Reconstruction of the middle Eocene climate of Messel using palaeobotanical data

Grein, Michaela; Utescher, Torsten; Wilde, Volker; Roth‐Nebelsick, Anita

doi:10.1127/0077-7749/2011/0139

Cited by 54 publications

(50 citation statements)

References 39 publications

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“…MAT estimates for Messel were previously published as points on a figure [56], and these values are now stated here, as well as newly published estimates based on both leaf margin analysis (LMA) and the coexistence interval of nearest living relatives of plant fossils [66] [68]. Values for all sites include both leaf margin analysis and either taxon analogue [66] or isotopic methods [68], except for Bournemouth, which is from isotopic analysis of fossil gastropod shells [24]. An isotopic estimate from the San Juan Basin (SJB) [68] is supplied alongside the LMA-based estimate for Puryear, being of the same palaeolatitude and age [68].…”

Section: Discussion (A) the Status Of Formiciine Speciesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Mean annual temperature (MAT) estimates for formiciine-bearing fossil localities (Messel, Puryear, Bournemouth) and localities regional to the Farson Fish beds, Wyoming (Little Mountain, Niland Tongue). MAT estimates for Messel were previously published as points on a figure [56], and these values are now stated here, as well as newly published estimates based on both leaf margin analysis (LMA) and the coexistence interval of nearest living relatives of plant fossils [66] [68]. Values for all sites include both leaf margin analysis and either taxon analogue [66] or isotopic methods [68], except for Bournemouth, which is from isotopic analysis of fossil gastropod shells [24].…”

Section: Discussion (A) the Status Of Formiciine Speciesmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Intercontinental dispersal of giant thermophilic ants across the Arctic during early Eocene hyperthermals

et al. 2011

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Early Eocene land bridges allowed numerous plant and animal species to cross between Europe and North America via the Arctic. While many species suited to prevailing cool Arctic climates would have been able to cross throughout much of this period, others would have found dispersal opportunities only during limited intervals when their requirements for higher temperatures were met. Here, we present Titanomyrma lubei gen. et sp. nov. from Wyoming, USA, a new giant (greater than 5 cm long) formiciine ant from the early Eocene (approx. 49.5 Ma) Green River Formation. We show that the extinct ant subfamily Formiciinae is only known from localities with an estimated mean annual temperature of about 208C or greater, consistent with the tropical ranges of almost all of the largest living ant species. This is, to our knowledge, the first known formiciine of gigantic size in the Western Hemisphere and the first reported cross-Arctic dispersal by a thermophilic insect group. This implies intercontinental migration during one or more brief high-temperature episodes (hyperthermals) sometime between the latest Palaeocene establishment of intercontinental land connections and the presence of giant formiciines in Europe and North America by the early middle Eocene.

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Section: Discussion (A) the Status Of Formiciine Speciesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussion (A) the Status Of Formiciine Speciesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Intercontinental dispersal of giant thermophilic ants across the Arctic during early Eocene hyperthermals

et al. 2011

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“…climatic resolution (e.g., Roth-Nebelsick et al, 2004;Poole et al, 2005;Grein et al, 2011). The CoA was effectively tested with modern vegetation (Mosbrugger and Utescher, 1997;Pross et al, 2000), the application on Cenozoic macrofloras of Central Europe provided a continuous climate record showing the evolution from almost tropical conditions in the Lutetian to a temperate climate in the Gelasian, with temperatures near to present, and testify the close correlation of inferred continental and marine temperature (Mosbrugger et al,…”

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confidence: 99%

A late Eocene palynological record of climate change and Tibetan Plateau uplift (Xining Basin, China)

Hoorn

Straathof

Abels

et al. 2012

Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology

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General rightsIt is not permitted to download or to forward/distribute the text or part of it without the consent of the author(s) and/or copyright holder(s), other than for strictly personal, individual use, unless the work is under an open content license (like Creative Commons). Disclaimer/Complaints regulationsIf you believe that digital publication of certain material infringes any of your rights or (privacy) interests, please let the Library know, stating your reasons. In case of a legitimate complaint, the Library will make the material inaccessible and/or remove it from the website. Please Ask the Library: http://uba.uva.nl/en/contact, or a letter to: Library of the University of Amsterdam, Secretariat, Singel 425, 1012 WP Amsterdam, The Netherlands. You will be contacted as soon as possible. Climate models suggest that Asian paleoenvironments, monsoons and continental aridification were primarily governed by tectonic uplift and sea retreat since the Eocene with potential contribution of global climate changes. However, the cause and timing of these paleoenvironmental changes remain poorly constrained. The recently well-dated continental mudflat to ephemeral saline lake sedimentary succession, situated in the Xining Basin at the northeastern margin of the Tibetan Plateau (NW China), provides a unique opportunity to develop additional proxy successions in this area that are placed accurately in time. Here, a palynological record from this succession is reported. High abundances of desert and steppe-desert taxa such as Ephedripites and Nitrariadites/Nitraripollis are found, which can be differentiated by the presence of broad leaved deciduous forest taxa in the lower part of the section (particularly up to 36.4 Ma; magnetochron C16r), and a sudden increase of Pinaceae (Pinuspollenites, Piceaepollenites and Abiespollenites) which is dated at 36.1 Ma (C16n.2n). Coexistence Approach (CoA) indicates that from 39.9 to 36.4 Ma (C17n.1n) regional climate was warm and wet, while from 36.4 to 33.5 Ma (C16n.2n-C13r) climate tends to be cooler and drier. The data indicate that paleoenvironmental and palynological changes on the NE part of the Tibetan Plateau resulted from a combination of long-term tectonic uplift forcing and long-and short-term climate changes. The increase of taxa such as Piceaepollenites and Abiespollenites indicates not only a cooling and drying trend prior to the Eocene/Oligocene (E/O) boundary, but also the existence of high altitude mountain habitats in the periphery of the Xining Basin. The sudden Pinaceae event correlates closely in time with a marked aridification step as viewed from the lithology of the Xining Basin that was linked to the sea retreat out of the Tarim Basin.

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“…If this happened in winter, when water surface temperature could have fallen to 10°C (cf. Grein et al 2011b), the swimming capacity would have been reduced, but perhaps less than might be expected (cf. Bennett 1980); critical minimum temperature (at which the righting reflex is suppressed) is not usually so …”

Section: Death In Geiseltaliellus Maariusmentioning

confidence: 93%

From tree to shining sea: taphonomy of the arboreal lizard Geiseltaliellus maarius from Messel, Germany

Smith

Wuttke

2012

Palaeobio Palaeoenv

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Much has been written about the palaeoenvironment of the middle Eocene fossil Lagerstätte of Messel, Germany, and of the taphonomy of the vertebrates found in it, but taphonomic phenomena among the reptiles in this locality are virtually unstudied. The iguanid Geiseltaliellus maarius is the most common lizard species in Messel. We present taphonomic data for this species and analyse it. Specimens of G. maarius can be divided into three preservation classes, one of which is distinguished purely by decompositional phenomena. Most specimens sank quickly to the bottom of Lake Messel after entering it, but one floated for some time prior to emplacement. In theory, overlying pressure should not preclude the accumulation of gases of decay in submerged carcasses. In one specimen, such gases appear to have built up intracoelomically for many weeks, but did not cause the carcass to rise because of overlying water pressure. Eruption of the gases through the oral and cloacal openings, possibly initiated by a coincident turbidity current, scattered the bones of the skull, the pelvic region, and the proximal part of the tail. G. maarius had evolved a form of intervertebral urotomy (pseudoautotomy), which is indicative of arboreal habits. The waxy substance adipocere, formed after breakdown of fat, has been neglected in discussions of taphonomy, but may constitute an important factor in stabilising carcasses and enabling three-dimensional preservation before diagensis.

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Reconstruction of the middle Eocene climate of Messel using palaeobotanical data

Cited by 54 publications

References 39 publications

Intercontinental dispersal of giant thermophilic ants across the Arctic during early Eocene hyperthermals

Intercontinental dispersal of giant thermophilic ants across the Arctic during early Eocene hyperthermals

A late Eocene palynological record of climate change and Tibetan Plateau uplift (Xining Basin, China)

From tree to shining sea: taphonomy of the arboreal lizard Geiseltaliellus maarius from Messel, Germany

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