Eocene fossil feather from King George Island, South Shetland Islands, Antarctica

Mansilla, H.; Stinnesbeck, Wolfgang; Varela, N.; Leppe, Marcelo

doi:10.1017/s0954102013000771

Cited by 4 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 11 publications

(23 reference statements)

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“…The Fossil Hill Formation overlies the Agate Beach Formation and consists of volcanic breccia, tuff and pyroclastic-sedimentary rocks intercalated with several fossiliferous layers. Fossils of middle Eocene age found in the Fossil Hill Formation include pollen spores, plant leaves and stems and bird footprints (Li and Shen, 1990;Li, 1994;Song, 1998;Mansilla et al, 2012;Mansilla et al, 2013). The overlying Block Hill Formation is exposed on the east of the Fildes Peninsula and consists of basaltic andesite, breccia and agglomerate.…”

Section: Nelson Island and Fildes Peninsula: Late Cretaceous To Palae...mentioning

confidence: 99%

The South Shetland Islands, Antarctica: Lithostratigraphy and geological map

et al. 2023

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Over the last few decades, numerous geological studies have been carried out in the South Shetland Islands, which have greatly contributed to a better understanding of its geological evolution. However, few attempts have been conducted to correlate the geological units throughout this archipelago. We present herein a review of the literature available in the South Shetland Islands, which we use to propose a lithostratigraphical correlation that constitutes a coherent stratigraphy for the main Mesozoic and Cenozoic rocks of the South Shetland Islands along with a new geological map. The lithostratigraphical correlation shows that the geological and environmental evolution comprises three main stages: 1) deep marine sedimentation from ∼164 to 140 Ma, 2) subaerial volcanism and sedimentation with a proliferation of plants and fauna from ∼140 to 35 Ma and 3) glacial and interglacial deposits from ∼35 Ma. The lithostratigraphical correlation also shows a broad geographical trend of decreasing age of volcanism from southwest to northeast, which has been previously suggested. However, this spatial age trend is disrupted by the presence of Eocene magmatism in Livingston Island, located in the centre of the archipelago. We suggest that the migration of volcanism occurred from the Late Cretaceous until the early Eocene. Subsequently, enhanced magmatic activity took place from the mid-Eocene until the Miocene, which we associate with processes related with the waning of subduction. Constraining the protolith age of the metamorphic complex of Smith Island remains challenging, yet holds key implications for the tectonic and accretionary evolution of the Antarctic Peninsula. The rocks recording the glaciation of this sector of Antarctica are well exposed in the northern South Shetland Islands and hold critical information for understanding the timings and processes that lead to the greenhouse to icehouse transition at the end of the Eocene. Finally, contemporaneous rocks to the breakup of Antarctic Peninsula from Patagonia that led to the opening of the Drake Passage and the development of the Scotia Sea are exposed in the centre and north of the South Shetland archipelago. Better constraints on the age and tectonic settings on these units may lead to further understanding the paleobiogeographical evolution of the region, which may have played an important role for speciation as a land bridge between South America and Antarctica. The dataset containing the geological map and associated information is shared as a shapefile or KML file.

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Section: Nelson Island and Fildes Peninsula: Late Cretaceous To Palae...mentioning

confidence: 99%

The South Shetland Islands, Antarctica: Lithostratigraphy and geological map

et al. 2023

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“…Feathers were found in Mesozoic and Cenozoic deposits and ambers, in Europe and North America ( Kellner , 2002 ; McKellar et al , 2011 ; Valentin et al , 2014 ). On the Southern Hemisphere, they were found in Australia ( Talent, Duncan & Hanby , 1966 ; Waldman , 1970 ), and South America ( Kellner , 2002 ; Sayão & Uejima , 2009 ; Clarke et al , 2010 ; Leite & Hessel , 2011 ; Sayão, Saraiva & Uejima , 2011 ; Mansilla et al , 2013 ; Carvalho et al , 2015a ; Carvalho et al , 2015b ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

New occurrences of fossilized feathers: systematics and taphonomy of the Santana Formation of the Araripe Basin (Cretaceous), NE, Brazil

Prado

Anelli

Petri

et al. 2016

PeerJ

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Here we describe three fossil feathers from the Early Cretaceous Santana Formation of the Araripe Basin, Brazil. Feathers are the most complex multiform vertebrate integuments; they perform different functions, occurring in both avian and non-avian dinosaurs. Despite their rarity, fossil feathers have been found across the world. Most of the Brazilian feather fossil record comes from the Santana Formation. This formation is composed of two members: Crato (lake) and Romualdo (lagoon); both of which are predominantly reduced deposits, precluding bottom dwelling organisms, resulting in exceptional preservation of the fossils. Despite arid and hot conditions during the Cretaceous, life teemed in the adjacency of this paleolake. Feathered non-avian dinosaurs have not yet been described from the Crato Member, even though there are suggestions of their presence in nearby basins. Our description of the three feathers from the Crato laminated limestone reveals that, despite the small sample size, they can be referred to coelurosaurian theropods. Moreover, based on comparisons with extant feather morphotypes they can be identified as one contour feather and two downy feathers. Despite their rareness and low taxonomic potential, fossilized feathers can offer insights about the paleobiology of its owners and the paleoecology of the Araripe Basin.

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“…These records include invertebrate trace fossils (Yang & Shen ), bird tracks and feather prints (Covacevich & Lamperein ; Covacevich & Rich ; Li & Zhen ; Mansilla et al . , ), numerous ferns, conifers and angiosperm leaf impressions (Orlando , ; Birkenmajer & Zastawniak ; Tokarski et al . ; Chun et al .…”

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New fossil woods from lower Cenozoic volcano‐sedimentary rocks of the Fildes Peninsula, King George Island, and the implications for the trans‐Antarctic Peninsula Eocene climatic gradient

Philippe

McLoughlin

et al. 2019

Papers in Palaeontology

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Ten embedded fossil logs sampled in situ from the middle Eocene volcano‐sedimentary rocks close to Suffield Point in the Fildes Peninsula, King George Island, Antarctica, are assigned to Protopodocarpoxylon araucarioides Schultze‐Motel ex Vogellehner, Phyllocladoxylon antarcticum Gothan, Agathoxylon antarcticum (Poole & Cantrill) Pujana et al., A. pseudoparenchymatosum (Gothan) Pujana et al. and an unidentified angiosperm wood. Differences in the taxonomic representation and growth‐ring characters of the Eocene woods on King George Island and coeval assemblages from Seymour Island, on the western and eastern sides of the Antarctic Peninsula respectively, are interpreted to result from environmental and climatic gradients across the Peninsula Orogen during the early Palaeogene. In particular, a precipitation gradient inferred across the Peninsula at that time might have been induced by a rain‐shadow effect.

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Eocene fossil feather from King George Island, South Shetland Islands, Antarctica

Cited by 4 publications

References 11 publications

The South Shetland Islands, Antarctica: Lithostratigraphy and geological map

The South Shetland Islands, Antarctica: Lithostratigraphy and geological map

New occurrences of fossilized feathers: systematics and taphonomy of the Santana Formation of the Araripe Basin (Cretaceous), NE, Brazil

New fossil woods from lower Cenozoic volcano‐sedimentary rocks of the Fildes Peninsula, King George Island, and the implications for the trans‐Antarctic Peninsula Eocene climatic gradient

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