Habitat preferences of the enigmatic Miocene tethythere Desmostylus and Paleoparadoxia (Desmostylia; Mammalia) inferred from the depositional depth of fossil occurrences in the Northwestern Pacific realm

Matsui, Kumiko; Sashida, Katsuo; Agematsu, Sachiko; Kohno, Naoki

doi:10.1016/j.palaeo.2017.02.005

Cited by 3 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 21 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Interestingly, on the west side of the Pacific (Russia–Japan) and some parts of the east side of the Pacific (Oregon–Washington), Desmostylus spp. and paleoparadoxiids rarely co-occurred from the same formation 48 , 49 , yet there are many geological units in South California where desmostylids and paleoparadoxiids co-occurred (e.g., Santa Margarita Formation 50 , 51 , Rosarito Beach Formation 52 , Tortugas Formation 51 , and Temblor Formation 3 , 4 ). The abundance of new material from the “Topanga” Formation from Orange and Riverside counties should contribute to the discussion of desmostylian environmental preferences 48 , 53 .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

New data from the first discovered paleoparadoxiid (Desmostylia) specimen shed light into the morphological variation of the genus Neoparadoxia

Matsui

Valenzuela‐Toro

Pyenson

2022

Sci Rep

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Desmostylia is an extinct clade of marine mammals with two major sub-clades, Desmostylidae and Paleoparadoxiidae, known from Oligocene to Miocene strata of the North Pacific coastline. Within Paleoparadoxiidae, three genera have been identified: Archaeoparadoxia, Paleoparadoxia, and Neoparadoxia. The latter taxon is the geochronologically youngest palaeoparadoxiid and Neoparadoxia is characterized by a comparatively larger body size, although it is known only from a few specimens within a short temporal and geographic range. Here we report the discovery of an isolated tooth, which we identify as Neoparadoxia cf. N. cecilialina, constituting only the second individual specimen of Neoparadoxia with preserved dentition yet reported. This specimen was collected near Corona, California, USA, and we attribute it to the “Topanga” Formation, extending the geographic range of this taxon in Southern California. While the exact geographic locality was not recorded when it was collected in 1913, we establish two potential localities based on associated hand-written museum label and new stratigraphic information. Although initially identified as Desmostylus hesperus, this specimen of Neoparadoxia was collected 10 years before the first named paleoparadoxiid from Japan. We expect that description of more complete desmostylian material from elsewhere in Southern California will clarify the taxonomic richness and paleoecological role of this clade in Cenozoic marine mammal assemblages.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

New data from the first discovered paleoparadoxiid (Desmostylia) specimen shed light into the morphological variation of the genus Neoparadoxia

Matsui

Valenzuela‐Toro

Pyenson

2022

Sci Rep

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…This is one of the many reasons for the importance of specimen occurrence information. In marine mammal studies, some recent examples for the use of PBDB include ecological analysis of marine mammals versus diatoms as primary producers and that of marine mammals versus other animals [ 39 , 47 ], the evolution of gigantism in whales and sirenians [ 48 , 49 ], and reconstruction of desmostylian habitats [ 50 ]. Correct provenance data (information of locality and occurrence) are requisites for these studies.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A long-forgotten ‘dinosaur’ bone from a museum cabinet, uncovered to be a Japan's iconic extinct mammal,Paleoparadoxia(Desmostylia, Mammalia)

et al. 2018

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Here, we report a new ‘discovery’ of a desmostylian fossil in the geological collection at a national university in Japan. This fossil was unearthed over 60 years ago and donated to the university. Owing to the original hand-written note kept with the fossil in combination with interview investigation, we were able to reach two equally possible fossil sites in the town of Tsuchiyu Onsen, Fukushima. Through the interviews, we learned that the fossil was discovered during construction of a debris flow barrier and that it was recognized as a ‘dinosaur’ bone among the locals and displayed in the Village Hall before/until the town experienced a fire disaster in 1954. As scientific findings, the fossil was identified to be a right femur of Paleoparadoxia (Desmostylia), which shows well-preserved muscle scars on the surface. The age was estimated to be 15.9 Ma or younger in zircon-dating. This study shows an excellent case that historical and scientific significances could be extracted from long-forgotten uncatalogued specimens as long as the original information is retained with the specimens.

show abstract

“…Previously, Desmostylus spp. and paleoparadoxiids rarely co-occurred from the same formation 43,44 based on taphonomic and faunal assemblage comparisons. There are some localities in California and Japan where Desmostylus and paleoparadoxiids co-occurred (e.g., Santa Margarita Formation 45,46 , Rosarito Beach Formation 47 , Tortugas Formation 47 , Temblor Formation 3,4 , and Rawan conglomerate sandstone member 48,49 ), but such specimens were found from the horizons where fossils were likely reworked or concentrated in high energy depositional settings, such as coquinas and conglomerates, or represent deposits with long-term (10 5-6 yrs.)…”

Section: Morphological Variation and Potential Diversity Of Paleopara...mentioning

confidence: 99%

New data from the first discovered paleoparadoxiid (Desmostylia) specimen shed light into the morphological variation of the genus Neoparadoxia

Matsui

Valenzuela‐Toro

Pyenson

2022

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Desmostylia is an extinct clade of marine mammals with two major sub-clades, Desmostylidae and Paleoparadoxiidae, known from Oligocene to Miocene strata of the North Pacific coastline. Within Paleoparadoxiidae, three genera have been identified: Archaeoparadoxia, Paleoparadoxia, and Neoparadoxia. The latter taxon is the geochronologically youngest palaeoparadoxiid and characterized by a comparatively larger body size, although it is known only from a few specimens within a short temporal and geographic range. Here we report the discovery of an isolated tooth identified as Neoparadoxia cf. N. cecilialina, constituting only the second individual specimen of Neoparadoxia with preserved dentition yet reported. This specimen was collected near Corona, California, USA, and we attribute it to the “Topanga” Formation, becoming the first record of Neoparadoxia from this unit. While the exact geographic locality was not properly recorded for this specimen when it was collected in 1913, we establish two potential localities based on the associated hand-written museum label and new stratigraphic information. Although this specimen wasinitially identified as Desmostylus hesperus, it was collected 10 years before the first named paleoparadoxiid from Japan. This new occurrence data adds to interpretations of marine mammal assemblages, especially in Southern California where paleoparadoxiids co-occur with desmostylids and sirenians.

show abstract

Habitat preferences of the enigmatic Miocene tethythere Desmostylus and Paleoparadoxia (Desmostylia; Mammalia) inferred from the depositional depth of fossil occurrences in the Northwestern Pacific realm

Cited by 3 publications

References 21 publications

New data from the first discovered paleoparadoxiid (Desmostylia) specimen shed light into the morphological variation of the genus Neoparadoxia

New data from the first discovered paleoparadoxiid (Desmostylia) specimen shed light into the morphological variation of the genus Neoparadoxia

A long-forgotten ‘dinosaur’ bone from a museum cabinet, uncovered to be a Japan's iconic extinct mammal,Paleoparadoxia(Desmostylia, Mammalia)

New data from the first discovered paleoparadoxiid (Desmostylia) specimen shed light into the morphological variation of the genus Neoparadoxia

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About