A new Neogene marine avian assemblage from north-central Chile

doi:10.1671/0272-4634(2001)021[0484:ANNMAA]2.0.CO;2

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A new Neogene marine avian assemblage from north-central Chile

Journal Article•DOI•

A new Neogene marine avian assemblage from north-central Chile

Stig A. Walsh¹, Julian P. Hume¹•Institutions (1)

University of Portsmouth¹

22 Aug 2001-Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology (Taylor & Francis Group)-Vol. 21, Iss: 3, pp 484-491

TL;DR: A Late Miocene to Early Pliocene marine avian assemblage is reported here from the Bahía Iglesa Formation of north-central Chile and the presence of the Chilean spheniscid penguin may prove significant in the taxonomy and radiation of the genus Spheniscus.

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Abstract: Most of South America's diverse avian fossil record is derived from terrestrial deposits. A Late Miocene to Early Pliocene marine avian assemblage is reported here from the Bahia Iglesa Formation of north-central Chile. Sulidae, Phalacrocoracidae, Pelagomithidae, Diomedeidae, and Spheniscidae reported here are the earliest occurrences in Chile. The presence of the Chilean spheniscid penguin may prove significant in the taxonomy and radiation of the genus Spheniscus.

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Journal Article•

Eocene penguins of Seymour Island, Antarctica: Taxonomy

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Andrzej Myrcha¹, Piotr Jadwiszczak¹•Institutions (1)

University of Białystok¹

01 Jan 2006-Polish Polar Research

TL;DR: It is suggested that ten species grouped in six genera are a minimal reliable estimate of the Eocene Antarctic penguin diver− sity, which may have co−existed in the Antarctic Peninsula region during the Late Eocene epoch.

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Abstract: Skeletal remains of penguins from the Eocene La Meseta Formation (Seymour Is− land, Antarctica) constitute the only extensive fossil record of Antarctic Sphenisciformes. No articulated skeletons are known, and almost all fossils occur as single isolated elements. Most of the named species are based on tarsometatarsi (for which the taxonomy was revised in 2002). Here, 694 bones (from the Polish collection) other than tarsometatarsi are reviewed, and allocated to species. They confirm previous conclusions and suggest that ten species grouped in six genera are a minimal reliable estimate of the Eocene Antarctic penguin diver− sity. The species are: Anthropornis grandis, A. nordenskjoeldi, Archaeospheniscus wimani, Delphinornis arctowskii, D. gracilis, D. larseni, Marambiornis exilis, Mesetaornis polaris, Palaeeudyptes gunnari and P. klekowskii. Moreover, diagnoses of four genera (Anthropornis, Archaeospheniscus, Delphinornis and Palaeeudyptes) and two species (P. gunnari and P. klekowskii) are supplemented with additional, non−tarsometatarsal features. Four species of the smallest penguins from the La Meseta Formation (D. arctowskii, D. gracilis, M. exilis and M. polaris) seem to be the youngest taxa within the studied assemblage - their remains come exclusively from the uppermost unit of the formation. All ten recognized species may have co−existed in the Antarctic Peninsula region during the Late Eocene epoch. Key wor ds: Antarctica, La Meseta Formation (Eocene), paleontology (penguins), taxon− omy.

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71 citations

Cites background from "A new Neogene marine avian assembla..."

...…remains of extinct Sphenisciformes have been found in South America (Argentina, Chile and Peru), West Antarctica, southernmost Africa, Australia (Victoria and South Australia) and New Zealand (de Muizon and de Vries 1985; Fordyce and Jones 1990; Walsh and Hume 2001; Myrcha et al. 2002, and others)....
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...…grouped in six genera (Williams 1995), whereas the number of extinct species exceeds 40 (Marples 1952, 1953; Simpson 1971a, b, 1972, 1973, 1979, 1981; Millener 1988; Fordyce and Jones 1990; Myrcha et al. 1990, 2002; Walsh and Hume 2001; Stucchi 2002; Emslie and Guerra Correa 2003; Stucchi et Pol....
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Journal Article•DOI•

Osteological evidence for sister group relationship between pseudo-toothed birds (Aves: Odontopterygiformes) and waterfowls (Anseriformes)

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Estelle Bourdon

21 Oct 2005-Naturwissenschaften

TL;DR: The present hypothesis strongly supports a sister group relationship of pseudo-toothed birds (Odontopterygiformes) and waterfowls (Anseriformes), which are the sister group of Neoaves and the Galloanserae (Galliformes plus Anseriforme) are monophyletic.

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Abstract: The phylogenetic affinities of the extinct pseudo-toothed birds have remained controversial. Some authors noted that they resemble both pelicans and allies (Pelecaniformes) and tube-nosed birds (Procellariiformes), but assigned them to a distinct taxon, the Odontopterygiformes. In most recent studies, the pseudo-toothed birds are referred to the family Pelagornithidae inside the Pelecaniformes. Here, I perform a cladistic analysis with five taxa of the pseudo-toothed birds including two undescribed new species from the Early Tertiary of Morocco. The present hypothesis strongly supports a sister group relationship of pseudo-toothed birds (Odontopterygiformes) and waterfowls (Anseriformes). The Odontoanserae (Odontopterygiformes plus Anseriformes) are the sister group of Neoaves. The placement of the landfowls (Galliformes) as the sister taxon of all other neognathous birds does not support the consensus view that the Galloanserae (Galliformes plus Anseriformes) are monophyletic.

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65 citations

Cites background from "A new Neogene marine avian assembla..."

...In most recent studies, however, these birds are referred to a single family, the Pelagornithidae, which is assigned to the taxon Odontopterygia of the Pelecaniformes [27, 49, 65, 66]....
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...Most comparative studies of the pseudo-toothed birds, however, focused on similarities with Pelecaniformes and Procellariiformes (e.g. [31])....
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...Some authors noted that they resemble both the Procellariiformes (tube-nosed birds) and Pelecaniformes (tropicbirds, frigatebirds, pelicans, gannets, cormorants and darters), but assigned them to a distinct taxon, the Odontopterygiformes [31, 36]....
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...The placement of the pseudo-toothed birds close to the Anseriformes shows that their resemblances with Pelecaniformes or Procellariiformes are superficial....
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...These birds are known to be from all continents, and their fossil record ranges from Paleocene to Pliocene [1, 27, 49, 62, 65, 66]....
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Journal Article•DOI•

Osteology of a New Giant Bony-Toothed Bird from the Miocene of Chile, with a Revision of the Taxonomy of Neogene Pelagornithidae

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Gerald Mayr, David Rubilar-Rogers

15 Sep 2010-Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology

TL;DR: An exceptionally well-preserved giant species from the late Miocene of the Bahía Inglesa Formation in northern Chile, in which most major limb bones are complete and uncrushed, that is one of the largest known pelagornithids and the three-dimensionally preserved bones allow recognition of many previously unknown osteological features.

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Abstract: Bony-toothed birds (Pelagornithidae) were among the largest volant birds, but their representatives from the upper size range have so far been known only from very fragmentary fossils. Here we report an exceptionally well-preserved giant species from the late Miocene of the Bahia Inglesa Formation in northern Chile, in which most major limb bones are complete and uncrushed. The fossil has the longest wing skeleton of any bird, and its wingspan in life was at least 5.2 m. Mass estimates of 16–29 kg are, however, surprisingly low and within the range of large extant volant birds, or only moderately above. The fossil constitutes the most substantial record of the Pelagornithidae (bony-toothed birds), and is assigned to a new species, Pelagornis chilensis. It is one of the largest known pelagornithids and the three-dimensionally preserved bones allow recognition of many previously unknown osteological features, especially concerning the vertebrae, pectoral girdle, and limb elements. We revise the tax...

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60 citations

Journal Article•DOI•

Fossil Seals from Late Neogene Deposits in South America: A New Pinniped (Carnivora, Mammalia) Assemblage from Chile

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Stig A. Walsh, Darren Naish

01 Jul 2002-Palaeontology

TL;DR: In this paper, a new monachine phocid assemblage from the Bahia Inglesa Formation was described, which is probably Late Miocene-Early Pliocene in age.

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Abstract: A new monachine phocid pinniped assemblage from the north–central coast of Chile is described. The material was recovered from a marine bonebed of the Bahia Inglesa Formation which, based on macro– and microfossil evidence, is probably Late Miocene–Early Pliocene in age. At least two genera, Acrophoca and Piscophoca (both originally described from the Pisco Formation of Peru), are present. The Chilean material is significantly different from that of the two described species from the Pisco Formation and probably represents new species, though these are not named pending description of new material reported from Peru. The postcrania are morphologically intermediate between the northern Phocini and southern Lobodontini. The Bahia Inglesa Formation pinniped assemblage represents the first occurrence of fossil seals in Chile, and provides valuable information regarding the late Neogene radiation of monachines in the Southern Hemisphere. The occurrence of Acrophoca sp. in beds underlying a condensed Mio–Pliocene bonebed suggests that these strata are no older than Late Miocene.

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52 citations

Cites background from "A new Neogene marine avian assembla..."

...Teleost, chondrichthyan and avian taxa are also well represented (Walsh 1999; Walsh and Hume 2001), and chelonian and crocodyliform taxa are also present....
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...Penguin remains are abundant in the bonebed, suggesting that these outcrops formed islands that were used by the birds as island habitats (Walsh and Hume 2001)....
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Journal Article•

A new Miocene penguin from Patagonia and its phylogenetic relationships

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Hospitaleche C Acosta, Claudia Patricia Tambussi, Mariano Humberto Donato, Mario Alberto Cozzuol

01 Jan 2007-Acta Palaeontologica Polonica

TL;DR: Madrynornis mirandus as mentioned in this paper is a new medium-sized penguin from the early late Miocene Puerto Madryn Formation, Chubut Province, Argentina, which has an arrangement of the proximal foramina and a degree of metatarsals fusion similar to that in the living forms, although its elongation index is reminiscent of the extinct Paraptenodytes.

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Abstract: We describe a new medium−sized penguin, Madrynornis mirandus gen. et sp. nov., from the early late Miocene Puerto Madryn Formation, Chubut Province, Argentina. Although it is evident that extant and fossil penguins form a remarkably homogeneous family of birds, Spheniscidae, their within−group phylogenetic relationships are less obvious. In order to identify the phylogenetic position of the new taxon, we conducted a phylogenetic analysis using 44 osteological charac− ters sampled from 14 representative species of all living genera and five fossil species of Spheniscidae. The family is clearly monophyletic and Madrynornis mirandus is closely related to living taxa. Our phylogenetic interpretation is con− gruent with biostratigraphic data, with Paraptenodytes from the early Miocene (about 20 Ma) located at the base of the Spheniscidae. Classically, two basic tarsometatarsal types were recognized (one for pre−Miocene and the other for the post−Miocene penguins) based on the pattern of the proximal foramina and the hypotarsus. Madrynornis mirandus exhib− its an arrangement of the proximal foramina and a degree of metatarsals fusion similar to that in the living forms, although its elongation index (total length/proximal width) is reminiscent of the extinct Paraptenodytes (a penguin historically rec− ognized as a pre−Miocene form, coming from the early Miocene of Argentina). Madrynornis reveals that the two basic tarsometatarsal types co−existed among Miocene penguins.

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45 citations

Cites background from "A new Neogene marine avian assembla..."

...These penguins are late middle Eocene–late Miocene in age (Tonni 1980; Cione and Tonni 1981; Clarke et al. 2003) and therefore some of them are contemporary with the Chilean and Peru− vian species....
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...…Hospitaleche and Stucchi 2005; Göhlich 2007; see also Muizon and DeVries 1985), at least five recovered from Miocene to Pliocene sediments in Chile (Walsh and Hume 2001; Acosta Hospitaleche et al. 2002; Emslie and Correa 2003), and finally many species from the Paleogene and Neogene of Patagonia…...
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...Nuevos restos de pingüinos (Aves: Spheniscidae) en la Formación Bahía Inglesa (Mioceno superior–Plioceno inferior) de Chile....
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...Particularly, in the last area there are at least four Miocene to Pliocene penguin species known form Peru (Stucchi 2002; Stucchi et al. 2003; Acosta Hospitaleche and Stucchi 2005; Göhlich 2007; see also Muizon and DeVries 1985), at least five recovered from Miocene to Pliocene sediments in Chile (Walsh and Hume 2001; Acosta Hospitaleche et al. 2002; Emslie and Correa 2003), and finally many species from the Paleogene and Neogene of Patagonia (Simpson 1946, 1972, 1981; Clarke et al. 2003)....
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...A new species of penguin (Spheniscidae: Spheniscus) and other birds from the late Pliocene of Chile....
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References

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Book•

Trace Fossils: Biology, Taxonomy and Applications

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Richard G. Bromley

01 Jan 1996

TL;DR: The fossilization barrier, stratinomy, toponomy and ethology of trace fossils, and Solving problems with trace fossils are studied.

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Abstract: One Neoichnology.- 1 Animal-sediment relationships.- 2 Sediment stirrers.- 3 The work of worms (mostly).- 4 Some celebrated burrowers.- 5 The synecology of bioturbation.- Two Palaeoichnology.- 6 The fossilization barrier.- 7 Some ichnological principles.- 8 Ichnotaxonomy and classification.- 9 Stratinomy, toponomy and ethology of trace fossils.- 10 Trace fossil assemblages, diversity and facies.- 11 Ichnofabric and trace fossils in core.- 12 Solving problems with trace fossils.- 13 Conclusion.- References.

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748 citations

"A new Neogene marine avian assembla..." refers background in this paper

...Normally this is common in the shallower littoral zone (0–10 m), but Skolithos may be present in much deeper waters (Bromley, 1996)....
[...]

Book Chapter•DOI•

The Fossil Record of Birds

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Storrs L. Olson¹•Institutions (1)

National Museum of Natural History¹

01 Jan 1985

623 citations

Journal Article•DOI•

Geology and paleontology of late Cenozoic marine deposits in the Sacaco area (Peru)

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Christian de Muizon¹, Thomas John DeVries²•Institutions (2)

Centre national de la recherche scientifique¹, Ohio State University²

01 Oct 1985-International Journal of Earth Sciences

TL;DR: Paleontologic, stratigraphic and geochronologic evidence demonstrate the presence of both late Miocene and Pliocene marine deposits in the Pisco Formation in the area of Sacaco, Peru as mentioned in this paper.

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Abstract: Paleontologic, stratigraphic and geochronologic (K-Ar) evidence demonstrate the presence of both late Miocene and Pliocene marine deposits in the Pisco Formation in the area of Sacaco, Peru. Tuffaceous sandstone, siltstone, and shelly sandstone comprise the greater part of the ca. 350 meters sequence. The fine grained sediments have accumulated in large coastal lagoons, while coarser sediments were deposited in semiprotected littoral and nearshore environments. A rich marine vertebrate fauna from the Sacaco basin includes fossil selachians, teleost fishes, marine birds, cetaceans, marine carnivores, and a single edentate species. A diverse invertebrate fauna consists principally of venerid and muricid molluscs. Five vertebrate levels have been correlated with five provisionally defined molluscan zones. The vertebrate fauna has some affinity with faunas of the Miocene Yorktown Formation at the Lee Creek Mine of North Carolina (USA). Distinctive Miocene and Pliocene molluscan assemblages of the Pisco Formation and Pleistocene molluscan assemblages from overlying terrace deposits become progressively more similar to Chilean assemblages of equivalent age and less similar to Tethyan faunas of the Panamic and Caribbean regions.

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223 citations

"A new Neogene marine avian assembla..." refers background in this paper

...Remains referred to Pelagornis (Cheneval, 1993) have been recovered from the Miocene and Pliocene sediments of the Peruvian Pisco Formation (Muizon and DeVries, 1985)....
[...]
...Two species of fossil spheniscid are reported from the coeval sediments of the Pisco Formation, Peru (Muizon and DeVries, 1985; Cheneval, 1993), although neither has been described despite the recovery of abundant articulated and well-preserved remains....
[...]
...This genus is known from Late Miocene to Late Pliocene sediments of the Pisco Formation of Peru (Muizon and DeVries, 1985)....
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...As the earliest record of the genus in South America is from the Mid-Miocene Pisco Formation, Peru (Muizon and DeVries, 1985; Cheneval, 1993), it is not surprising that Phalacrocorax was present in Chile by the Early Pliocene....
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...The teeth of Carcharodon carcharias and Cosmopolitodus (5Isurus) hastalis are used in the Peruvian Neogene as zonal indicators (Muizon and DeVries, 1985); Cosmopolitodus hastalis is last observed at the end of the Miocene, while Carcharodon carcharias first appears at the beginning of the Pliocene....
[...]

Trace Fossils -- Biology, Taphonomy and Applications (2nd edition)

[...]

Richard G. Bromley¹•Institutions (1)

American Museum of Natural History¹

01 Jan 1996

194 citations

"A new Neogene marine avian assembla..." refers background in this paper

...Normally this is common in the shallower littoral zone (0–10 m), but Skolithos may be present in much deeper waters (Bromley, 1996)....
[...]

Journal Article•DOI•

Ichnofacies: a mixture of taphofacies and biofacies

[...]

Richard G. Bromley, Ulla Asgaard

01 Apr 1991-Lethaia

TL;DR: The environmental significance of individual ichnofacies has become a point of debate, and the Scoyenia ichno-morphology is not clearly defined as discussed by the authors.

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Abstract: The environmental significance of individual ichnofacies has become a point of debate, and the Scoyenia ichnofacies is not clearly defined. Removal of the marine/non-marine boundary from ichnofacies definitions, as well as the bathymetry control, would render the Scoyenia ichnofacies unnecessary and would consolidate the definitions of the remaining ichnofacies. The constitution of the remainder is far from uniform. In some, the characteristic features are influenced by taphonomic bias more than by ecological factors, and thus these ichnofacies are in effect taphofacies (Skolithos, Cruziana and, especially, Zoophycos and Nereites). Others, on the other hand, have a primarily ecological definition and function as biofacies (Glossifungites, Trypanites, Teredolites and Psilonichnus), taphonomic bias playing a relatively minor role. Opportunistic occurrences of Skolithos in storm deposits do not fall within the Skolithos ichnofacies sensu stricto, and may be regarded as a separate Arenicolites ichnofacies, having an ecological character. □Trace fossils, ichnofacies, salinity.

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152 citations