Further evidence that theAntarctic Peninsulawas once a ardent , humid part with a wealthiness of plant and creature diversity has been discovered in the form of the earliest known evidence of south-polar amphibians . The find , published in the journalScientific Reports , details fossilized specimen that go to the crime syndicate of helmeted frogs .
Before its breakup from the southern supercontinent , Gondwana , the Antarctic Peninsula was a temperate region rich in diversity and populate with an entirely different cast of creature to those we see today .
The fossils were bring out by Thomas Mörs and colleagues from the Swedish Museum of Natural History during jaunt to Seymour Island between 2011 and 2013 . They found evidence of an amphibian pelvic arch bone and decorate skull bone from the frog familyCalyptocephalellidae , both from the Eocene period of time around 40 million years ago .
It was previously believe that the Antarctica Peninsula became a prodigious sheet of ice before the final division of the supercontinent Gondwana , which also include Africa , South America , Antarctica , Australia , and the Arabian Peninsula . The break up occurred around 180 million age ago , give rise to Antarctica and South America . However , this amphibious fossil grounds suggest that the Antarctic Peninsula was in fact as humid as we know South America to be today .
The discovery of this particular family of amphibians is important as all extant species of helmeted frogs survive exclusively within South America today . Their presence in Antarctica therefore paint a far affectionate picture for its past climate than the icescape today .
The similarities between their nonmigratory amphibious species may indicate that Eocene Epoch Antarctica was standardized to the forests of mod - mean solar day South America before the glaciation case that turned it into the Peninsula we cognise today . It ’s therefore potential that species receive in South America today could inform which fauna were originally found across the Antarctic Peninsula .
Arecent analysisof soil in the neighborhood further supports this picture of a toastier mood in Antarctica ’s past , as evidence of root systems , pollen , and spore diversity paint a picture there was probable no ice cap present at the clock time . The depth psychology used clime models to ascertain what kind of experimental condition would ’ve been needed to support such rich plant sprightliness , which put the summer temperature estimation at around 19 ° C ( 66 ° F ) .
