MSGID: 1:317/3 64af7deb   
   PID: hpt/lnx 1.9.0-cur 2019-01-08   
   TID: hpt/lnx 1.9.0-cur 2019-01-08   
    Marine fossils unearth story about Panama's deep past    
      
     Date:   
         July 12, 2023   
     Source:   
         Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute   
     Summary:   
         New fossil mammal specimens from Caribbean Panama suggest ongoing   
         marine interchange during the final stages of formation of the   
         isthmus connecting North and South America.   
      
      
         Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIN Email   
      
   ==========================================================================   
   FULL STORY   
   ==========================================================================   
   Between 6.4 and 5.8 million years ago, most of the land bridge that   
   connects North and South America had already emerged and the channels   
   connecting both Pacific and Atlantic oceans were shallow. Recent fossil   
   discoveries in the northern Panama Canal area suggest that marine species   
   interchange persisted across these shallow waters during the final stages   
   of formation of the isthmus.   
      
   In 2017 and 2019, Aldo Benites-Palomino was studying fossils collected   
   in Caribbean Panama, when he came across some unexpected specimens. He   
   was a biology student in Peru', where his training had been very   
   classical. As an intern and later a fellow at the Smithsonian Tropical   
   Research Institute (STRI), his mindset shifted. His mentor, STRI staff   
   scientist and paleobiologist Carlos Jaramillo, encouraged his students   
   to change their focus when looking at fossils: instead of thinking about   
   specimens or methods, to think about the questions that the fossils   
   could help answer.   
      
   "I wanted to go to STRI because it is the most important tropical biology   
   center in the world," said Benites-Palomino. "There I was able to learn   
   a lot about the way biology and ecology is done in the modern world."   
   The fossil remains belonged to small-sized cetaceans, a group of aquatic   
   mammals that includes whales and dolphins, and the specimens were new for   
   the region. Most of them had been collected by Carlos de Gracia from STRI   
   and Jorge Velez Juarbe from the Los Angeles Museum of Natural History,   
   both co-authors in a new paper published in Biology Letters. In the   
   article, Benites-Palomino and his colleagues go beyond describing the   
   specimens, they also unearth the story they reveal about the isthmus'   
   deep past.   
      
   The fossils belonged to the Late Miocene, around 6.4 to 5.8 million   
   years ago, when the final stages of formation of the isthmus had already   
   started. This event affected oceanic waters and marine currents across   
   the globe and triggered speciation events, where species separated by the   
   land bridge developed their own unique characteristics on either ocean.   
      
   However, these cetaceans found in Caribbean Panama shared similarities   
   with other Late Miocene species from the North and South Pacific Ocean,   
   particularly the Pisco Formation in Peru, suggesting that some organisms   
   were still able to disperse via the shallowing seaway at a time when   
   deep water interchange between both oceans was no longer occurring.   
      
   The lack of fossil marine mammals from the western Caribbean has thus far   
   hampered understanding of the region's deep past, so these new findings   
   help strengthen current knowledge regarding the connectivity between the   
   Pacific and Caribbean marine faunas during the final phases of formation   
   of the isthmus.   
      
   "The marine vertebrate fossil record of Panama has been barely explored,"   
   said Carlos Jaramillo, STRI staff scientist and co-author of the   
   study. "There are still many specimens that need to be studied and many   
   more still in the rocks waiting to be found."   
       * RELATED_TOPICS   
             o Plants_&_Animals   
                   # Fish # Marine_Biology # Sea_Life # New_Species   
             o Earth_&_Climate   
                   # Oceanography # Environmental_Awareness # Geography #   
                   Earth_Science   
       * RELATED_TERMS   
             o Black-footed_Ferret o Caribbean_Monk_Seal o Ice_sheet o   
             Eagle o Green_Iguana o Geology_of_the_Capitol_Reef_area o   
             Tobacco o Llama   
      
   ==========================================================================   
      
    Print   
      
    Email   
      
    Share   
   ==========================================================================   
   ****** 1 ****** ***** 2 ***** **** 3 ****   
   *** 4 *** ** 5 ** Breaking this hour   
   ==========================================================================   
       * Salinity_Changes_Threatening_Marine_Ecosystems *   
       Plastic_Pollution_On_Reefs_Mostly_from_Fishing   
       * Detailed_Map_of_the_Heart *   
       Microplastics_Contamination_in_Lakes_and_...   
      
       * Diverse_Organic_Material_On_Mars *   
       How_the_Immune_System_Can_Alter_Our_Behavior *   
       Ocean's_Color_Is_Changing_Due_to_Climate_Change *   
       Start_of_Anthropocene_Epoch:_Canadian_Lake_...   
      
       * Pump_Powers_Soft_Robots,_Makes_Cocktails *   
       Rat_Poison_--_Neurotoxicant_--_In_Birds_of_Prey   
      
   Trending Topics this week   
   ==========================================================================   
   PLANTS_&_ANIMALS Biology Nature Food EARTH_&_CLIMATE Global_Warming   
   Environmental_Policy Environmental_Awareness FOSSILS_&_RUINS Fossils   
   Ancient_Civilizations Cultures   
      
      
   ==========================================================================   
      
   Strange & Offbeat   
   ==========================================================================   
   PLANTS_&_ANIMALS Tiny_Fish_Surprise_Scientists_in_'Volunteer's_Dilemma'   
   Capturing_the_Immense_Potential_of_Microscopic_DNA_for_Data_Storage   
   Bees_Make_Decisions_Better_and_Faster_Than_We_Do,_for_the_Things_That_Matter_to   
   Them EARTH_&_CLIMATE   
   Why_There_Are_No_Kangaroos_in_Bali_(and_No_Tigers_in_Australia)   
   Turning_Old_Maps_Into_3D_Digital_Models_of_Lost_Neighborhoods   
   Squash_Bugs_Are_Attracted_to_and_Eat_Each_Other's_Poop_to_Stock_Their   
   Microbiome FOSSILS_&_RUINS   
   Giant_Stone_Artefacts_Found_on_Rare_Ice_Age_Site_in_Kent,_UK   
   Fossils_Reveal_How_Ancient_Birds_Molted_Their_Feathers_--_Which_Could_Help   
   Explain_Why_Ancestors_of_Modern_Birds_Survived_When_All_the_Other_Dinosaurs   
   Died Apex_Predator_of_the_Cambrian_Likely_Sought_Soft_Over_Crunchy_Prey   
   Story Source: Materials provided by   
   Smithsonian_Tropical_Research_Institute. Original written by Leila   
   Nilipour. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.   
      
      
   ==========================================================================   
   Related Multimedia:   
       * Collecting_fossils   
   ==========================================================================   
   Journal Reference:   
      1. Aldo Benites-Palomino, Jorge Ve'lez-Juarbe, Carlos De Gracia, Carlos   
         Jaramillo. Bridging two oceans: small toothed cetaceans (Odontoceti)   
         from the Late Miocene Chagres Formation, eastern Caribbean (Colon,   
         Panama).   
      
         Biology Letters, 2023; 19 (6) DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2023.0124   
   ==========================================================================   
      
   Link to news story:   
   https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/07/230712165206.htm   
      
   --- up 1 year, 19 weeks, 2 days, 10 hours, 50 minutes   
    * Origin: -=> Castle Rock BBS <=- Now Husky HPT Powered! (1:317/3)   
   SEEN-BY: 15/0 106/201 114/705 123/120 153/7715 218/700 226/30 227/114   
   SEEN-BY: 229/110 112 113 307 317 400 426 428 470 664 700 291/111 292/854   
   SEEN-BY: 298/25 305/3 317/3 320/219 396/45 5075/35   
   PATH: 317/3 229/426