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Mid-Holocene skua remains from King George Island, Antarctica

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Abstract

Seven avian remains from Mid-Holocene strata of the southeastern coast of Potter Peninsula (King George Island: Isla 25 de Mayo, South Shetland Islands, Antarctica) are reported. They were described and assigned to the brown skua Stercorarius antarcticus lonnbergi (Aves, Laridae), a living species currently breeding in the area. The presence of penguins in the same sequence is in agreement with the current dynamics of the coastal ecosystems of Antarctica. Nowadays, penguins and skuas frequent these same environments.

Kurzfassung

Aus dem mittleren Holozän der südöstlichen Küste der Potter-Halbinsel (King George Island: Isla 25 de Mayo, South Shetland Islands, Antarktis) werden sieben Rippen beschrieben, die dem Braunen Skua Stercorarius antarcticus lonnbergi (Aves, Laridae) zugeordnet werden. Diese Art kommt auch heute noch in der Region vor. Das gemeinsame Vorkommen von Pinguinen in der selben Fundschicht steht im Einklang mit der derzeitigen Dynamik der Ökosysteme der antarktischen Küsten. Heute leben auch noch Pinguine und Raubmöwen in derselben Umgebungen.

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Acknowledgments

Thanks are due to the Agencia Nacional de Promoción Científica y Tecnológica, Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas and Instituto Antártico Argentino for financial support, and Dra. Cecilia Morgan from Museo de La Plata for improving the English.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas, Buenos Aires, Argentina

    Carolina Acosta Hospitaleche & Diego Montalti

  2. División Paleontología Vertebrados, Museo de La Plata, Paseo del Bosque s/n, B1900FWA, La Plata, Argentina

    Carolina Acosta Hospitaleche

  3. Departamento Biología, Aves, Instituto Antártico Argentino, Buenos Aires, Argentina

    Diego Montalti

  4. Departamento Ciencias de la Tierra, Instituto Antártico Argentino, Buenos Aires, Argentina

    Rodolfo del Valle

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  1. Carolina Acosta Hospitaleche
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  2. Diego Montalti
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  3. Rodolfo del Valle
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Correspondence to Carolina Acosta Hospitaleche.

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Acosta Hospitaleche, C., Montalti, D. & del Valle, R. Mid-Holocene skua remains from King George Island, Antarctica. Paläontol Z 84, 533–539 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12542-010-0063-z

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