Earliest Carboniferous tetrapod and arthropod faunas from Scotland populate Romer's Gap.
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A
; 109(12): 4532-7, 2012 Mar 20.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-22393016
ABSTRACT
Devonian tetrapods (limbed vertebrates), known from an increasingly large number of localities, have been shown to be mainly aquatic with many primitive features. In contrast, the post-Devonian record is marked by an Early Mississippian temporal gap ranging from the earliest Carboniferous (Tournaisian and early Viséan) to the mid-Viséan. By the mid-Viséan, tetrapods had become effectively terrestrial as attested by the presence of stem amniotes, developed an essentially modern aspect, and given rise to the crown group. Up to now, only two localities have yielded tetrapod specimens from the Tournaisian stage one in Scotland with a single articulated skeleton and one in Nova Scotia with isolated bones, many of uncertain identity. We announce a series of discoveries of Tournaisian-age localities in Scotland that have yielded a wealth of new tetrapod and arthropod fossils. These include both terrestrial and aquatic forms and new taxa. We conclude that the gap in the fossil record has been an artifact of collection failure.
Texto completo:
1
Coleções:
01-internacional
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
Artrópodes
/
Extinção Biológica
Limite:
Animals
País/Região como assunto:
Europa
Idioma:
En
Ano de publicação:
2012
Tipo de documento:
Article