New fossil remains of the commensal barnacle Cryptolepas rhachianecti provide evidence of gray whales in the prehistoric South Pacific
Taylor, Larry (University of California. University of California Museum of Paleontology. Department of Integrative Biology)
Abella, Juan (Institut Català de Paleontologia Miquel Crusafont)
Morales Saldaña, Jorge Manuel (Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (Republic of Panama))

Date:	2021
Abstract:	We report the finding of two partial specimens of Cryptolepas rhachianecti (Cirripedia, Coronulidae), a coronulid barnacle known only to inhabit the skin of gray whales (Eschrichtius robustus), in Pleistocene-aged sediments from the Canoa Basin, Ecuador. While the historical range of gray whales includes the North Pacific and North Atlantic, to our knowledge this is the first inferred evidence of a gray whale population having resided within the South Pacific. We describe the two Cryptolepas rhachianecti fossils, use isotopic analysis to investigate evidence of migration in their host whales, and discuss their implications for our understanding of gray whale evolutionary history.
Grants:	Agència de Gestió d'Ajuts Universitaris i de Recerca 2017/BP-00223
Note:	Altres ajuts: CERCA Programme/Generalitat de Catalunya
Rights:	Aquest document està subjecte a una llicència d'ús Creative Commons. Es permet la reproducció total o parcial, la distribució, la comunicació pública de l'obra i la creació d'obres derivades, fins i tot amb finalitats comercials, sempre i quan es reconegui l'autoria de l'obra original.
Language:	Anglès
Document:	Article ; recerca ; Versió publicada
Published in:	Journal of Paleontology, (December 2021) , p. 1-8, ISSN 1937-2337

DOI: 10.1017/jpa.2021.113

8 p, 1.5 MB

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Research literature > UAB research groups literature > Research Centres and Groups (research output) > Experimental sciences > Institut Català de Paleontologia Miquel Crusafont (ICP)
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