Oliver Bluffs: Middle Miocene, Antarctica
List of taxa
Where & when
Geology
Taphonomy & methods
Metadata & references
Taxonomic list
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Insecta
- Coleoptera
- Curculionidae
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Listroderina informal indet 1
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Ashworth and Kuschel 2003 | 1 specimen | ||||||||
| spelled with current rank as Listroderini | ||||||||||
| similar to those of the Listroderes complex. | ||||||||||
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Listroderina informal indet 2
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Ashworth and Kuschel 2003 | 1 specimen | ||||||||
| spelled with current rank as Listroderini | ||||||||||
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Insecta
- Coleoptera
- Carabidae
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Antarctotrechus balli n. gen., n. sp.
Ashworth and Erwin 2016
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Ashworth and Erwin 2016 | 2 specimens | ||||||||
| NMNH:ADP147741, NMNH:ADP147732 (2 measurements) | ||||||||||
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Insecta
- Diptera
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Schizophora indet.
Becher 1882
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Ashworth and Thompson 2003 | 1 specimen | ||||||||
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Angiospermae
- Fagales
- Nothofagaceae
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Nothofagus beardmorensis n. sp.
Hill et al. 1996
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| see common names | ||||||||||
Geography
| Country: | Antarctica |
| Coordinates: | 85.2° South, 166.1° East (view map) |
| Paleocoordinates: | 86.2° South, 155.2° East |
| Basis of coordinate: | based on nearby landmark |
| Geographic resolution: | outcrop |
Time
| Period: | Neogene | Epoch: | Miocene |
| 10 m.y. bin: | Cenozoic 5 | ||
| Key time interval: | Middle Miocene | ||
| Age range of interval: | 15.98000 - 11.63000 m.y. ago |
Stratigraphy
| Geological group: | Sirius | Formation: | Meyer Desert | ||
| Stratigraphy comments: Based on the occurrence of marine diatoms within the Sirius Group deposits, their age was reported as Pliocene c. 3 Ma (Webb et al. 1994). This age estimate, however, is controversial and likely too young. Several studies suggest that the diatoms were deposited onto older glacial deposits by wind from Pliocene marine deposits located on the margins of the continent (Scherer et al. 2015). Pollen from the Meyer Desert Formation most closely matches an assemblage from near Mount Boreas in the McMurdo Dry Valleys dated by 39Ar/40Ar from a volcanic ash to be of mid-Miocene age (14.07 ± 0.05 Ma., Lewis et al. 2008). Also, fossiliferous Neogene deposits in the region of the Friis Hills in the McMurdo Dry Valleys are early to mid-Miocene based on 39Ar/40Ar dating (Lewis and Ashworth 2016). We conclude that the best age estimate for the trechine fossils is mid-Miocene. | |||||
Lithology and environment
| Primary lithology: | poorly lithified siltstone |
| Secondary lithology: | fine sandstone |
| Lithology description: The fossiliferous siltstones and fine sandstones are cemented with calcite. | |
| Environment: | fine channel fill |
| Geology comments: The siltstone lens formed from the infilling of a stream channel. Insect and plant parts were washed or blown into the stream channel which eventually became sediment-choked and finally buried by lodgement till during the next glacial advance down the valley. | |
Taphonomy
| Modes of preservation: | body,adpression |
| Size of fossils: | mesofossils |
Collection methods and comments
| Reason for describing collection: | taxonomic analysis |
| Museum repositories: | USNM |
| Collection method comments: They were disaggregated by soaking in water and wet sieving. The fraction greater than 300 um was examined under a binocular microscope. The fossils are mounted on card slides and are stored in the collections of the Quaternary Entomology Laboratory at North Dakota State University. | |
Metadata
| Database number: | 137622 | ||
| Authorizer: | M. Clapham | Enterer: | J. Karr, M. Clapham |
| Modifier: | M. Clapham | Research group: | paleobotany,paleoentomology |
| Created: | 2012-12-18 10:24:41 | Last modified: | 2020-12-04 13:59:17 |
| Access level: | the public | Released: | 2012-12-18 10:24:41 |
| Creative Commons license: | CC BY |
Reference information
Primary reference:
| 9001. | R. S. Hill, D. M. Harwood, and P.-N. Webb. 1996. Nothofagus beardmorensis (Nothofagaceae), a new species based on leaves from the Pliocene Sirius Group, Transantarctic Mountains, Antarctica. Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology 94:11-24 [E. Kowalski/E. Kowalski/E. Kowalski] |
Secondary references:
| 60933 | A. C. Ashworth and T. L. Erwin. 2016. Antarctotrechus balli sp. n. (Carabidae, Trechini): the first ground beetle from Antarctica. ZooKeys 635:109-122 [M. Clapham/M. Clapham] | |
| 44017 | A. C. Ashworth and G. Kuschel. 2003. Fossil weevils (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) from latitude 85˚S Antarctica. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 191:191-202 [M. Clapham/J. Karr/P. Wagner] | |
| 60935 | A. C. Ashworth and F. C. Thompson. 2003. A fly in the biogeographic ointment. Nature 423:135-136 [M. Clapham/M. Clapham] |