Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-gxg78 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-26T04:58:46.713Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Taxonomy and biogeography of the Pleistocene New Zealand sea lion Neophoca palatina (Carnivora: Otariidae)

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  16 June 2016

Morgan Churchill  and
Robert W. Boessenecker
Morgan Churchill
Affiliation:
Department of Geology and Geophysics, University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY 82071, USA Program in Ecology, University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY 82071, USA Current Address: Department of Anatomy, New York Institute of Technology, Old Westbury, NY 11568, USA 〈mchurchi@nyit.edu〉
Robert W. Boessenecker
Affiliation:
Department of Geology and Environmental Geosciences, College of Charleston, Charleston, SC 29424, USA Museum of Paleontology, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA 〈boesseneckerrw@cofc.edu〉
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

The Otariidae (fur seals and sea lions) are an important and highly visible component of Southern Hemisphere marine mammal faunas. However, fossil material of Southern Hemisphere otariids is comparatively rare and often fragmentary. One exception is the Pleistocene sea lion Neophoca palatina King, 1983a, which is known from a nearly complete skull from the North Island of New Zealand. However, the phylogenetic affinities of this taxon are poorly known, and comparisons with other taxa have been limited. We provide an extensive redescription of Neophoca palatina and diagnose this taxon using a morphometric approach. Twenty measurements of the skull were collected for N. palatina, as well as for all extant Australasian otariids and several fossil Neophoca cinerea Perón, 1816. Using principal component analysis, we were able to segregate taxa by genus, and N. palatina was found to cluster with Neophoca according to overall size of the skull as well as increased width of the intertemporal constriction and interorbital region. N. palatina can be distinguished from all other Australasian otariids by its unusually broad basisphenoid. Discriminant function analysis supported referral of Neophoca palatina to Neophoca with very high posterior probability. These results confirm the treatment of Neophoca palatina as a distinct species of Neophoca and highlight the former broad distribution and greater tolerance for colder temperatures of this genus. These results also suggest that New Zealand may have played a pivotal role in the diversification of Southern Hemisphere otariid seals.

Type
Articles
Information
Journal of Paleontology , Volume 90 , Issue 2 , March 2016 , pp. 375 - 388
Copyright
Copyright © 2016, The Paleontological Society 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Árnason, U., Gullberg, A., Janke, A., Kullberg, M., Lehman, N., Petrov, E.A., and Väinölä, R., 2006, Pinniped phylogeny and a new hypothesis for their origin and dispersal: Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, v. 41, p. 345–354.Google Scholar
Avery, G., and Klein, R.G., 2011, Review of fossil phocid and otariid seals from the southern and western coasts of South Africa: Transactions of the Royal Society of South Africa, v. 66, p. 14–24.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Barnes, L. G., Ray, C.E., and Koretsky, I.A., 2006, A new Pliocene sea lion Proterozetes ulysses (Mammalia: Otariidae) from Oregon, U.S.A, in Csiki, Z., ed., Mesozoic and Cenozoic Vertebrates and Paleoenvironments: Tributes to the Career of Prof. Dan Grigorescu: Bucharest, Ars Docendi, p. 57–77.Google Scholar
Berta, A., and Churchill, M., 2012, Pinniped taxonomy: Review of currently recognized species and subspecies, and evidence used for their description: Mammal Review, v. 42, p. 207–234.Google Scholar
Berta, A., and Deméré, T.A., 1986, Callorhinus gilmorei n. sp., (Carnivora: Otariidae) from the San Diego Formation (Blancan) and its implications for otariid phylogeny: Transactions of the San Diego Society of Natural History, v. 21, p. 111–126.Google Scholar
Bowdich, T.E., 1821, An Analysis of the Natural Classification of Mammalia for the Use of Students and Travellers: Paris, J. Smith.Google Scholar
Brunner, S., 2004, Fur seals and sea lions (Otariidae): Identification of species and taxonomic review: Systematics and Biodiversity, v. 3, p. 339–439.Google Scholar
Brunner, S., Bryden, M.M., and Shaughnessy., P.D., 2004, Cranial ontogeny of otariid seals: Systematics and Biodiversity, v. 2, p. 83–110.Google Scholar
Bruyn, M., Hall, B.L., Chauke, L.F., Baroni, C., Koch, P.L., and Hoelzel, A.R., 2009, Rapid response of a marine mammal species to Holocene climate and habitat change: PLoS Genetics, v. 5, p. e1000554, doi: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1000554.Google Scholar
Carter, R.M., and Naish, T.R., 1998, Have local stages outlived their usefulness for the New Zealand Pliocene Pleistocene?: New Zealand Journal of Geology and Geophysics, v. 41, p. 271–279.Google Scholar
Childerhouse, S., and Gales, N., 1998, Historical and modern distribution and abundance of the New Zealand sea lion Phocarctos hookeri: New Zealand Journal of Zoology, v. 25, p. 1–16.Google Scholar
Churchill, M., Clementz, M.T., and Boessenecker, R.W., 2014a, Colonization of the Southern Hemisphere by fur seals and sea lions (Carnivora: Otariidae) revealed by combined evidence phylogenetic and Bayesian biogeographic analysis: Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, v. 172, p. 200–225.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Churchill, M., Clementz, M.T., and Kohno, N., 2014b, Predictive equations for the estimation of body size in seals and sea lions: Journal of Anatomy, v. 225, p. 232–245.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Collins, C.J., Rawlence, N.J., Prost, S.et al. 2014a, Extinction and recolonization of coastal megafauna following human arrival in New Zealand: Proceedings of the Royal Society B, v. 281, p. 20140097, doi: 10.1098/rspb.2014.0097.Google Scholar
Collins, C.J., Rawlence, N.J., Worthy, T.H., Scofield, R.P., Tennyson, A.J.D., Smith, I., Knapp, M., and Waters, J.M., 2014b, Pre-human New Zealand sea lion (Phocarctos hookeri) rookeries on mainland New Zealand: Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand, v. 44, p. 1–16.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Committee on Taxonomy 2014, List of marine mammal species and subspecies: Society for Marine Mammalogy, www.marinemammalscience.org (accessed 6 April 2015).Google Scholar
Doutt, K., 1942, , A review of the genus Pusa: Annals of the Carnegie Museum, v. 29, p. 61–125.Google Scholar
Drehmer, C.J., and Ribeiro, A.M., 1998, A temporal bone of an Otariidae (Mammalia: Pinnipedia) from the late Pleistocene of Rio Grande do Sul State, Brazil, Geociencias, v. 3, p. 39–44.Google Scholar
Fleming, C.A., 1955, Castlecliffian fossils from Ohope Beach, Whakatane (N. Id): New Zealand Journal of Science and Technology, v. 36, p. 511–522.Google Scholar
Fleming, C.A., 1968, New Zealand fossil seals: New Zealand Journal of Geology and Geophysics, v. 11, p. 1184–1187.Google Scholar
Fordyce, R.E., and Mead, J.G., 2009, The therian skull: A lexicon with emphasis on the odontocetes: Smithsonian Contributions to Zoology, v. 627, p. 1–248.Google Scholar
Gales, N. J., Shaughnessy, P.D., and Dennis, T.E., 1994, Distribution, abundance, and breeding cycle of the Australian sea lion Neophoca cinerea (Mammalia: Pinnipedia): Journal of the Zoological Society of London, v. 234, p. 353–370.Google Scholar
Gill, E.D., 1968, Fossil sea lion as paleoclimatologic indicator: Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, v. 5, p. 235–239.Google Scholar
Gill, E.D., and Collins, A., 1986, Fossil sea lion from Queenscliff, Victoria: Victorian Naturalist, v. 103, p. 117–119.Google Scholar
Gill, T., 1866, Prodrome of a monograph of the pinnipeds: Salem, Communications of the Essex Institute, v. 5, p. 3–13.Google Scholar
Gray, J.E., 1844, Seals of the southern hemisphere, in Richardson, J., and Gray, J.E., eds., The Zoology of the Voyage of HMS Erebus and Terror, Under the Command of Captain Sir James Clark Ross, N.N., F.R.S. During the Years 1839 to 1843, v. 1 Mammalia, Birds, London, UK, E.W. Janson.Google Scholar
Gray, J.E., 1866, Notes on the skulls of sea-bears and sea-lions (Otariadae) in the British Museum: Annals & Magazine of Natural History, v. 3, p. 228–237.Google Scholar
Gray, J.E., 1872, On the sea-bears of New Zealand (Arctocephalus cinereus) and the north-Australian sea bear (Gypsophoca tropicalis): Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London, v. 40, p. 653–662.Google Scholar
Hall, B.L., Hoelzel, A.R., Baroni, C., Denton, G.H., Le Boeuf, B.J., Overturf, B., and Töpf, A.L., 2006, Holocene elephant seal distribution implies warmer-than-present climate in the Ross Sea: Proceedings of the National Academy of Science, v. 103, p. 10213–10217.Google Scholar
Higdon, J.W., Bininda-Emonds, O.R.P., Beck, R.M.D., and Ferguson, S.H., 2007, Phylogeny and divergence of the pinnipeds (Carnivora: Mammalia) assessed using a multigene dataset: BMC Evolutionary Biology, v. 7, p. 216 doi: 10.1186/1471-2148-7-216.Google Scholar
Jones, K.E., and Goswami, A., 2010, Quantitative analysis of the influences of phylogeny and ecology on phocid and otariid pinniped (Mammalia; Carnivora) cranial morphology: Journal of Zoology, v. 280, p. 297–308.Google Scholar
King, A.L., and Howard, W.R., 2000, Middle Pleistocene sea-surface temperature change in the southwest Pacific Ocean on orbital and suborbital time scales: Geology, v. 28, p. 659–662.Google Scholar
King, J.E., 1983a, The Ohope skull—A new species of Pleistocene sea lion from New Zealand: New Zealand Journal of Geology and Geophysics, v. 17, p. 105–120.Google Scholar
King, J.E., 1983b, Seals of the World, Ithaca, Cornell University Press, 240 p.Google Scholar
Kohno, N., 1992, A new Pliocene fur seal (Carnivora: Otariidae) from the Senhata Formation: Natural History Research, v. 2, p. 15–28.Google Scholar
Leonard, G.S., Begg, J.G., and Wilson, C.J.N., 2010, Geology of the Rotorua area: Institute of Geologic and Nuclear Sciences, Geologic Map 5, scale 1:250,000.Google Scholar
Lesson, R.P., 1828, Manuel d’ornithologie, ou description des genres et des principals espéces d’oiseaux, Paris, Roret, v. 2.Google Scholar
Linnaeus, C., 1758, Systema naturae per regna tria naturae: secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis, Stockholm, Laurentius Salvius.Google Scholar
McCoy, F., 1877, Prodromus of the Paleontology of Victoria, Decade 5, Melbourne, J. Ferres.Google Scholar
Muizon, C., 1978, Arctocephalus (Hydrarctos) lomasiensis, subgen. nov. et. nov sp., un nouvel Otariidae du Mio-Pliocene de Sacaco: Bulletin de I’Institute Francais d’Etudes Andines, v. 7, p. 169–189.Google Scholar
Nyakatura, K., and Bininda-Emonds, O.R.P., 2012, Updating the evolutionary history of Carnivora (Mammalia): A new species-level supertree complete with divergence time estimates: BMC Biology, v. 10, p. 1–31.Google Scholar
Oliveira, E.V., and Drehmer, C.J., 1997, Sobre alguns restos de Pinnipedia-Otariidae (Mammalia, Carnivora) do Quaternário do Estado do Rio Grande do Sul, Brasil: Revista Universidade Guarulhos, Geociências, v. 2, p. 19–22.Google Scholar
Perón, F.A., 1816, Voyage de découvertes aux terres Australes, exécutés par ordre de Sa Majesté l’Empereur et Roi, sur les Corvettes le Géographe, le Naturaliste, et le goëlette le Casuarina, pendant les années 1800, 1801, 1802, 1803 et 1804; [Historique:] Voyage de découvertes aux terres Australes. Historique. Atlas, deuxième partie réd. par mr. L. Freycinet. Vol. 2. de l’Imprimerie impériale; se vend à Paris chez Arthus Bertranod.Google Scholar
Peters, W., 1875, Über eine neue art von seebären, Arctophoca gazella, von den Kerguelen-Inseln. Monatsberichte der Königlichen Preussischen Akademie den Wissenschaften zu Berline for 1875 (1876), p. 393–399.Google Scholar
Raine, J.I., Beu, A.G., Boyes, A.F., Campbell, H.J., Cooper, R.A., Crampton, J.S., Crundwell, M.P., Hollis, C.J., and Morgans, H.E.G., 2012, New Zealand Geological Timescale v.201/1: Lower Hutt, GNS Science.Google Scholar
Repenning, C.A., and Tedford, R.H., 1977, Otarioid seals of the Neogene: Geological Survey Professional Paper 992, 87 p.Google Scholar
Rodrigues, P., Prevosti, J., Ferigolo, J., and Ribeiro, A., 2004, Novos materiais de Carnivora para o Pleistoceno do estado do Rio Grande Do Sul, Brasil: Revista Brasileira de Paleontologia, v. 7, p. 77–86.Google Scholar
Schaefer, G., Rodger, J.S., Hayward, B.W., Kennett, J.P., Sabaa, A.T., and Scott, G.H., 2005, Planktic foraminiferal and sea surface temperature record during the last 1 Myr across the Subtropical Front, Southwest Pacific: Marine Micropaleontology, v. 54, p. 191–212.Google Scholar
Schreber, J.C.D., 1775, Die Säugethiere, in Goldfuss, G.A., and Wagner, A.J., eds., Abbildungen nach der Natur mit Beschreibungen, Erlangen, Wolfgang Walther, v. 1.Google Scholar
Sun, L., Liu, X., Yin, X., Zhu, R., Xie, Z., and Wang, Y., 2004, A 1,500-year record of Antarctic seal populations in response to climate change: Polar Biology, v. 27, p. 495–501.Google Scholar
Valenzuela-Toro, A.M., Gutstein, C.S., Varas-Malca, R.M., Suarez, M.E., and Pyenson, N.D., 2013, Pinniped turnover in the South Pacific Ocean: New evidence from the Plio-Pleistocene of the Atacama Desert, Chile: Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, v. 33, p. 216–223.Google Scholar
Wilson, K., Hayward, B.W., Sabaa, A.T., Scott, G.H., and Kennett, J.P., 2005, A one-million-year history of a north-south segment of the Subtropical Front, east of New Zealand: Paleoceanography, v. 20, PA2004 doi: 10.1029/2004PA001080.Google Scholar
Wood Jones, F., 1925, The eared seals of South Australia: Records of the South Australia Museum, v. 3, p. 9–16.Google Scholar
Wynen, L.P.et al. 2001, Phylogenetic relationships within the eared seals (Otariidae: Carnivora): Implications for the historical biogeography of the family: Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, v. 21, p. 270–284.Google Scholar
Yonezawa, T., Kohno, N., and Hasegawa, M., 2009, The monophyletic origin of sea lions and fur seals (Carnivora: Otariidae) in the Southern Hemisphere: Gene, v. 441, p. 89–99.Google Scholar