scholarly journals Miocene whale-fall from California demonstrates that cetacean size did not determine the evolution of modern whale-fall communities

2007 ◽  
Vol 3 (6) ◽  
pp. 709-711 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicholas D Pyenson ◽  
David M Haasl
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
North America ◽  
Late Miocene ◽  
Deep Sea ◽  
Oil Content ◽  
Late Eocene ◽  
Direct Association ◽  
Invertebrate Assemblage

Whale-fall communities support a deep-sea invertebrate assemblage that subsists entirely on the decaying carcasses of large cetaceans. The oldest whale-falls are Late Eocene in age, but these early whale-falls differ in faunal content and host cetacean size from Neogene and Recent whale-falls. Vesicomyid bivalves, for example, are major components of the sulphophilic stage in Miocene and Recent whale-fall communities, but they are absent from Palaeogene fossil whale-falls. The differences between Palaeogene and Neogene communities led to the hypothesis that the origin of modern whale-fall communities was linked with the evolution of extremely large mysticetes, which provided sufficient biomass and oil to sustain the modern complement of whale-fall invertebrates. Here, we describe a fossil whale-fall community from the Miocene of California, showing vesicomyid bivalves in direct association with a host mysticete smaller than the adult individuals of any living mysticete species. This association, which is the youngest yet reported from the Neogene of North America, demonstrates that body size is not a necessary factor for the formation of modern whale-fall communities. Instead, we suggest that high skeletal oil content may have been a more important factor, which, based on the age of the fossil whale-fall, evolved at least by the Late Miocene.

scholarly journals Mid-Cenozoic succession on the northeast limb of the Mount Diablo anticline, California—A stratigraphic record of tectonic events in the forearc basin

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Raymond Sullivan ◽  
Morgan D. Sullivan ◽  
Stephen W. Edwards ◽  
Andrei M. Sarna-Wojcicki ◽  
Rebecca A. Hackworth ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
North America ◽  
Late Miocene ◽  
Plate Boundary ◽  
Leading Edge ◽  
Late Eocene ◽  
Late Cenozoic ◽  
Forearc Basin ◽  
Late Mesozoic ◽  
The North ◽  
Silicic Volcanic

ABSTRACT The mid-Cenozoic succession in the northeast limb of the Mount Diablo anticline records the evolution of plate interactions at the leading edge of the North America plate. Subduction of the Kula plate and later Farallon plate beneath the North America plate created a marine forearc basin that existed from late Mesozoic to mid-Cenozoic times. In the early Cenozoic, extension on north-south faults formed a graben depocenter on the west side of the basin. Deposition of the Markley Formation of middle to late? Eocene age took place in the late stages of the marine forearc basin. In the Oligocene, the marine forearc basin changed to a primarily nonmarine basin, and the depocenter of the basin shifted eastward of the Midland fault to a south-central location for the remainder of the Cenozoic. The causes of these changes may have included slowing in the rate of subduction, resulting in slowing subsidence, and they might also have been related to the initiation of transform motion far to the south. Two unconformities in the mid-Cenozoic succession record the changing events on the plate boundary. The first hiatus is between the Markley Formation and the overlying Kirker Formation of Oligocene age. The succession above the unconformity records the widespread appearance of nonmarine rocks and the first abundant appearance of silicic volcanic detritus due to slab rollback, which reversed the northeastward migration of the volcanic arc to a more proximal location. A second regional unconformity separates the Kirker/Valley Springs formations from the overlying Cierbo/Mehrten formations of late Miocene age. This late Miocene unconformity may reflect readjustment of stresses in the North America plate that occurred when subduction was replaced by transform motion at the plate boundary. The Cierbo and Neroly formations above the unconformity contain abundant andesitic detritus due to proto-Cascade volcanism. In the late Cenozoic, the northward-migrating triple junction produced volcanic eruptive centers in the Coast Ranges. Tephra from these local sources produced time markers in the late Cenozoic succession.

scholarly journals Stratigraphic revision and reconstruction of the deep-sea fan of the Voirons Flysch (Voirons Nappe, Chablais Prealps)

2021 ◽  
Vol 114 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jérémy Ragusa ◽  
Lina Maria Ospina-Ostios ◽  
Pascal Kindler ◽  
Mario Sartori
Keyword(s):  
Deep Sea ◽  
Distal Part ◽  
Accretionary Prism ◽  
Proximal Part ◽  
Late Eocene ◽  
Lithostratigraphic Units ◽  
Stratigraphic Record ◽  
Sea Fan ◽  
Stratigraphic Evolution ◽  
Depositional Setting

AbstractThe Voirons Flysch (Caron in Eclogae Geologicae Helvetiae 69:297–308, 1976), is a flysch sequence aggregated into the sedimentary accretionary prism of the Chablais and Swiss Prealps. Its palaeogeographic location is still debated (South Piemont or Valais realm). We herein present a stratigraphic revision of the westernmost unit of the former Gurnigel Nappe sensu Caron (Eclogae Geologicae Helvetiae 69:297–308, 1976): the Voirons Flysch. This flysch is subdivided into three lithostratigraphic units at the formation level (the Voirons Sandstone, the Vouan Conglomerate, the Boëge Marl), with an additional unit (Bruant Sandstone) of uncertain attribution, ranging from the early Eocene to probably the late Eocene. We further propose a new model of the depositional setting of the deep-sea of the Voirons Flysch based on palaeocurrent directions, the overall geometry and sedimentary features. This model depicts an eastward deflected deep-sea fan. The stratigraphic record of the proximal part of this fan is fairly complete in the Voirons area, whereas its most distal part is only represented by one small exposure of thinly bedded sandstones in the Fenalet quarry. The stratigraphic evolution of the Voirons Flysch shows two major disruptions of the detrital sedimentation at the transition between Voirons Sandstone—Vouan Conglomerate and Vouan Conglomerate—Boëge Marl. The cause of these disturbances has to be constrained in the framework of the palaeogeographic location of the Voirons Flysch.

The Neogene transition from C3 to C4 grasslands in North America: assemblage analysis of fossil phytoliths

Paleobiology ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 37 (1) ◽  
pp. 50-71 ◽  
Author(s):  
Caroline A. E. Strömberg ◽  
Francesca A. McInerney
Keyword(s):  
North America ◽  
Great Plains ◽  
Late Miocene ◽  
Vegetation Change ◽  
Stable Carbon Isotopes ◽  
Fire Regime ◽  
Tooth Enamel ◽  
Regional Scale ◽  
Grassland Ecosystems ◽  
Isotopic Records

The rapid ecological expansion of grasses with C4 photosynthesis at the end of the Neogene (8–2 Ma) is well documented in the fossil record of stable carbon isotopes. As one of the most profound vegetation changes to occur in recent geologic time, it paved the way for modern tropical grassland ecosystems. Changes in CO2 levels, seasonality, aridity, herbivory, and fire regime have all been suggested as potential triggers for this broadly synchronous change, long after the evolutionary origin of the C4 pathway in grasses. To date, these hypotheses have suffered from a lack of direct evidence for floral composition and structure during this important transition. This study aimed to remedy the problem by providing the first direct, relatively continuous record of vegetation change for the Great Plains of North America for the critical interval (ca. 12–2 Ma) using plant silica (phytolith) assemblages.Phytoliths were extracted from late Miocene-Pliocene paleosols in Nebraska and Kansas. Quantitative phytolith analysis of the 14 best-preserved assemblages indicates that habitats varied substantially in openness during the middle to late Miocene but became more uniformly open, corresponding to relatively open grassland or savanna, during the late Miocene and early Pliocene. Phytolith data also point to a marked increase of grass short cells typical of chloridoid and other potentially C4 grasses of the PACMAD clade between 8 and 5 Ma; these data suggest that the proportion of these grasses reached up to ∼50–60% of grasses, resulting in mixed C3-C4 and highly heterogeneous grassland communities by 5.5 Ma. This scenario is consistent with interpretations of isotopic records from paleosol carbonates and ungulate tooth enamel. The rise in abundance of chloridoids, which were present in the central Great Plains since the early Miocene, demonstrates that the “globally” observed lag between C4 grass evolution/taxonomic diversification and ecological expansion occurred at the regional scale. These patterns of vegetation alteration imply that environmental change during the late Miocene-Pliocene played a major role in the C3-C4 shift in the Great Plains. Specifically, the importance of chloridoids as well as a decline in the relative abundance of forest indicator taxa, including palms, point to climatic drying as a key trigger for C4 dominance.

The diet ofLeptomeryxsp. from the Late Eocene Yolomécatl Formation, NW Oaxaca, Sierra Madre del Sur Morphotectonic Province, SE México and its palaeoecological significance

2017 ◽  
Vol 155 (1) ◽  
pp. 203-208
Author(s):  
ISMAEL FERRUSQUÍA-VILLAFRANCA ◽  
VÍCTOR ADRIÁN PÉREZ-CRESPO ◽  
JOSÉ E. RUIZ-GONZÁLEZ ◽  
ENRIQUE MARTÍNEZ-HERNÁNDEZ ◽  
PEDRO MORALES-PUENTE
Keyword(s):  
North America ◽  
Dental Enamel ◽  
Late Eocene ◽  
C3 Plants ◽  
Congeneric Species ◽  
Open Forest ◽  
Tropical Conditions ◽  
Sierra Madre ◽  
Sierra Madre Del Sur ◽  
Oxygen Isotopic

AbstractThe diet and habitat ofLeptomeryxsp. from the Late Uintan Yolomécatl Formation of NW Oaxaca, SE Mexico were inferred using dental enamel carbon and oxygen isotopic relationships, and compared with those of congeneric species from temperate North America. Results show thatLeptomeryxsp. fed on C3 plants and lived in open forest or forest/savanna ecotone. The palynoflora and co-occurrence of perissodactyls and artiodactyls that live in an environment like that ofLeptomeryxsupport this interpretation. Further, both records disclose that in NW Oaxaca (southern North America) tropical conditions prevailed at that time, unlike that of temperate North America.

scholarly journals Two new species of Bimastos (Oligochaeta, Lumbricidae) from the Southern Appalachian Mountains, North America

Zootaxa ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 5052 (3) ◽  
pp. 395-405
Author(s):  
ROBERTO CARRERA-MARTÍNEZ ◽  
DANIEL JONES ◽  
SEAN D. SCHOVILLE ◽  
BRUCE A. SNYDER ◽  
MAC A. JR. CALLAHAM
Keyword(s):  
New Species ◽  
Body Size ◽  
North America ◽  
Appalachian Mountains ◽  
Molecular Data ◽  
Southern Appalachian Mountains ◽  
Southern Appalachian ◽  
Two New Species ◽  
Morphological And Molecular Data ◽  
Posterior Position

Two new species of Bimastos Moore are described based on morphological and molecular data. Bimastos nanae n. sp. resembles B. lawrenceae Fender, B. zeteki (Smith and Gittins) and B. welchi (Smith). Bimastos nanae n. sp. differs from these species in the position of the clitellum, size and number and position of thickened septa. Bimastos magnum n. sp. is similar to B. schwerti Csuzdi & Chang and B. palustris Moore in having a fully annular clitellum and male pores on huge porophores. Bimastos magnum n. sp. differs from both species by having a more posterior position of the clitellum (in xxiv-xxxiii, xxxiv) and larger body size. With the description of these new species, the number of Bimastos species is raised to 14.  

scholarly journals Deconstructing bathymetric body size patterns in deep-sea gastropods

2005 ◽  
Vol 297 ◽  
pp. 181-187 ◽  
Author(s):  
CR McClain ◽  
MA Rex ◽  
R Jabbour
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Deep Sea
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