Early Miocene Paleobiology in Patagonia High-Latitude Paleocommunities of the Santa Cruz Formation

Coastal exposures of the Santa Cruz Formation in southern Patagonia have been a fertile ground for recovery of Early Miocene vertebrates for more than 100 years. This volume presents a comprehensive compilation of important mammalian groups which continue to thrive today. It includes the most recent fossil finds as well as important new interpretations based on ten years of fieldwork by the authors. A key focus is placed on the paleoclimate and paleoenvironment during the time of deposition in the Middle Miocene Climatic Optimum (MMCO) between twenty and fifteen million years ago. The authors present the first reconstruction of what climatic conditions were like and present important new evidence of the geochronological age, habits and community structures of fossil bird and mammal species. Academic researchers and graduate students in paleontology, paleobiology, paleoecology, stratigraphy, climatology and geochronology will find this a valuable source of information about this fascinating geological formation.

List of contributors; Preface; 1. Background for a paleoecological study of the Santa Cruz Formation (late Early Miocene) on the Atlantic Coast of Patagonia Sergio F. Vizcaíno, Richard F. Kay and M. Susana Bargo; 2. Tephrochronology of the Santa Cruz and Pinturas Formation Michael E. Perkins, John G. Fleagle, Matthew T. Heitzler, Barbara Nash, Thomas M. Bown, Adán A. Tauber and Maria T. Dozo; 3. Tephrochronology and paleontology of the Santa Cruz and Pinturas Formation John G. Fleagle, Michael E. Perkins, Matthew T. Heitzler, Barbara Nash, Thomas M. Bown, Adán A. Tauber, Maria T. Dozo and Marcelo F. Tejedor; 4. Sedimentology and paleoenvironment of the Santa Cruz Formation Sergio Matheos and M. Sol Raigemborm; 5. Oysters from the base of Santa Cruz Formation (late Early Miocene) of Patagonia Miguel Griffin and Ana Parras; 6. Ichnology of the Santa Cruz Formation (late Early Miocene), at the coast between the Rio Gallegos and Rio Coyle Verónica Krapovickas; 7. Fossil plant studies from late Early Miocene of the Santa Cruz Formation: paleoecology and paleoclimatology at the passive margin of Patagonia, Argentina Mariana Brea, Alejandro Zucol and Ari Iglesias; 8. Amphibians and squamate reptiles from the Santa Cruz Formation (late Early Miocene), Santa Cruz Province, Argentina: paleoenvironmental and paleobiological considerations Juan Carlos Fernicola and Adriana Albino; 9. Diversity and paleobiology of the Santacrucian birds Federico Degrange, Jorge I. Noriega and Juan I. Areta; 10. Paleoecology of the Paucituberculata and Microbiotheria (Mammalia, Marsupialia) from the late Early Miocene of Patagonia M. Alejandra Abello, Edgardo Ortiz-Jaureguizar and Adriana M. Candela; 11. Paleoecology of the mammalian carnivores (Metatheria, Sparassodonta) of the Santa Cruz Formation (late Early Miocene) Francisco Prevosti, Analía M. Forasiepi, Marcos Ercoli and Guillermo F. Turazzini; 12. Paleobiology of Santacrucian glyptodonts and armadillos (Xenarthra, Cingulata) Sergio F. Vizcaíno, Juan Carlos Fernicola and M. Susana Bargo; 13. Paleobiology of the Santacrucian sloths and anteaters (Xenarthra, Pilosa) M. Susana Bargo, Néstor Toledo and Sergio F. Vizcaíno; 14. Paleobiology of Santacrucian native ungulates (Meridiungulata: Astrapotheria, Litopterna and Notoungulata) Guillermo H. Cassini, Esperanza Cerdeño, Amalía Villafañe and Nahuel A. Muñoz; 15. Paleobiology of Santacrucian Caviomorph rodents: a morpho-functional approach Adriana M. Candela, Luciano L. Rasia and María E. Pérez; 16. The paleobiology of Santacrucian primates Richard F. Kay, Jonathan M. G. Perry, Michael Malinzak, Kari Allen, E. Christopher Kirk, J. Michael Plavcan and John G. Fleagle; 17. A review of the paleoenvironment and paleoecology of the Miocene Santa Cruz Formation Richard F. Kay, Sergio F. Vizcaíno and M. Susana Bargo; Index.

This volume provides a comprehensive compilation of important mammalian groups of the Santa Cruz Formation fossils, with a key focus on the paleoclimate and paleoenvironment during the time of deposition. A valuable resource for academic researchers and graduate students in paleontology, paleobiology, paleoecology, stratigraphy, climatology and geochronology.

Sergio F. Vizcaíno is Professor of Vertebrate Zoology at the Universidad Nacional de La Plata, Argentina and a researcher of the Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas working at the Museo de La Plata, Argentina. His research focuses on the paleobiology of South American fossil vertebrates, mostly mammals, and he has authored approximately 100 research papers and book chapters and edited one book and several special volumes. Professor Vizcaíno has participated in numerous fieldwork seasons in Argentina and Antarctica. He was the President of the Asociación Paleontológica Argentina (APA) and in 1996 and 2008 he won awards for his publications in Ameghiniana, the journal of the APA.
Richard F. Kay is Professor of Evolutionary Anthropology and Earth and Ocean Sciences at Duke University, North Carolina, where he has worked since 1973. He has edited six books and authored more than 200 research papers on primate paleontology, functional anatomy, adaptations and phylogenetics. Professor Kay has conducted paleontological field research in seven South American countries since 1982 and is an elected fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
M. Susana Bargo is a vertebrate paleontologist at the Division Paleontologia Vertebrados of the Museo de La Plata, Argentina and a researcher for the Comisión de Investigaciones Científicas de la Provincia de Buenos Aires. Her research focuses on the paleobiology of South American fossil mammals. Dr Bargo has authored about fifty scientific papers and book chapters, and was the editor in charge of vertebrates for Ameghiniana, winning an award in 2008 for a publication in that journal. She has participated in numerous field seasons in Patagonia, Argentina.