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The youngest record of fossil land mammals from Antarctica; its significance on the evolution of the terrestrial environment of the Antarctic Peninsula during the late Eocene

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 May 2016

S. F. Vizcaino
Affiliation:
Departamento Científico Paleontología Vertebrados, CONICET, Museo de La Plata, Paseo del bosque s/n, La Plata 1900, Argentina
M. Bond
Affiliation:
Departamento Científico Paleontología Vertebrados, CONICET, Museo de La Plata, Paseo del bosque s/n, La Plata 1900, Argentina
M. A. Reguero
Affiliation:
Departamento Científico Paleontología Vertebrados, CONICET, Museo de La Plata, Paseo del bosque s/n, La Plata 1900, Argentina
R. Pascual
Affiliation:
Departamento Científico Paleontología Vertebrados, CONICET, Museo de La Plata, Paseo del bosque s/n, La Plata 1900, Argentina

Extract

The record of fossil land mammals from Antarctica has been restricted previously to the middle levels of the Eocene-?early Oligocene La Meseta Formation in Seymour Island, Antarctic Peninsula. This mostly shallow-marine sequence was divided informally into seven subunits (Tertiary Eocene La Meseta or TELM 1 to 7) by Sadler (1988). Land mammals, representing South American lineages of marsupials, edentates, and ungulates were recovered from TELM 3, 4, and 5 (Marenssi et al., 1994; Vizcaíno et al., 1994). The purpose of the present note is to report the discovery of a well-preserved ungulate tooth from the uppermost level of the La Meseta Formation (TELM 7) and to discuss its paleoenvironmental implications.

Type
Paleontological Note
Copyright
Copyright © The Paleontological Society 

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