Newly Discovered Extinct Monk Seal Species Credits: An Artist’s Impression of Jaime Bran. Corpig: New Zealand’s Museum is Papa.
Search, published today Proceedings of the Royal Society b, Scientists’ understanding of how seal species have evolved around the world is radically changing.
It came after researchers examined seven preserved fossil specimens, including the entire skull, found by local fossil hunters off New Zealand’s South Taranaki coast between 2009 and 2016.
The new species is named Imonacus belegaeransis, meaning after the Sea of Belegagar (meaning ‘Belegagarthi paro. E monk seal’), located west of the Middle Earth in JRR Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings.
About 2.5 meters long and weighing 200-2250 kg, Imonacus belegaerensis lived in the waters around New Zealand about 3 million years ago.
It was previously thought that all true seals originated in the North Atlantic, with some later crossing the equator to live in the south, like Antarctica.
Imonacs now show that many ancient seals, including the ancestors of today’s monks, elephants, and Antarctic seals, actually evolved in the Southern Hemisphere.
Monash Paleontologist James Rule, Ph.D. A candidate for the Biomedicine Discovery Institute, Monash is leading research at the University and Museum Victoria in Australia, and as part of a trans-Tasman collaboration with New Zealand’s T. Papa and the Canterbury Museum. The study was supervised and co-authored by Dr. Justin Adams (Monash Biomedicine Discovery Institute), Dr. It was performed by Erich Fitzgerald (Museum Victoria) and Associate Professor Alistair Evans (School of Biological Sciences).
Finding fragments of fossil specimens includes a complete skull. Credit: Monash University
“This new species of extinct monk seal is the first of its kind from the Southern Hemisphere. Its discovery really turns the seal evolution on its head.”
“Until now, we thought that all true seals originated in the Northern Hemisphere, and then crossed the equator once or twice in their entire evolutionary history. Eight times. “
That Papa Museum in New Zealand, curator of marine mammals and study associate Dr. Felix Marx said that this discovery is a victory for civic science.
“This new species has received numerous, exceptionally well-preserved remains – thanks to all that were found by members of the public.”
Monash University paleontologist James Rule inspects fossilized skull of newly identified monk seal species Credit: No credit required
Dr .. Marx is optimistic about the discovery of new species in New Zealand’s ancient past.
“New Zealand is incredibly rich in fossils, and so far we’ve barely scratched the surface. Who knows what else?” Mar. Said Marx.
The newly described fossils show the ancient origins of the New Zealand penguins
The first monk seal of the Southern Hemisphere rewrites the evolutionary history of the true seal, Proceedings of the Royal Society b (2020). RSSpb.royalsocietypublishing.or 10 .1098 / RSSpb.2020.2318
Provided by Monash University
Testimonial: New Fossil Seal Species Rewrite History (2020, 10 November) 10 November 2020 https://phys.org/news/2020-11-fossil-species-rewrites-history.html
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