作者:Matthew CLAMANNA,Judd ACASE,Eric MROBERTS,Victoria MARBOUR,Ricardo CELY,Steven WSALISBURY,Julia ACLARKE,DEdward MALINZAK,Abagael RWEST,Patrick MO’CONNOR
摘要:Although the fossil record of non-avian dinosaurs from the Cretaceous of Antarctica is the poorest of any continent,fossils representing at least five major taxonomic groups(Ankylosauria,early-diverging Ornithopoda,Hadrosauridae,Titanosauria,and Theropoda)have been recovered.All come from Upper Cretaceous(Coniacian–Maastrichtian)marine and nearshore deposits belonging to the Gustav and Marambio groups of the James Ross Basin at the northern tip of the Antarctic Peninsula.The majority of these finds have come from the Campanian–Maastrichtian Snow Hill Island and López de Bertodano formations of James Ross and Vega islands.Given the rarity of Antarctic Cretaceous non-avian dinosaurs,discoveries of any fossils of these archosaurs,no matter how meager,are of significance.Here we describe fragmentary new ornithischian(ankylosaur and ornithopod)material from the upper Campanian–lower Maastrichtian Cape Lamb Member of the Snow Hill Island Formation and the Maastrichtian Sandwich Bluff Member of the López de Bertodano Formation.One of these specimens is considered to probably pertain to the holotypic individual of the early-diverging ornithopod Morrosaurus antarcticus.We also provide an up-to-date synthesis of the Late Cretaceous non-avian dinosaur record of the James Ross Basin and analyze the biostratigraphic occurrences of the various finds,demonstrating that most(including all named taxa and all reasonably complete skeletons discovered to date)occur within a relatively condensed temporal interval of the late Campanian to early Maastrichtian.Most or all James Ross Basin dinosaurs share close affinities with penecontemporaneous taxa from Patagonia,indicating that at least some continental vertebrates could disperse between southern South America and Antarctica during the final stages of the Mesozoic.
发文机构:Section of Vertebrate Paleontology Department of Biology College of Science and Engineering Royal British Columbia Museum Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences School of Biological Sciences Department of Geological Sciences School of Natural Sciences Department of Biological Sciences Department of Biomedical Sciences Ohio Center for Ecology and Evolutionary Studies
关键词:DinosauriaANTARCTICACretaceousJAMESROSSBASINBIOSTRATIGRAPHYPALEOBIOGEOGRAPHY
分类号: P53[天文地球—古生物学与地层学][天文地球—地质学]