Open AccessFossil penguins (Pygoscelis calderensis sp. nov.) in the Bahía Inglesa Formation (Middle Miocene-Pliocene), Chile
Author(s) -
Carolina Acosta Hospitaleche,
M. Chavez,
Omar Fritis
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
andean geology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.697
H-Index - 36
eISSN - 0718-7092
pISSN - 0718-7106
DOI - 10.5027/andgeov33n2-a06
Subject(s) - neogene , geology , pygoscelis , paleontology , genus , late miocene , zoology , biology , structural basin , foraging
Three new penguin skulls (Spheniscidae), assigned to the new species Pygoscelis calderensis sp. nov. from the Bahía Inglesa Formation of Middle Miocene-Pliocene age located south of Caldera on the coast of the III Región de Atacama, Chile (27°00'S, 70°45'W to 28°00', 71°00'W), are described. This finding broadens the geographic and chronologic distribution of the genus, constituting its most northern record. Before the present work, the genus was known from the Late Pliocene of New Zealand. This record, together with other faunistic evidences, suggests the existence of periods or cold oceanic currents during the Neogene.