Artículos de revistas
Elephant seal (Mirounga sp.) from the Pleistocene of the Antofagasta Region, northern Chile
Fecha
2015Registro en:
Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, Volumen 35, Issue 3, 2018,
19372809
02724634
10.1080/02724634.2014.918883
Autor
Valenzuela-Toro, Ana M.
Gutstein, Carolina S.
Suárez, Mario E.
Otero, Rodrigo
Pyenson, Nicholas D.
Institución
Resumen
© 2015 by the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology. The genus Mirounga is the largest living member of the Phocidae family (true seals) and includes two species: M. angustirostris and M. leonina. These species exhibit a noticeable antitropical distribution in the Northern and Southern hemispheres, respectively. The evolutionary history of elephant seals, especially in regard to establishing this antitropical pattern, is poorly known. Nearly all fossils of the genus are isolated remains from the Pleistocene of California (M. angustirostris) and South Africa (M. leonina). Here, we describe new fossil material of Mirounga sp. (incomplete maxilla, dentary, and humerus), from the middle to late Pleistocene of Antofagasta Region, northern Chile. This material constitutes the first fossil occurrence of this species in South America and suggests that during part of the Pleistocene, phocids coexisted with otariids along the eastern edge of the South Pacific Ocean, which contrasts with the current