Earliest evidence of marine habitat use by mammals

Abstract Evidence for the earliest invasion of the marine realm by mammals was previously restricted to Eocene (48.6–37.8 Ma) skeletal remains. We report incontrovertible ichnofossil evidence for brackish-water habitat use by at least two mammalian species in southern Wyoming during the late Paleoce...

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Autores principales:	Anton F.-J. Wroblewski, Bonnie E. Gulas-Wroblewski
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	Nature Portfolio 2021
Materias:	Medicine R Science Q
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/646b9e720c52433d9751057d42937089
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:646b9e720c52433d9751057d429370892021-12-02T15:55:04ZEarliest evidence of marine habitat use by mammals10.1038/s41598-021-88412-32045-2322https://doaj.org/article/646b9e720c52433d9751057d429370892021-05-01T00:00:00Zhttps://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-88412-3https://doaj.org/toc/2045-2322Abstract Evidence for the earliest invasion of the marine realm by mammals was previously restricted to Eocene (48.6–37.8 Ma) skeletal remains. We report incontrovertible ichnofossil evidence for brackish-water habitat use by at least two mammalian species in southern Wyoming during the late Paleocene (58 Ma). These are the first Paleocene mammal trackways recorded in the United States and only the fourth documented in the world. Multiple tracks preserved in restricted marine deposits represent animals repeatedly walking across submerged to partially emergent tidal flats. Hundreds of tracks are preserved in planform and cross-sectional exposure within five horizons along a 1032 m tracksite. Four prints exhibit five clear toe imprints, while two others distinctly display four toes. Some tracks penetrate beds populated by dwelling traces of marine bivalves and polychaetes in the upper layers and sea anemones at the base. Candidates for the five-toed tracemakers are pantodonts such as Titanoides, Barylambda, and Coryphodon, which have been recovered from late Paleocene strata throughout western North America. The four-toed tracks provide the earliest evidence of previously-undescribed large artiodactyls and/or tapiroids, mutually supporting recent molecular phylogenetic studies that place the origin of Cetartiodactyla near the Cretaceous-Paleogene boundary (~ 67.7 Ma). Collectively, these trackways irrefutably demonstrate the utility of ichnological data in reconstructing the evolutionary history and adaptive behaviors of extinct taxa beyond the evidence provided by body fossils alone.Anton F.-J. WroblewskiBonnie E. Gulas-WroblewskiNature PortfolioarticleMedicineRScienceQENScientific Reports, Vol 11, Iss 1, Pp 1-12 (2021)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	Medicine R Science Q
spellingShingle	Medicine R Science Q Anton F.-J. Wroblewski Bonnie E. Gulas-Wroblewski Earliest evidence of marine habitat use by mammals
description	Abstract Evidence for the earliest invasion of the marine realm by mammals was previously restricted to Eocene (48.6–37.8 Ma) skeletal remains. We report incontrovertible ichnofossil evidence for brackish-water habitat use by at least two mammalian species in southern Wyoming during the late Paleocene (58 Ma). These are the first Paleocene mammal trackways recorded in the United States and only the fourth documented in the world. Multiple tracks preserved in restricted marine deposits represent animals repeatedly walking across submerged to partially emergent tidal flats. Hundreds of tracks are preserved in planform and cross-sectional exposure within five horizons along a 1032 m tracksite. Four prints exhibit five clear toe imprints, while two others distinctly display four toes. Some tracks penetrate beds populated by dwelling traces of marine bivalves and polychaetes in the upper layers and sea anemones at the base. Candidates for the five-toed tracemakers are pantodonts such as Titanoides, Barylambda, and Coryphodon, which have been recovered from late Paleocene strata throughout western North America. The four-toed tracks provide the earliest evidence of previously-undescribed large artiodactyls and/or tapiroids, mutually supporting recent molecular phylogenetic studies that place the origin of Cetartiodactyla near the Cretaceous-Paleogene boundary (~ 67.7 Ma). Collectively, these trackways irrefutably demonstrate the utility of ichnological data in reconstructing the evolutionary history and adaptive behaviors of extinct taxa beyond the evidence provided by body fossils alone.
format	article
author	Anton F.-J. Wroblewski Bonnie E. Gulas-Wroblewski
author_facet	Anton F.-J. Wroblewski Bonnie E. Gulas-Wroblewski
author_sort	Anton F.-J. Wroblewski
title	Earliest evidence of marine habitat use by mammals
title_short	Earliest evidence of marine habitat use by mammals
title_full	Earliest evidence of marine habitat use by mammals
title_fullStr	Earliest evidence of marine habitat use by mammals
title_full_unstemmed	Earliest evidence of marine habitat use by mammals
title_sort	earliest evidence of marine habitat use by mammals
publisher	Nature Portfolio
publishDate	2021
url	https://doaj.org/article/646b9e720c52433d9751057d42937089
work_keys_str_mv	AT antonfjwroblewski earliestevidenceofmarinehabitatusebymammals AT bonnieegulaswroblewski earliestevidenceofmarinehabitatusebymammals
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Earliest evidence of marine habitat use by mammals

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