Javier N. GELFO, Francisco J. GOIN, NicolÃs BAUZÃ & Marcelo REGUERO (2019)
The fossil record of Antarctic land mammals: commented review and hypotheses for future research.
Advances in Polar Science 30(3): 251-273
doi: 10.13679/j.advps.2019.0021
http://www.aps-polar.org/paper/2019/30/03/A190814000002Free pdf:
http://www.aps-polar.org/paper/2019/30/03/A190814000002/fullThe fossil record of terrestrial mammals in Antarctica is temporally and geographically constrained to the Eocene outcrops of La Meseta and Submeseta formations in Seymour (Marambio) Island in West Antarctica. The faunal assemblage indicates a clear South American imprint since all the groups have a close phylogenetic relationship with Cretaceous and Paleogene mammals from Patagonia. Despite the presence of several mammalian taxonomic groups: Dryolestida, Gondwanatheria, Eutheria and Metatheria, the presence of other major mammalian taxa should be expected and will probably be confirmed by new findings. Placental mammals with an inferred body mass between 10 to 400 kg in size, are represented by xenarthrans, and two groups of the so called South American native ungulates: Astrapotheria and Litopterna. The Metatheria are the smaller (less than 1 kg) and most abundant components of the fauna. Marsupials are represented by derorhynchid ameridelphians, several microbiotherian australidelphians (both microbiotheriids and woodburnodontids), and ?glasbiid prepidolopod and polydolopid polydolopimorphians. Plus, there are remains of several mammalian teeth of indeterminate phylogenetic affinities. The present knowledge of the Southern Hemisphere mammalian evolution and paleogeographic change through time, indicates that Antarctica played a major role for land mammals, at least since the Jurassic. The actual representation of Paleogene terrestrial mammals in Antarctica is most probably biased, as all the evidence indicates that australosphenidan mammals should be present in this continent since the Jurassic.
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Marcelo A. REGUERO (2019)
Antarctic Paleontological Heritage: Late Cretaceous-Paleogene vertebrates from Seymour (Marambio) Island, Antarctic Peninsula.
Advances in Polar Science 30(3): 328-355
doi: 10.13679/j.advps.2019.0015
http://www.aps-polar.org/paper/2019/30/03/A190814000004
Antarctica has signiïcant environmental, scientiïc, historic, and intrinsic values, all of which are worth protecting into the future. This continent has a discrete number of places of scientific interest that exhibit great potential as natural heritage sites; its geodiversity is of fundamental importance to scientiïc values of the continent, and the pursuit of geological and paleontological knowledge has had a strong influence on its historical values. Seymour Island was once called the 'Rosetta Stone' of Southern Hemisphere paleobiology, because this small island provides the most complete and richly fossiliferous Late CretaceousâPaleogene sequence in Antarctica. In particular, fossil vertebrates form part of the evidence used in reconstructing the history of life on Antarctica. Paleontological heritage is considered a subset of geo-heritage that embodies both natural and historical components which has received only indirect recognition. Seymour Island is an outstanding paleontological area with high heritage value of its Late Cretaceous/Paleogene vertebrates and should be considered for geo-conservation and protection. This paper reviews vertebrate fossil occurrences and outcrops on Seymour Island and discusses some threats to these fossil sites.