 https://doi.org/10.5194/fr-20-259-2017 © Author(s) 2017. This work is distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License. Koristocetus pescei gen. et sp. nov., a diminutive sperm whale (Cetacea: Odontoceti: Kogiidae) from the late Miocene of Peru Alberto Collareta1,2, Olivier Lambert3, Christian de Muizon4, Mario Urbina5, and Giovanni Bianucci1 1Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, Università di Pisa, via Santa Maria 53, 56126 Pisa, Italy 2Dottorato Regionale in Scienze della Terra Pegaso, Università di Pisa, via Santa Maria 53, 56126 Pisa, Italy 3Institut Royal des Sciences Naturelles de Belgique, D.O. Terre et Histoire de la Vie, rue Vautier 29, 1000 Brussels, Belgium 4Département Origines et Évolution, Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle, Centre de Recherches sur la paléobiodiversité et les paléoenvironnements – CR2P (CNRS, MNHN, UPMC, Sorbonne Université), rue Buffon 8, 75005 Paris, France 5Departamento de Paleontologia de Vertebrados, Museo de Historia Natural de la Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos, avenida Arenales 1256, Lima 14, Peru Correspondence to: Alberto Collareta ([email protected]) Received: 7 August 2017 – Accepted: 30 October 2017 – Published: 7 December 2017 Abstract. Among odontocetes, members of the family Kogi- habits in fossil kogiids, thus suggesting that our comprehen- idae (pygmy and dwarf sperm whales) are known as small- sion of the evolutionary history of pygmy and dwarf sperm sized and in many respects enigmatic relatives of the great whales is still far from being exhaustive. sperm whale Physeter macrocephalus. Most of the still scanty fossil record of Kogiidae is represented by isolated skulls and ear bones from Neogene deposits of the North- ern Hemisphere, with the significant exception of Scaphoko- 1 Introduction gia, a highly autapomorphic genus from late Miocene de- posits of the Pisco Formation exposed along the southern Among extant odontocetes, members of the currently coast of Peru.
  • Pliocene Marine Mammals from the Whalers Bluff Formation of Portland, Victoria, Australia

    Pliocene Marine Mammals from the Whalers Bluff Formation of Portland, Victoria, Australia

    Memoirs of Museum Victoria 62(1): 67–89 (2005) ISSN 1447-2546 (Print) 1447-2554 (On-line) http://www.museum.vic.gov.au/memoirs/index.asp Pliocene marine mammals from the Whalers Bluff Formation of Portland, Victoria, Australia ERICH M.G. FITZGERALD School of Geosciences, Monash University, Vic. 3800, Australia and Museum Victoria, G.P.O. Box 666, Melbourne, Vic. 3001, Australia ([email protected]) Abstract Fitzgerald, E.M.G. Pliocene marine mammals from the Whalers Bluff Formation of Portland, Victoria, Australia. Memoirs of Museum Victoria 62(1): 67–89. The most diverse and locally abundant Australian fossil marine mammal assemblages are those from late Neogene (Late Miocene through Late Pliocene) sediments in Victoria and Flinders Island, Tasmania. However, none of these assemblages have hitherto been described. The Pliocene (>2.5–4.8 Ma) Whalers Bluff Formation, exposed in beach cliff sections and offshore reefs, at Portland, western Victoria (38°19'S, 141°38'E) has yielded a small but moderately diverse assemblage of marine mammals represented by fragmentary material. Taxa present include: right whales (Balaenidae); rorqual whales (Balaenopteridae); a physeterid similar to the extant sperm whale (cf. Physeter sp.); the first Australian fossil record of pygmy sperm whales (Kogiidae); at least three genera of dolphins (Delphinidae: cf. Tursiops sp., Delphinus sp. or Stenella sp., and an undetermined genus and species); and probable earless or true seals (Phocidae). This small assemblage represents the first Australian fossil marine mammal assemblage to be described in detail. The taxonomic composition of this Pliocene marine mammal assemblage is generally similar to the present day marine mammal assemblage in north-west Bass Strait.