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Zeezoogdieren CRANIUM, nr. 2 -1998 De Nederlandse fossiele zeezoogdieren. Een overzicht Klaas Post Samenvatting Onder de worden in dit Cetacea de noemer zeezoogdieren artikel de (walvissen en dolfijnen), Pinnipedia de Sirenia Fossielen worden (zeehonden, zeeleeuwen en walrussen) en (zeekoeien) samengevat. van zeezoogdieren dan Naast het feit dat zeldzaam is hun veel minder aangetroffen fossielen van landzoogdieren. ze gewoon zijn voorkomen ook recente of fossiele zeebodems en stranden. nog beperkt tot specifieke gebieden: namelijk en is de evolutie bekend dus is de of Dientengevolge er nogweinig over van zeezoogdieren en genus- soortbepaling of Verder vooral oudere literatuur foutieve informatiete bevatten en vaak nog moeilijk geheel nietmogelijk. blijkt bovendien aantal verschillende dezelfde vermelden.Het is danook niet een enorm namen voor genera en soorten te verwonderlijk dat fossiele zeezoogdieren wetenschappelijk noch populair in de belangstelling staan. De de Noordzee behoren de wereld van fossielen van Nederlanden en aangrenzende tot rijkste vindplaatsen ter zeezoogdieren. Hoe kan het ook eigenlijk anders met zo’n waterrijke geologische geschiedenis. De voortdurend Pleistoceen het Holoceenincombinatie met wisselendeNoordzeekustlijnen gedurende Mioceen,Plioceen, en vroege de vele rivieren hebben Zo worden de mondingen van grote zeer gevarieerde zeezoogdierfauna’s nagelaten. de Pleistocene walrus wereld zoveel fossielen als in Nederland! Ondanks de bijvoorbeeld van nergens ter gevonden kwaliteit deze heeft de eind links laten De kwantiteit en van fossielen wetenschap ze sinds vorige eeuw liggen. helaas vaak verloren collecties verkeren veelal in slechte staat en de bijbehorende gegevens zijn gegaan. Summary lions and and the Sirenia In this article the Cetacea (wales and delphins), the Pinnipedia (seals, sea walrusses) (sea unitedunder the mammals.Fossils of mammals found lesser thanthose of land cows) are term sea sea are to a extent also: and fossil mammals. In addition to their rareness, their appearance is restricted to specific areas recent sea bottoms and beaches. Therefore, still little is known about the evolution of sea mammals, so the genus and species determinationoften is difficult older literature to contain or even impossible. Furthermore, especially appears mention for the and incorrect information, and, in addition, to a huge amount of different names same genera species. of neither in science The Thus, it is not amazing that fossil sea mammals are not a center interest, or in popular areas. Netherlands and the adjoining North Sea belong to the richest locations of the world of fossil sea mammals. How The shore linesof the North could it be different, with such a geological history abounding in water! ever changing Sea and in with the mouthsofthe during Miocene,Pliocene, Pleistocene the early Holocene combination many large rivers have left behind variated mammalfauna. For nowhere the world so fossils are a very sea example, on many found of the Pleistocene walrus as in the Netherlands! However, these fossils have bee neglected by scientists since the end the nineteenth of and The often in bad condition of century, in spite their quantity quality. collections are a and often the accompagnying data have been lost. Eoceen en Oligoceen De zeezoogdieren ontstondenwaarschijnlijk in het Eo- In feite is de de ceen. oorsprong van walvissen nog Wel de steeds niet duidelijk. worden er laatste jaren steeds meeren ouderefossielen gevonden. Oerwalvis- of Archaeoceti het sen zijn vanuit Vroeg Eoceen van Pakistan (Pakicetus) en het MiddenEoceen van Egypte de Staten bekend. De al de en Verenigde meer op huidige dolfijnen gelijkende Squalodontidae (ge- noemd naar de zo kenmerkende driehoekige, haaia- chtige tanden) komen vanaf het Midden Oligoceen Uit ook de voor. datzelfde tijdperk zijn eerste primi- beschreven tieve baleinwalvissen ( Mauicetus van Nieuw Zeeland). Ook de oorsprong van dePinnipedia Fig. 1 Zeehond (tekening Ko Sturkop);Seal (drawing Ko Sturkop) is steeds niet echte nog duidelijk; tot nu toe zijn geen 67 CRANIUM, nr. 2-1998 het Eoceen aandacht deze fossielen vertegenwoordigers uit en Oligoceen aan schonk; en Heslinga ,die zeker het de ondernam. Een- beschreven. Vermoedelijk zullen uit Laat in zeventiger jarennog een poging vondstente verwachten omdat we met tot en soorten Oligoceen nog zijn duidigheid betrekking geslachten deze fauna'sbestaat veel niet. De in het Mioceen al meerdere families tegenkomen. van in gevallen (nog) al Phoca Duidelijk is wel dat de walrussen (Odobenidae) en zeehonden leken al veel op de huidige soorten; dezelfde beera- de zeeleeuwen (Otariidae) van een en chtige landcarnivoorafstammen. De echte zeehonden echter (Phocidae) (fig. 1) stammen van een nog on- bekende andere landcarnivoor af. De Sirenia zijn wel al vanaf het Eoceen bekend. Zelfs de twee recente families de Dugongidea ( Eotheroides vanuitde Tethys) de Trichechidae Prorastomus vanuit de en ( Caribbean) kwamen toch is ondanks al deze kennis toen al voor, ook de de zeekoeien steeds in oorsprong van nog nevelen gehuld! het Eoceen het Zeezoogdieren vanuit en Oligoceen land niet met zekerheid bekend. In zijn uit ons nog feite zouden we fossielen van de Zeeuwse kust (Cadzand en Nieuwvliet) moetenkunnen verwachten omdat van deze vindplaatsen Eocene en Oligocene haaien krabbenbeschreven fossielen van en zijn (Lin- demann et al., 1998). Vermoedelijk zijn deze fossielen afkomstig uit het vlak voor de kust dagzomende Laat Miocene basisgrind, dat gekenmerkt wordt door zeer typerende fosforietknollen en zeer zwaar gemineral- iseerde bruine fossielen. Erosie door een zich terug- Fig. 2 Acrodelphis (Collectie Peters) heeft Miocene ook Eocene trekkende zee naast lagen Fossielen en LaatOligocene afzettingen verspoeld. uit deze vinden dus Miocenefos- lagen we nu samen met hetbest bekend is misschien een zeer kleine soort die sielen in dit Laat Miocene Vreemd basisgrind. genoeg veel kleiner dan de Pusa his- nog huidige ringelrob ( de tot toe zijn nu gevonden zeezoogdierfossielen van Walvissen komen het pida) was. meest voor en ver- deze vindplaats (voornamelijk botfragmenten van schillen aanmerkelijk van de huidige soorten. Niet zeehonden tanden wal- en en gehoorbeenderen van alleen zijn sommige genera nu uitgestorven, maar vissen en van Miocene dolfijnen) waarschijnlijk vooral de de diverse binnende verhouding van genera ouderdom. is ook dat Mio- Opvallend Oligocene en de walvisfauna verschilt volledig van huidige samen- cene schelpen van deze vindplaats niet bekend zijn stelling. Waar nu binnen de Cetacea de familie Del- wel Eocenesoorten worden.Meer terwijl aangetroffen de meeste phinidae (de dolfijnachtigen) verreweg studie is dus noodzakelijk voordat we met zekerheid soorten levert, waren echte dolfijnen in het Vroeg en Eocene en/of Oligocene zeezoogdierfossielen van MiddenMioceen niet Het deel nog ontstaan. overgrote Nederlandkunnen melden. de werd door van soorten gevormd primitieve (nog niet bekende zelfs vaak niet erg goed en benoemde) baleinwalvissen. Dit waren vaak zeer kleine (tot vier a Mioceen vijf meter lange) echte walvissen. Wetenschappelijk bestaat steeds discussie of dezebaleinwalvissen er nog deel het het Gedurendeeen van Mioceen was huidige en de huidige echte baleinwalvissen (Balaenidae) een Nederland grotendeels door de Noordzee bedekt. De en dezelfde familie vormen. Tegenwoordig bestaan door het oosten land toenmalige kustlijn liep van ons deze familie van nogmaar twee (zeer grote) soorten: en er dan ook het deze eeuw veel zijn aan begin van de de walvis. De noordkaper en groenlandse van fossielen in kleigroeven in Twente en de Gelderse fraaie vondsten in België goed bekende en nau- Achterhoek Neede Winter- met name Eibergen, en wkeurig beschreven primitieve Eurhinodelphidae swijk gevonden. Hoewel de overleveringen over "wa- kwamen ook in Oost-Nederland voor (Abel; vol"fossielen de gens spreken was belangstelling voor tandwalvissen 1902,1930,1932). Deze haddeneen zeer deze fossielen zeer beperkt en resten ons nu slechts kenmerkendevan veel tandenvoorzieneenorm lange slechte kwaliteit. Nau- geïsoleerde wervels van en dunnebovenkaak, die ver buitende onderkaak uit- wkeurige vondstgegevens zijn niet of nauwelijks meer stak. Vermoedelijk hebben deze veel voorkomende Globaal kunnen stellen dat bekend. we waarschijnlijk dolfijnachtigen hun prooi (vis?) in het ondiepe en troe- twee soorten zeehondenen een tiental soorten walvis- bele water van de riviermondingen moeten zoeken. voorkwamen. informatie de sen Deze is gebaseerd op Verder zijn ook resten van Acrodelphis (een tandwalvis schamele fossielen die overgebleven zijn en de van maximaal twee meter; fig. 2), grote potvistanden Deinse beschrijvingen van Van (1931, 1943, 1944, (Scaldicetus; een primitieve potvis) en een schedelfrag- 1965), de enige onderzoeker die in de veertiger jaren ment van een spitssnuitdolfijn aangetroffen. De 68 CRANIUM, nr. 2-1998 deze vindenin het den slecht beschreven wordt door een meeste van fossielen zijn te natuur- en gekenmerkt Enschede. dieroofdiertrekken historisch museum te primitieve schedelbouw vertoont. befaamde niet Het walvisblaasgat (neusgat) ligt nog Midden deze Een belangrijk Mioceenfossiel datwe uit middenachterop de schedel, maar meer naar voren. In streek kennen is een snuitgedeelte van Miokogia datin feite worden alle primitieve vinvissen nog steeds in 1974 doorschelpenzoekers de locatie Berenschot in op de een verzamelgroep geplaatst: Cetotheriidae; maar het buurtschap Miste bij Winterswijk werd aangetrof- of dit de voorlopers van
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