DOCSLIB.ORG

Skull Morphology and Phylogenetic Relationships of a New Diminutive Balaenid from the Lower Pliocene of Belgium

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Skull Morphology and Phylogenetic Relationships of a New Diminutive Balaenid from the Lower Pliocene of Belgium [Palaeontology, Vol. 48, Part 4, 2005, pp. 793–816] SKULL MORPHOLOGY AND PHYLOGENETIC RELATIONSHIPS OF A NEW DIMINUTIVE BALAENID FROM THE LOWER PLIOCENE OF BELGIUM by MICHELANGELO BISCONTI Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, Universita` di Pisa, via Santa Maria 53, 56126 Pisa, Italy; e-mail: [email protected] Typescript received 26 November 2003; accepted in revised form 10 May 2004 Abstract: A new small balaenid is described and compared ment of 81 morphological character states scored for 10 to all fossil and living balaenid taxa. The specimen represents balaenids and nine non-balaenid cetaceans revealed that the a new genus and species and is named Balaenella brachyrhy- other small balaenids generally included in the genus Balaen- nus. It was discovered in the Lower Pliocene of Kallo (north- ula (including Balaenula astensis, B. balaenopsis and a Plio- west Antwerp, Belgium) and adds new information on the cene Balaenula sp. from Japan) are closer to the living genus diversity and evolution of Balaenidae. Based on both com- Eubalaena (the Right whale). As the new skull is so different parative morphology and phylogenetic analysis, Balaenella from the nominal Balaenula species, and as it is more closely brachyrhynus is morphologically closer to the genus Balaena, related to Balaena than to Eubalaena, it is concluded that a including the living Greenland Bowhead whale (B. mystice- small body size was a common condition in different Bala- tus), and two Pliocene species (B. montalionis and B. ricei) enidae clades. from central Italy and the eastern USA. Balaenella brachyrhy- nus has very short nasals, a short rostrum relative to the total Key words: Balaenula, Balaenidae, Belgium, Cetacea, Mysti- skull length and a horizontal supraoccipital. A cladistic treat- ceti, Phylogeny, Pliocene. In zoological textbooks, balaenids are usually regarded as based on a fragmentary skull and associated skeleton gigantic, slow-swimming Mysticeti (Mammalia, Cetacea) but unfortunately an unambiguous character-based diag- with an arched rostrum and long baleen (Ridgway and nosis of the genus has been lacking until recently (Bis- Harrison 1985; Berta and Sumich 1999), but it is often conti 2003a). Abel (1941) re-assessed some Belgian forgotten that small and more streamlined forms have material pertaining to Balaenula and provided a recon- flourished during their evolutionary history. Small balae- struction of the type skull (Van Beneden did not desig- nids are represented by a conspicuous and widespread nate any holotype material). However, some fossil record. They occur in the Upper Miocene–Lower morphological details (such as the dorsal surface of the Pliocene of California (eastern Pacific; Barnes 1977), and supraoccipital, the relationships of maxilla and frontal, in Pliocene sediments of Belgium (north-east Atlantic; the morphology of the distal portion of the rostrum, Van Beneden 1880, 1878), Italy (central Mediterranean; and part of the architecture of the temporal fossa) are Trevisan 1941; Pilleri 1987; Bisconti 2000), Japan (western definitively lost and their reconstruction is based on Pacific; Excavation Research Group for the Fukagawa Fos- inference only. sil Whale 1982), and eastern USA (western Atlantic; In his original descriptions of the Balaenula type skull Whitmore 1994). Despite their worldwide occurrence, (namely Balaenula balaenopsis), Van Beneden (1880, only a few species have been described and figured in 1878) also discussed the morphology of periotic and detail; these are: the Japanese Balaenula sp. (Excavation tympanic bones. Unfortunately, it is not certain that Research Group for the Fukagawa Fossil Whale 1982), the these bones belong to the type skull because they were Italian Balaenula astensis (Trevisan 1941; Pilleri 1987; Bis- found disassociated from it (Van Beneden 1880, 1878), conti 2000) and, to some extent, the Belgian Balaenula and the features of the petrosal are so different from balaenopsis (Van Beneden 1878, 1880). what is observed in other balaenids that it is likely that The small balaenids are usually grouped within it does not belong to a balaenid at all (but see Bisconti the genus Balaenula Van Beneden, 1880. Balaenula is 2003a). ª The Palaeontological Association 793 794 PALAEONTOLOGY, VOLUME 48 New discoveries made during the twentieth century provided materials for the detailed descriptions of two well-preserved skulls and associated petrotympanic com- plexes of small balaenids from Italy and Japan (Trevisan 1941; Excavation Research Group for the Fukagawa Fossil Whale 1982). The new specimens were assigned to the genus Balaenula based on the small size of the crania. Bis- conti (2000) assessed the phylogenetic relationships of the Italian specimen (Balaenula astensis) on cladistic grounds and found that it was close to the Belgian Balaenula balaenopsis; however, the Japanese Balaenula sp. was not included in the ingroup and its phylogenetic position is still unclear. Bisconti (2000) found differences between TEXT-FIG. 1. Location of Antwerp and some of the principal the Italian and the Belgian species in the architecture of towns of Belgium (west of the River Mose), southern Holland (north of the River Mose) and north-west Germany (south and the temporal fossa and the brain size, and found a east of the River Rhine); the black rectangle indicates the weakly supported relationship between Balaenula astensis, discovery area. B. balaenopsis and the living Right whales (Eubalaena)to the exclusion of the extant and fossil species of Balaena that were known at that time. However, the low resolu- The new balaenid was found by E. T. H. Van Tuiyll tion of his cladograms demands a new and comprehen- in 1974 at Kallo, north-west Antwerp (Belgium; Text- sive study in order to fix systematic relationships among fig. 1), during the construction of the First Channel dock the Balaenidae. (Eerste Kanaaldok), 18 m below sea level. The First Chan- In a review of the evolutionary history of balaenids, nel dock is one of a series of channels connecting Ant- Bisconti (2003a) provided redescriptions of several fossil werp with the Schelde River (and indirectly with the taxa from Europe and emended some morphological North Sea). The specimen was displayed in Van Tuiyll’s diagnoses including that of Balaenula. He also furnished palaeontological collection until March 2001, when the a redescription of some type materials belonging to the whole collection was donated to the Natuurmuseum Belgian Balaenula balaenopsis. Furthermore, he updated Brabant in the town of Tilburg, Holland. the systematics of fossil Balaenidae and stated that, cur- rently, three species belong to Balaenula: the Italian B. astensis, the Belgian B. balaenopsis and an unnamed MATERIAL AND METHODS Balaenula sp. from Japan. The diagnosis of Balaenula is now unambiguous and mainly based on the orientation Institutional abbreviations. MSNT, Museo di Storia Naturale of the squamosal (in Balaenula it is directed anteriorly), e del Territorio, Universita` di Pisa, Pisa, Italy; MGP, Museo the position of the cranio-mandibular joint (which, in Geopaleontologico G. Capellini, Universita` di Bologna, Bologna, Italy; IRSN, Institute Royal des Sciences Naturelles, Bruxelles, Balaenula, is located under the orbit), and the height Belgium; NMB, Natuurmuseum Brabant, Tilburg, The Nether- of the exoccipital relative to the orbit (which, in lands; SMNS, Staatliches Museum fu¨r Naturkunde, Stuttgart, Balaenula, is very low). Germany; USNM, United States National Museum of Natural A new small balaenid is described in this paper based on History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC, USA; ZMA, a fairly well-preserved skull. The specimen is described Instituut voor Systematiek en Populatiebiologie ⁄ Zoo¨logisch and compared to the other giant and small, living and fos- Museum, Amsterdam, The Netherlands; ZML, Zoo¨logisch sil balaenids. The phylogenetic position of the new skull is Museum, Leiden, The Netherlands. explored by means of a cladistic study of the best-pre- served fossil balaenids, together with representatives of the Anatomical terms and abbreviations. The anatomical termin- living taxa. Based on the phylogenetic results and the com- ology describing the general features of the cetacean skull fol- parative analysis, it is concluded that the skull shows mor- lows Kellogg (1965, 1968a). Petrosal terminology is in accord phological features that distinguish it from the Italian, with Geisler and Luo (1996, 1998) and Luo and Gingerich (1999); tympanic terms are from Oishi and Hasegawa (1994), Belgian and Japanese small balaenids at generic level. Luo (1998) and Luo and Gingerich (1999). Abbreviations as Indeed, it represents a lineage unrelated to Balaenula, follows: an, antorbital notch; ap, anterior process of petrosal; being closer to the giant Balaena (the Greenland Bowhead apat, anterior pedicle for the articulation with the tympanic; whale). The skull documents an unsuspected diversity exocc, exoccipital; fm, foramen magnum; ip, infraorbital pro- among the small balaenids and, based on its phylogenetic cess of the maxilla; irfr, interorbital region of the frontal; lp, lat- position, suggests that in the past few million years a small eral protrusion of the lambdoidal crest; lpap, lateral projection size was a common condition in different balaenid clades. of the anterior process of the petrosal; lsc, lateral squamosal BISCONTI: DIMINUTIVE PLIOCENE WHALE 795 crest; mx, maxilla; mxf, maxillary foramen; n, nasal; nf, narial 257513: skull. Descriptions and
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Download Full Article in PDF Format
    A new marine vertebrate assemblage from the Late Neogene Purisima Formation in Central California, part II: Pinnipeds and Cetaceans Robert W. BOESSENECKER Department of Geology, University of Otago, 360 Leith Walk, P.O. Box 56, Dunedin, 9054 (New Zealand) and Department of Earth Sciences, Montana State University 200 Traphagen Hall, Bozeman, MT, 59715 (USA) and University of California Museum of Paleontology 1101 Valley Life Sciences Building, Berkeley, CA, 94720 (USA) [email protected] Boessenecker R. W. 2013. — A new marine vertebrate assemblage from the Late Neogene Purisima Formation in Central California, part II: Pinnipeds and Cetaceans. Geodiversitas 35 (4): 815-940. http://dx.doi.org/g2013n4a5 ABSTRACT e newly discovered Upper Miocene to Upper Pliocene San Gregorio assem- blage of the Purisima Formation in Central California has yielded a diverse collection of 34 marine vertebrate taxa, including eight sharks, two bony fish, three marine birds (described in a previous study), and 21 marine mammals. Pinnipeds include the walrus Dusignathus sp., cf. D. seftoni, the fur seal Cal- lorhinus sp., cf. C. gilmorei, and indeterminate otariid bones. Baleen whales include dwarf mysticetes (Herpetocetus bramblei Whitmore & Barnes, 2008, Herpetocetus sp.), two right whales (cf. Eubalaena sp. 1, cf. Eubalaena sp. 2), at least three balaenopterids (“Balaenoptera” cortesi “var.” portisi Sacco, 1890, cf. Balaenoptera, Balaenopteridae gen. et sp. indet.) and a new species of rorqual (Balaenoptera bertae n. sp.) that exhibits a number of derived features that place it within the genus Balaenoptera. is new species of Balaenoptera is relatively small (estimated 61 cm bizygomatic width) and exhibits a comparatively nar- row vertex, an obliquely (but precipitously) sloping frontal adjacent to vertex, anteriorly directed and short zygomatic processes, and squamosal creases.
    [Show full text]
  • Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area Geologic
    National Park Service Geologic Map of Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area U.S. Department of the Interior California Geologic Resources Inventory Natural Resource Stewardship and Science This map displays geologic map data compiled by the National Park Service Geologic Resources Inventory. Full Extent of GRI GIS Data It is not a substitute for site-specific investigations. Tss C O N E J O V A L L E Y Source Maps Poster Layout CALIFORNIA34 Tsi Tlv Blvd Canyon Topanga S A N F E R N A N D O Campbell, R.H., C.J. Wills, P.J. Irvine, and B.J Swanson (digital preparation by Chase Winters and Georgia Hybels C.I. Gutierrez and M.D. O'Neal). 2014. Preliminary geologic map of the (Colorado State University) V A L L E Y Kc Los Angeles 30' x 60' quadrangle, California (scale 1:100,000). Version 2.0. Poster Date California Geological Survey and the US Geological Survey. September 2016 National Park 23 Service Headquarters Tan, S.S., K.B. Clahan, C.S. Hitchcock, C.I. Gutierrez, and M.T. Mascorro. 2004. GRI Data Date Geologic map of the Camarillo 7.5-minute quadrangle, Ventura County, August 2016 California (scale 1:24,000). Version 1.0. Preliminary geologic maps. California O X N A R D Geological Survey. 101 P L A I N Wills, C.J., R.H. Campbell, and P.J. Irvine. 2012. Geologic map database of the Santa Monica Mountains region, Los Angeles and Ventura Counties, PACIFIC Tm California (scale 1:24,000). Unpublished. California Geological Survey.
    [Show full text]
  • Barren Ridge FEIS-Volume IV Paleo Tech Rpt Final March
    March 2011 BARREN RIDGE RENEWABLE TRANSMISSION PROJECT Paleontological Resources Assessment Report PROJECT NUMBER: 115244 PROJECT CONTACT: MIKE STRAND EMAIL: [email protected] PHONE: 714-507-2710 POWER ENGINEERS, INC. PALEONTOLOGICAL RESOURCES ASSESSMENT REPORT Paleontological Resources Assessment Report PREPARED FOR: LOS ANGELES DEPARTMENT OF WATER AND POWER 111 NORTH HOPE STREET LOS ANGELES, CA 90012 PREPARED BY: POWER ENGINEERS, INC. 731 EAST BALL ROAD, SUITE 100 ANAHEIM, CA 92805 DEPARTMENT OF PALEOSERVICES SAN DIEGO NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM PO BOX 121390 SAN DIEGO, CA 92112 ANA 032-030 (PER-02) LADWP (MARCH 2011) SB 115244 POWER ENGINEERS, INC. PALEONTOLOGICAL RESOURCES ASSESSMENT REPORT TABLE OF CONTENTS 1.0 INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................................... 1 1.1 STUDY PERSONNEL ....................................................................................................................... 2 1.2 PROJECT DESCRIPTION .................................................................................................................. 2 1.2.1 Construction of New 230 kV Double-Circuit Transmission Line ........................................ 4 1.2.2 Addition of New 230 kV Circuit ......................................................................................... 14 1.2.3 Reconductoring of Existing Transmission Line .................................................................. 14 1.2.4 Construction of New Switching Station .............................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • A Review of the Fossil Seabirds from the Tertiary of the North Pacific
    Paleobiology,18(4), 1992, pp. 401-424 A review of the fossil seabirds fromthe Tertiaryof the North Pacific: plate tectonics,paleoceanography, and faunal change Kenneth I. Warheit Abstract.-Ecologists attempt to explain species diversitywithin Recent seabird communities in termsof Recent oceanographic and ecological phenomena. However, many of the principal ocean- ographic processes that are thoughtto structureRecent seabird systemsare functionsof geological processes operating at many temporal and spatial scales. For example, major oceanic currents,such as the North Pacific Gyre, are functionsof the relative positions of continentsand Antarcticgla- ciation,whereas regional air masses,submarine topography, and coastline shape affectlocal processes such as upwelling. I hypothesize that the long-termdevelopment of these abiotic processes has influencedthe relative diversityand communitycomposition of North Pacific seabirds. To explore this hypothesis,I divided the historyof North Pacific seabirds into seven intervalsof time. Using published descriptions,I summarized the tectonicand oceanographic events that occurred during each of these time intervals,and related changes in species diversityto changes in the physical environment.Over the past 95 years,at least 94 species of fossil seabirds have been described from marine deposits of the North Pacific. Most of these species are from Middle Miocene through Pliocene (16.0-1.6 Ma) sediments of southern California, although species from Eocene to Early Miocene (52.0-22.0 Ma) deposits are fromJapan,
    [Show full text]
  • Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area Geologic Resources Inventory Report
    National Park Service U.S. Department of the Interior Natural Resource Stewardship and Science Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area Geologic Resources Inventory Report Natural Resource Report NPS/NRSS/GRD/NRR—2016/1297 ON THE COVER: Photograph of Boney Mountain (and the Milky Way). The Santa Monica Mountains are part of the Transverse Ranges. The backbone of the range skirts the northern edges of the Los Angeles Basin and Santa Monica Bay before descending into the Pacific Ocean at Point Mugu. The ridgeline of Boney Mountain is composed on Conejo Volcanics, which erupted as part of a shield volcano about 15 million years ago. National Park Service photograph available at http://www.nps.gov/samo/learn/photosmultimedia/index.htm. THIS PAGE: Photograph of Point Dume. Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area comprises a vast and varied California landscape in and around the greater Los Angeles metropolitan area and includes 64 km (40 mi) of ocean shoreline. The mild climate allows visitors to enjoy the park’s scenic, natural, and cultural resources year-round. National Park Service photograph available at https://www.flickr.com/photos/ santamonicamtns/albums. Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area Geologic Resources Inventory Report Natural Resource Report NPS/NRSS/GRD/NRR—2016/1297 Katie KellerLynn Colorado State University Research Associate National Park Service Geologic Resources Division Geologic Resources Inventory PO Box 25287 Denver, CO 80225 September 2016 U.S. Department of the Interior National Park Service Natural Resource Stewardship and Science Fort Collins, Colorado The National Park Service, Natural Resource Stewardship and Science office in Fort Collins, Colorado, publishes a range of reports that address natural resource topics.
    [Show full text]
  • A PARTIAL RIGHT WHALE SKULL from the HIGH LATITUDE PLIOCENE TJORNES€ FORMATION by DANIEL J
    [Palaeontology, Vol. 60, Part 2, 2017, pp. 141–148] RAPID COMMUNICATION THE OLDEST MARINE VERTEBRATE FOSSIL FROM THE VOLCANIC ISLAND OF ICELAND: A PARTIAL RIGHT WHALE SKULL FROM THE HIGH LATITUDE PLIOCENE TJORNES€ FORMATION by DANIEL J. FIELD1,7 , ROBERT BOESSENECKER2,3,RACHELA. RACICOT4,5,LOVISA ASBJ ORNSD€ OTTIR 6,KRISTJAN JONASSON 6,ALLISONY. HSIANG1,ADAMD.BEHLKE1,7 and JAKOB VINTHER1,8,9 1Department of Geology & Geophysics, Yale University, 210 Whitney Avenue, New Haven, CT 06511, USA; [email protected], [email protected] 2Department of Geology & Environmental Geosciences, College of Charleston, Charleston, SC 29424, USA; [email protected] 3University of California Museum of Paleontology, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA 4The Dinosaur Institute, Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, Los Angeles, CA 90007, USA; [email protected] 5Smithsonian Institution, PO Box 37012, MRC 121, Washington, DC 20013–7012, USA 6Icelandic Museum of Natural History, Reykjavık, Iceland 7Current address: Milner Centre for Evolution, Department of Biology & Biochemistry, University of Bath, Bath, BA2 7AY, UK; danieljaredfi[email protected] 8Current address: Denver Museum of Nature and Science, 2001 Colorado Blvd, Denver, CO 80205, USA 9Current address: School of Earth Sciences & Biological Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK; [email protected] Typescript received 5 August 2016; accepted in revised form 3 December 2016 Abstract: Extant baleen whales (Cetacea, Mysticeti) are a marine sedimentary outcrop. The specimen is diagnosed as disparate and species-rich group, but little is known about a partial skull from a large right whale (Mysticeti, Balaeni- their fossil record in the northernmost Atlantic Ocean, a dae).
    [Show full text]
  • 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.
    [Show full text]
  • THE OLDEST MARINE VERTEBRATE FOSSIL from the VOLCANIC ISLAND of ICELAND: a PARTIAL RIGHT WHALE SKULL from the HIGH LATITUDE PLIOCENE TJORNES€ FORMATION by DANIEL J
    [Palaeontology, 2017, pp. 1–8] RAPID COMMUNICATION THE OLDEST MARINE VERTEBRATE FOSSIL FROM THE VOLCANIC ISLAND OF ICELAND: A PARTIAL RIGHT WHALE SKULL FROM THE HIGH LATITUDE PLIOCENE TJORNES€ FORMATION by DANIEL J. FIELD1,7 , ROBERT BOESSENECKER2,3,RACHELA. RACICOT4,5,LOVISA ASBJ ORNSD€ OTTIR 6,KRISTJAN JONASSON 6,ALLISONY. HSIANG1,ADAMD.BEHLKE1,7 and JAKOB VINTHER1,8,9 1Department of Geology & Geophysics, Yale University, 210 Whitney Avenue, New Haven, CT 06511, USA; [email protected], [email protected] 2Department of Geology & Environmental Geosciences, College of Charleston, Charleston, SC 29424, USA; [email protected] 3University of California Museum of Paleontology, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA 4The Dinosaur Institute, Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, Los Angeles, CA 90007, USA; [email protected] 5Smithsonian Institution, PO Box 37012, MRC 121, Washington, DC 20013–7012, USA 6Icelandic Museum of Natural History, Reykjavık, Iceland 7Current address: Milner Centre for Evolution, Department of Biology & Biochemistry, University of Bath, Bath, BA2 7AY, UK; danieljaredfi[email protected] 8Current address: Denver Museum of Nature and Science, 2001 Colorado Blvd, Denver, CO 80205, USA 9Current address: School of Earth Sciences & Biological Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK; [email protected] Typescript received 5 August 2016; accepted in revised form 3 December 2016 Abstract: Extant baleen whales (Cetacea, Mysticeti) are a marine sedimentary outcrop. The specimen is diagnosed as disparate and species-rich group, but little is known about a partial skull from a large right whale (Mysticeti, Balaeni- their fossil record in the northernmost Atlantic Ocean, a dae). This discovery highlights the Tjornes€ Formation as a region that supports considerable extant cetacean diversity.
    [Show full text]
  • 1 Supplementary Information to a NEW BALAENOPTERID SPECIES from the SOUTHERN NORTH SEA BASIN INFORMS ABOUT PHYLOGENY and TAXONOM
    Supplementary Information to A NEW BALAENOPTERID SPECIES FROM THE SOUTHERN NORTH SEA BASIN INFORMS ABOUT PHYLOGENY AND TAXONOMY OF BURTINOPSIS AND PROTORORQUALUS (CETACEA, MYSTICETI, BALAENOPTERIDAE) Michelangelo Bisconti1,2, Mark E. J. Bosselaers3 1 Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, Università degli Studi di Torino, via Valperga Caluso 35, 10135, Torino, Italia. 2 San Diego Natural History Museum, 1788 El Prado, 90122 CA, United States of America 3Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences, 29 Vautierstraat, 1000, Brussels, Belgium Corresponding Author: Michelangelo Bisconti1 Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, Università degli Studi di Torino, via Valperga Caluso 35, 10135, Torino, Italia Email address: [email protected] 1 INDEX (p.) 1. Comparative dataset (3) Institutional abbreviations (4) Specimens used in the comparative analysis (5) Outlines of undescribed specimens (11) 2. Taxonomic revision of Burtinopsis (12) 3. Taphonomy (22) 4. Supplementary Tables (24) Table S1. Measurements of Burtinopsis: tympanic bullae (25) Table S2. Measurements of M684 (26) Table S3. Measurements of Burtinopsis: vertebrae (27) Table S4. Mollusc species at the discovery site (28) Table S5. Measurements of the holotype skull of Protororqualus wilfriedneesi (29) Table S6. Measurements of the periotics of Protororqualus wilfriedneesi (holotype) (30) Table S7. Measurements of tympanic bullae of Protororqualus wilfriedneesi (holotype) (31) Table S8. Measurements of referred periotics (32) Table S9. Measurements of tympanic bullae of referred specimens (33) Table S10. Geographic occurrences and ages of the taxa (34) 5. Supplementary Illustrations (37) Fig. S1-S52. Illustrations of Burtinopsis (38-64) Fig. S53-S57. Taphonomy of Protororqualus wilfriedneesi (65-69) Fig. S58. Additional illustration of Protororqualus wilfriedneesi (70) Fig. S59. Map of localities of referred materials (71) Fig.
    [Show full text]
  • Geologic Resources Inventory Ancillary Map Information Document for Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area
    U.S. Department of the Interior National Park Service Natural Resource Stewardship and Science Directorate Geologic Resources Division Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area GRI Ancillary Map Information Document Produced to accompany the Geologic Resources Inventory (GRI) Digital Geologic Data for Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area samo_geology.pdf Version: 8/4/2016 I Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area Geologic Resources Inventory Ancillary Map Information Document for Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area Table of Contents Geolog.i.c. .R...e..s.o..u..r.c..e..s.. .I.n..v.e..n..t.o..r..y. .M...a..p.. .D..o..c..u..m...e..n..t....................................................................... 1 About th..e.. .N...P..S.. .G...e..o..l.o..g..i.c. .R...e..s.o..u..r.c..e..s.. .I.n..v.e..n..t.o..r..y. .P...r.o..g..r.a..m........................................................... 3 GRI Dig.i.t.a..l. .M...a..p..s. .a..n..d.. .S...o..u..r.c..e.. .M..a..p.. .C...i.t.a..t.i.o..n..s........................................................................... 5 Digital G...e..o..l.o..g..i.c.. .M..a..p.. .o..f. .S...a..n..t.a.. .M..o..n..i.c..a.. .M...o..u..n..t.a..i.n..s. .N...a..t.i.o..n..a..l. .R..e..c..r.e..a..t.i.o..n.. .A..r.e..a.......................... 6 Map Un..it. .L..i.s..t................................................................................................................................................................. 6 Map Un..it. .D...e..s..c..r.i.p..t.io..n..s...................................................................................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • Geology and Paleontology of the Late Miocene Wilson Grove Formation at Bloomfield Quarry, Sonoma County, California
    Geology and Paleontology of the Late Miocene Wilson Grove Formation at Bloomfield Quarry, Sonoma County, California 2 cm 2 cm Scientific Investigations Report 2019–5021 U.S. Department of the Interior U.S. Geological Survey COVER. Photographs of fragments of a walrus (Gomphotaria pugnax Barnes and Raschke, 1991) mandible from the basal Wilson Grove Formation exposed in Bloomfield Quarry, just north of the town of Bloomfield in Sonoma County, California (see plate 8 for more details). The walrus fauna at Bloomfield Quarry is the most diverse assemblage of walrus yet reported worldwide from a single locality. cm, centimeter. (Photographs by Robert Boessenecker, College of Charleston.) Geology and Paleontology of the Late Miocene Wilson Grove Formation at Bloomfield Quarry, Sonoma County, California By Charles L. Powell II, Robert W. Boessenecker, N. Adam Smith, Robert J. Fleck, Sandra J. Carlson, James R. Allen, Douglas J. Long, Andrei M. Sarna-Wojcicki, and Raj B. Guruswami-Naidu Scientific Investigations Report 2019–5021 U.S. Department of the Interior U.S. Geological Survey U.S. Department of the Interior DAVID BERNHARDT, Secretary U.S. Geological Survey James F. Reilly II, Director U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, Virginia: 2019 For more information on the USGS—the Federal source for science about the Earth, its natural and living resources, natural hazards, and the environment—visit https://www.usgs.gov/ or call 1–888–ASK–USGS (1–888–275–8747). For an overview of USGS information products, including maps, imagery, and publications, visit https://store.usgs.gov/. Any use of trade, firm, or product names is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S.
    [Show full text]
  • This Is a Postprint That Has Been Peer Reviewed and Published in Naturwissenschaften. the Final, Published Version of This Artic
    This is a postprint that has been peer reviewed and published in Naturwissenschaften. The final, published version of this article is available online. Please check the final publication record for the latest revisions to this article. Boessenecker, R.W. 2013. Pleistocene survival of an archaic dwarf baleen whale (Mysticeti: Cetotheriidae). Naturwissenschaften 100:4:365-371. Pleistocene survival of an archaic dwarf baleen whale (Mysticeti: Cetotheriidae) Robert W. Boessenecker1,2 1Department of Geology, University of Otago, 360 Leith Walk, Dunedin, New Zealand 2 University of California Museum of Paleontology, University of California, Berkeley, California, U.S.A. *[email protected] Abstract Pliocene baleen whale assemblages are characterized by a mix of early records of extant mysticetes, extinct genera within modern families, and late surviving members of the extinct family Cetotheriidae. Although Pleistocene baleen whales are poorly known, thus far they include only fossils of extant genera, indicating late Pliocene extinctions of numerous mysticetes alongside other marine mammals. Here, a new fossil of the late Neogene cetotheriid mysticete Herpetocetus is reported from the Lower to Middle Pleistocene Falor Formation of Northern California. This find demonstrates that at least one archaic mysticete survived well into the Quaternary Period, indicating a recent loss of a unique niche and a more complex pattern of Plio-Pleistocene faunal overturn for marine mammals than has been previously acknowledged. This discovery also lends indirect support to the hypothesis that the pygmy right whale (Caperea marginata) is an extant cetotheriid, as it documents another cetotheriid nearly surviving to modern times. Keywords Cetacea; Mysticeti; Cetotheriidae; Pleistocene; California Introduction The four modern baleen whale (Cetacea: Mysticeti) families include fifteen gigantic filter-feeding species.
    [Show full text]