Factors affecting the preservation and distribution of cetaceans in the lower Miocene Gaiman Formation of Patagonia, Argentina

Cuitiño, José Ignacio; Buono, Mónica Romina; Viglino, Mariana; Farroni, Nicolás D.; Bessone, Santiago

doi:10.1016/j.palaeo.2019.03.013

Cited by 23 publications

(42 citation statements)

References 55 publications

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“…Fossils of Cenozoic marine vertebrates have prompted taphonomic research and speculation since the Renaissance [1]. Recent studies have explored many aspects of their preservation, including the biostratinomic signature of ancient mass strandings [2], the origin of bonebeds [3], the factors controlling taphonomic gradients across onshore-offshore transects [4], the impact of habitat preferences [5] and sea-level changes [6] on vertebrate preservation, the trace and body fossils of vertebrate [7] and invertebrate [8] scavengers, and the onset of complex whale-fall communities [9].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Taphonomy of marine vertebrates of the Pisco Formation (Miocene, Peru): Insights into the origin of an outstanding Fossil-Lagerstätte

et al. 2021

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The Miocene Pisco Formation, broadly exposed in the Ica Desert of southern Peru, is among the most outstanding Cenozoic marine Fossil-Lagerstätten worldwide. It is renowned for its exceptional preservation and abundance of vertebrate fossils, including a rich assemblage of whales and dolphins (Cetacea). Here, we integrate taphonomic data on 890 marine vertebrate fossils, gathered through 16 different localities. Our observations range from the taxonomic distribution, articulation, completeness, disposition and orientation of skeletons, to the presence of bite marks, associations with shark teeth and macro-invertebrates, bone and soft tissue preservation, and the formation of attendant carbonate concretions and sedimentary structures. We propose that the exceptional preservation characterising many Pisco vertebrates, as well as their exceptionally high abundance, cannot be ascribed to a single cause like high sedimentation rates (as proposed in the past), but rather to the interplay of several favourable factors including: (i) low levels of dissolved oxygen at the seafloor (with the intervention of seasonal anoxic events); (ii) the early onset of mineralisation processes like apatite dissolution/recrystallisation and carbonate mineral precipitation; (iii) rapid burial of carcasses in a soupy substrate and/or a novel mechanism involving scour-induced self-burial; and (iv) original biological richness. Collectively, our observations provide a comprehensive overview of the taphonomic processes that shaped one of South America’s most important fossil deposits, and suggest a model for the formation of other marine vertebrate Fossil-Lagerstätten.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Taphonomy of marine vertebrates of the Pisco Formation (Miocene, Peru): Insights into the origin of an outstanding Fossil-Lagerstätte

et al. 2021

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“…However, these morphological characteristics are already far more specialized than those seen in older and earlier-diverging odontocetes (Churchill et al 2016; Park et al 2016; Racicot et al 2019). These adaptations likely represent an improved ability to navigate complex acoustic environments, which could be related to occupying more nearshore habitats, as has been hypothesized for several platanistoids (Dowsett and Wiggs 1992; Fordyce 1994; Gottfried et al 1994; Tanaka and Fordyce 2015, 2017; Cuitiño et al 2019), producing shorter-range echolocation signals (Madsen et al 2004; Johnson et al 2008; Jensen et al 2013), or potentially feeding on smaller prey items. The latter has already been found to be correlated with skull shape (McCurry and Pyenson 2018), and we suggest that paleoecology is the primary driving factor here.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 86%

“…Allodelphinids are recorded in lower Miocene outcrops of the eastern and western margins of the North Pacific (Boersma and Pyenson 2016; Kimura and Barnes 2016). In Patagonia, lower Miocene outcrops (Cuitiño et al 2019) have produced two platanistoid species, the squalodelphinid Notocetus vanbenedeni and the platanistoid Aondelphis talen (Moreno 1892; Viglino et al 2018b; Viglino 2019); and two putative members of this group, Phoberodon arctirostris and Prosqualodon australis (Viglino et al 2018a; Gaetán et al 2019). Lower Miocene outcrops in Italy, France, Peru, and the United States hold other squalodelphinid taxa; and Miocene outcrops of mainly Europe and the United States record other extinct Platanistidae species (Paleobiology Database 2020; e.g., Barnes et al 2010; Lambert et al 2014; Godfrey et al 2017).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Hearing from the ocean and into the river: the evolution of the inner ear of Platanistoidea (Cetacea: Odontoceti)

Viglino¹,

Gaetán²,

Buono³

et al. 2021

Paleobiology

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The inner ear of the two higher clades of modern cetaceans (Neoceti) is highly adapted for hearing infrasonic (mysticetes) or ultrasonic (odontocetes) frequencies. Within odontocetes, Platanistoidea comprises a single extant riverine representative, Platanista gangetica, and a diversity of mainly extinct marine species from the late Oligocene onward. Recent studies drawing on features including the disparate tympanoperiotic have not yet provided a consensus phylogenetic hypothesis for platanistoids. Further, cochlear morphology and evolutionary patterns have never been reported. Here, we describe for the first time the inner ear morphology of late Oligocene–early Miocene extinct marine platanistoids and their evolutionary patterns. We initially hypothesized that extinct marine platanistoids lacked a specialized inner ear like P. gangetica and thus, their morphology and inferred hearing abilities were more similar to those of pelagic odontocetes. Our results reveal there is no “typical” platanistoid cochlear type, as the group displays a disparate range of cochlear anatomies, but all are consistent with high-frequency hearing. Stem odontocete Prosqualodon australis and platanistoid Otekaikea huata present a tympanal recess in their cochlea, of yet uncertain function in the hearing mechanism in cetaceans. The more basal morphology of Aondelphis talen indicates it had lower high-frequency hearing than other platanistoids. Finally, Platanista has the most derived cochlear morphology, adding to evidence that it is an outlier within the group and consistent with a >9-Myr-long separation from its sister genus Zarhachis. The evolution of a singular sound production morphology within Platanistidae may have facilitated the survival of Platanista to the present day.

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“…The platanistoid Notocetus vanbenedeni was the most abundant species in the Gaiman Fm. (Cuitiño et al, 2019), with a mosaic morphology that hints to the evolution of the bizarre Platanista skull (Viglino et al, 2022).…”

Section: Early Miocenementioning

confidence: 99%

Aquatic mammal fossils in Latin America – a review of records, advances and challenges in research in the last 30 years

Viglino

Valenzuela‐Toro

Benites‐Palomino

et al. 2023

Lat. Am. J. Aquat. Mamm.

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Records of aquatic mammal fossils (e.g. cetaceans, pinnipeds, sirenians, mustelids, and desmostylians) from Latin America (Mexico to Tierra del Fuego, including Antartica) span since the mid-1800s. Aquatic mammal fossils received little attention from the scientific community, with most of the first studies conducted by Northern Hemisphere researchers. Over the last 30 years, paleontological research in Latin America has increased considerably, with descriptions of several new species and revisions of published original records. The Latin American fossil record of marine mammals spans from the Eocene to the Pleistocene, with formations and specimens of global significance. All three main groups of cetaceans are represented in the continent (Archaeoceti, Mysticeti, and Odontoceti). Pinnipedia are represented by the families Otariidae and Phocidae, with records starting in the Middle Miocene. Both living families of Sirenia (Trichechidae and Dugongidae) are recorded. While less common, but still relevant, records of desmostylians and mustelids are known from Oligocene and Miocene deposits. This review provides a summary of the aquatic mammals known to date, with a special focus on the advances and developments of the last 30 years, since Cozzuol’s (1996) review of the South American fossil record. An up-to-date complete list of species based on the literature and unpublished data is also provided. The study also provides future directions for paleontological research in Latin America, and discusses the challenges and opportunities in the field, including the emergence of a strong new generation of Latin American researchers, many of whom are women.

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Factors affecting the preservation and distribution of cetaceans in the lower Miocene Gaiman Formation of Patagonia, Argentina

Cited by 23 publications

References 55 publications

Taphonomy of marine vertebrates of the Pisco Formation (Miocene, Peru): Insights into the origin of an outstanding Fossil-Lagerstätte

Taphonomy of marine vertebrates of the Pisco Formation (Miocene, Peru): Insights into the origin of an outstanding Fossil-Lagerstätte

Hearing from the ocean and into the river: the evolution of the inner ear of Platanistoidea (Cetacea: Odontoceti)

Aquatic mammal fossils in Latin America – a review of records, advances and challenges in research in the last 30 years

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