Open AccessThe oldest plesiosaur (Reptilia, Sauropterygia) from Antarctica
Author(s) -
Alexander W. A. Kellner,
Tiago R. Simões,
Douglas Riff,
Orlando N. Grillo,
Pedro S. R. Romano,
Helder de Figueirêdo e Paula,
Renato Rodríguez Cabral Ramos,
Marcelo de Araújo Carvalho,
Juliana Manso Sayão,
Gustavo R. Oliveira,
Taissa Rodrigues
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
polar research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.508
H-Index - 49
eISSN - 1751-8369
pISSN - 0800-0395
DOI - 10.3402/polar.v30i0.7265
Subject(s) - geology , peninsula , cretaceous , paleontology , structural basin , archaeology , geography
Antarctic plesiosaurs are known from the Upper Cretaceous López de Bertodano and Snow Hill Island formations (Campanian to upper Maastrichtian), which crop out within the James Ross Basin region of the Antarctic Peninsula. Here we describe the first plesiosaur fossils from the Lachman Crags Member of the Santa Marta Formation, north-western James Ross Island. This material constitutes the stratigraphically oldest plesiosaur occurrence presently known from Antarctica, extending the occurrence of plesiosaurians in this continent back to Santonian times (86.3–83.5 Mya). Furthermore, MN 7163-V represents the first plesiosaur from this region not referable to the Elasmosauridae nor Aristonectes, indicating a greater diversity of this group of aquatic reptiles in Antarctica than previously suspected
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