Few terrestrial vertebrates live in Antarctica, and those that do are limited to the sub-Antarctic islands. Invertebrate life includes microscopic mites like the "Alaskozetes antarcticus", lice, nematodes, tardigrades, rotifers, krill and springtails. The flightless midge "Belgica antarctica", up to in size, is the largest purely terrestrial animal in Antarctica. Another member of Chironomidae is "Parochlus steinenii". The snow petrel is one of only three birds that breed exclusively in Antarctica. Some species of marine animals exist and rely, directly or indirectly, on the phytoplankton. Antarctic sea life includes penguins, blue whales, orcas, colossal squids and fur seals. The emperor penguin is the only penguin that breeds during the winter in Antarctica; it and the Adélie penguin breed farther south than any other penguin.
Animals
Antarctica
Antarctica | Animals
Some species of marine animals include penguins, blue whales, orcas, colossal squids and fur seals The flightless midge "Belgica antarctica". The sea life includes penguins, blue whales, orcas, colossal squids and fur seals. penguins, blue whales, orcas, colossal squids and fur seals.
who makes up most of the population of antarctica
user
5,000 in the summer and much lesser in winter
assistant
where did it get the name from?
user
It is the romanised version of the Greek compound word "antarktiké" meaning "opposite to the Arctic", "opposite to the north"
assistant
what kinds of animals can be seen there?
user
The genus name refers to its location on the continent of Antarctica and its armored nature. Antarctica is derived from the Greek words "αντ"/"ant-" ('opposite of') and "αρκτος"/"arktos" ('bear' referring to the constellation Ursa Major, which points north). The Greek "πελτη"/"pelte" ('shield') is commonly used to name genera of ankylosaurs ("Cedarpelta" and "Sauropelta", for example). The single known species, "A. oliveroi", is named after Eduardo Olivero, who discovered the holotype, first mentioned it in print, and has worked in Antarctica for decades. Earlier work suggested that the James Ross Island ankylosaur was a juvenile. More recent research indicates that the different parts of the vertebrae are completely fused together, while a juvenile would be expected to have visible sutures between the neural arch and body ("centrum") of the vertebrae.
Antarctopelta | Discovery and naming
During a paleontological expedition to the Transantarctic Mountains in 2010 and 2011, a small skeleton was discovered at the Graphite Peak. In 2019, the type species "Antarctanax shackletoni" was named and described by Brandon Robert Peecook, Roger Malcolm Harris Smith and Christian Alfred Sidor. The generic name combines a reference to Antarctica — itself derived from Greek "anti", "opposite of", and "arktikos", "of the Bear" — with a Greek "anax", "ruler", a reference to the Archosauria, the "Ruling Reptiles". The specific name honours Ernest Shackleton, the polar explorer who named the Beardmore Glacier which runs along the Graphite Peak. The holotype, UWBM 95531, was found in a layer of the lower Fremouw Formation, which dates to the Early Triassic.
Antarctanax | Discovery and naming
The word "Antarctica" comes from Greek "antarktikos" (ἀνταρκτικός), from "anti" (ἀντί) and "arktikos" (ἀρκτικός) "Arctic". Literally "opposite to the Arctic (opposite to the North)". "Arktikos" comes from "Arktos", the Greek name for the constellation of the Great Bear Ursa Major, visible only in the Northern Hemisphere, which comes from the ancient Greek word ἄρκτος (), which means "bear".
List of continent name etymologies | <a href="Antarctica">Antarctica</a>
Remains of this dinosaur were first mentioned in print in 1916, although they were not fully described and named until a 1929 monograph written by paleontologist Friedrich von Huene. "Antarctosaurus" does not refer to the continent of Antarctica since it was first found in Argentina, although it does have the same derivation, from the Greek words αντι-, "anti-" meaning 'opposite of', αρκτός, "arktos" meaning 'north' and σαυρος, "sauros" meaning 'lizard'. The generic name refers to the animal's reptilian nature and its geographical location on a southern continent. Antarctosaurus wichmannianus is the type species of the genus, named in 1929 after the discoverer of its remains in 1912, geologist Ricardo Wichmann.
Antarctosaurus | Discovery and species
Although Antarctica in the Cretaceous was in the southern polar region, the Earth had a much warmer climate during this time period, and the continent would have been ice-free. Animals like "Antarctopelta oliveroi" would have lived in forests of conifers and even deciduous trees. Despite the higher temperatures, darkness would still have descended for the winter, just as it does today at high latitudes. The Antarctic Peninsula, including James Ross Island, was connected to South America throughout this time period, allowing interchange of fauna between both continents. However, no evidence has yet been found to support a common ankylosaur fauna between Antarctica and South America.
Antarctopelta | Paleoecology
"Acaena antarctica" was first formally described in 1846 by Joseph Dalton Hooker. Kew holds specimens collected by Hooker from Hermite Island, Cape Horn on the Ross expedition. The genus name "Acaena" is derived from the Ancient Greek word "akaina" meaning "thorn" or "spine", referring to the spiny calyx of many species of "Acaena". The specific epithet, "antarctica", derives from the Greek ("anti", "opposite" and "arktos", "bear") and designates the place opposite the constellations of the Great and the Little Bear, thus describing the species as coming from south of the South Pole circle.
Acaena antarctica | Taxonomy and naming
The name "Antarctica" is the romanised version of the Greek compound word ἀνταρκτική ("antarktiké"), feminine of ἀνταρκτικός ("antarktikós"), meaning "opposite to the Arctic", "opposite to the north". Aristotle wrote in his book "Meteorology" about an "Antarctic region" in c. 350 BC. Marinus of Tyre reportedly used the name in his unpreserved world map from the 2nd century CE. The Roman authors Hyginus and Apuleius (1–2 centuries CE) used for the South Pole the romanised Greek name "polus antarcticus," from which derived the Old French "pole antartike" (modern "pôle antarctique") attested in 1270, and from there the Middle English "pol antartik" in a 1391 technical treatise by Geoffrey Chaucer (modern "Antarctic Pole").
Antarctica | Etymology
"Antarctosuchus" was named by Christian A. Sidor, J. Sébastien Steyer and William R. Hammer in 2014 and the type species is "Antarctosuchus polyodon". The generic name refers to Antarctica, where the only known specimen was collected, and "suchus", a common suffix for temnospondyls Latinized from the Greek "souchos", an Egyptian crocodile god. The specific name, "polyodon", is derived from the Greek πολύς ("polús") "much", "many" and ὀδών ("odon"), "tooth", in reference to its unique teeth morphology. "Antarctosuchus" is known solely from its holotype, a large and relatively complete skull. It was collected form the upper Fremouw Formation in the central Transantarctic Mountains of Antarctica, dating to the Middle Triassic.
Antarctosuchus | Discovery
"Pachyptila", the word, comes from the Greek words "pakhus" and "ptilon". "Pakhus" means "thick" or "stout" and "ptilon" means "a feather". "Desolatus" is Latin for "forsaken" or "desolate". This is in reference to the desolate Antarctic region where they live. Also from the Greek language, "prion" comes from the word "priōn" meaning "a saw", in reference to the serrated edges of its bill.
Antarctic prion | Etymology
During the time in which "Imperobator" lived, Earth's climate was much warmer and humid than it is today and as a result Antarctica was without ice. The environment was mainly dominated by large dense conifer forests, cycads and gingkos. Despite the warmer climate, the animals inhabiting Antarctica at this time would have to endure long periods of darkness during the winter, much like what happens in modern-day Antarctica. Currently a plethora of other extinct organisms from the Snow Hill Island Formation have been discovered, which are likely to have interacted with "Imperobator" during the Late Cretaceous period. This includes the ornithopods "Trinisaura santamartaensis" and "Morrosaurus antarcticus", the nodosaurid "Antarctopelta oliveroi", the shark "Notidanodon" sp.
Imperobator | Paleoecology
Only very few species of animals (mostly nematodes) inhabit the most extreme cold deserts of continental Antarctica.
Animal | Ecology
The original type specimens for this species have been lost. however the species was re-described in 2009. Individuals vary in colour from red-orange with light red gonads (individuals found at King George Island, Antarctica) to red and/or green (individuals found in Valdivia, Chile). "Haliclystus antarcticus" has a 'stalk' (peduncle) which is a half to two thirds the length of its calyx. The inside of the peduncle is divided into four chambers. The calyx itself is about 3.5–16.2 mm tall and 4.1–23.4 mm wide. It is cone shaped and semi-translucent with a smooth outer surface. The animal has eight arms arranged in pairs which radiate out from a central four sided mouth.
Haliclystus antarcticus | Description
Antarctanax is a genus of early Archosauriformes that during the Triassic lived in Antarctica. The type species is "Antarctanax shackletoni". It was a reptile around the size of an iguana.
Antarctanax | Introduction
Could not get on a table three feet high. The bushes grow on the island up to about , and these birds are found as far up as the bushes grow ... Tip of bill bright yellow, scarlet between the eyes. Legs and feet yellow, with reddish spots.
George Comer | Antarctic expeditions
Both are found only on the western edge of the Antarctic Peninsula and on two nearby island groups, the South Orkney Islands and the South Shetland Islands.
Wildlife of Antarctica | Plants
Antarctopelta ( ; meaning 'Antarctic shield') was a genus of ankylosaurian dinosaur with one known species, "A. oliveroi", which lived in Antarctica during the Late Cretaceous Period. It was a medium-sized ankylosaur, reaching no more than 4 meters (13 ft) in length, and showed characteristics of two different families, making more precise classification difficult. The single known fossil specimen was discovered on James Ross Island in 1986, constituting the first dinosaur remains ever discovered on Antarctica, although it is the second dinosaur from the continent to be formally named.
Antarctopelta | Introduction
"Amphimachairodus" was an inhabitant of woodlands and open floodplains as based on finds in Pikermi in Greece and Shanxi Province in China, indicating it had habitat preferences similar to modern lions in many respects. Specimens recovered from Turolian deposits indicate that the fauna living there was much the same, differing only by species in many cases. Among the creatures it shared its environment with were bovids such as "Parabos", Lutung monkeys, the mastodon "Anancus", the rhino "Aceratherium", antelopes such as "Tragoportax" and "Miotragocerus" as well as gazelles and deer, a very large species of hyrax, early goats, various giraffes, camels such as "Paracamelus", the horse "Hipparion", a species of aardvark, the chalicothere "ancylotherium" and the beaver-like "Dipoides".
Amphimachairodus | Paleoecology
The name of the genus is a compound of the Greenlandic word ' (walrus), reflecting the likeness of the tail spines to the tusks of a walrus, and the Greek word ' (shield). The species was named after Jon R. Ineson to honour him for his studies of the Cambrian of North Greenland.
Aaveqaspis | Etymology
Antarctodon is an extinct genus of meridiungulatan mammals from the Early Eocene (late Ypresian age). It is a basal astrapotherian which lived in what is now Seymour Island, Antarctic Peninsula, at that moment still connected to South America where most of the astrapotherians were found. The holotype and only specimen MLP 08-XI-30-1, an isolated right p4 or m1, was found in the Telm 5 Member of the La Meseta Formation in West Antarctica. It was first named by Mariano Bond, Alejandro Kramarz, Ross D. E. MacPhee and Marcelo Reguero in 2011 and the type species is "Antarctodon sobrali".
Antarctodon | Introduction
There are over 260 species of carnivorans, the majority of which feed primarily on meat. They have a characteristic skull shape and dentition. The southern elephant seal is believed to be the largest carnivoran of all time; bulls typically weigh . The lobodontine seals comprise about 80% of the global biomass of pinnipeds, a reflection of the high productivity of the Southern Ocean; all have circumpolar distributions surrounding Antarctica and breed on pack ice or shore-fast ice. Antarctic fur seals and southern elephant seals, in contrast, while doing much of their feeding at the edge of the continent, breed on subantarctic islands, such as South Georgia.
List of mammals of Antarctica | Order: Carnivora (carnivorans)
The southern rockhopper penguin has distinctive feathers around the eyes, giving the appearance of elaborate eyelashes. King penguins, chinstrap penguins, and gentoo penguins also breed in the Antarctic. The Antarctic fur seal was very heavily hunted in the 18th and 19th centuries for its pelt by sealers from the United States and the United Kingdom. The Weddell seal, a "true seal", is named after Sir James Weddell, commander of British sealing expeditions in the Weddell Sea. Antarctic krill, which congregate in large schools, is the keystone species of the ecosystem of the Southern Ocean, and is an important food organism for whales, seals, leopard seals, fur seals, squid, icefish, penguins, albatrosses and many other birds.
Antarctica | Animals
Although a few specimens of the non-native great spider crab ("Hyas araneus") were captured at the South Shetland Islands in 1986, there have been no further records from the region.
Wildlife of Antarctica | Arthropods
"I. emarginuloides" is known from Antarctica (the Weddell Sea) and southern Chile. Its distribution is probably circum-Antarctic, with its known range extending from the Kerguelen Islands to the Strait of Magellan area. All records are from water shallower than . It is the commonest animal found living on the red alga "Phyllophora antarctica" under the sea ice in the vicinity of the Vestfold Hills, Antarctica.
Iothia emarginuloides | Distribution
Warmblooded prey makes up a significant proportion of the leopard seal's diet, and is occasionally taken by Antarctic fur seals.
List of mammals of Antarctica | Order: Carnivora (carnivorans)
This species occurs in the Ross Sea, Antarctica.
Antarctospira principalis | Distribution
"Parribacus antarcticus" can reach a length of about 20 cm in males, but usually they are between 12 and 15 cm.. They are yellowish, mottled with brown and black patches, while rostrum and orbital margin are purplish. They have quite flattened bodies, with dorsal surface covered with tubercles and short hairs. The lateral margin shows large teeth banded with yellow, orange and light purple. In the abdominal somites the transverse groove is wide, with just a few hairs or tubercles. The small eyes are situated inside not closed orbits on the anterior margin of the carapace. This species is nocturnal and in the daytime it usually hides in crevices or underside of large slabs or ledges, frequently in small groups.
Parribacus antarcticus | Description
At least 235 marine species are found in both Antarctica and the Arctic, ranging in size from whales and birds to small marine snails, sea cucumbers, and mud-dwelling worms. The large animals often migrate between the two, and smaller animals are expected to be able to spread via underwater currents. However, among smaller marine animals generally assumed to be the same in the Antarctica and the Arctic, more detailed studies of each population have often—but not always—revealed differences, showing that they are closely related cryptic species rather than a single bipolar species. Antarctic animals have adapted to reduce heat loss, with mammals developing warm windproof coats and layers of blubber.
Wildlife of Antarctica | Animals
This animal is considered a member of the family Macraucheniidae and is said to share some features with the mammal family Didolodontidae). Fossils referable to the genus have been found on Seymour Island, Antarctica.
Victorlemoinea | Taxonomy
joubini" (which barely measures more than 2 cm) did not show any growth in a span of 10 years. "C. antarctica" lives at the bottom, as a benthic, sessile creature. Complete specimens have large, visible pores and an overall yellowish appearance, which hair-like structures covering some parts next to the pores, giving it the look of a giant virus. Incomplete specimens are the usual catch, which seldom measure more than 2.5–3 cm.
Cinachyra antarctica | Introduction
The material was collected from an area of 6 square meters (64.5 sq ft) over several field seasons but is assumed to have belonged to a single individual. Much of the skeleton is in poor condition, as many of the bones nearest to the surface were subjected to years of fragmentation by freeze-thaw weathering. Although the material had been known for decades and written about in three separate publications, "Antarctopelta oliveroi" was not named until 2006, by Argentine paleontologists Leonardo Salgado and Zulma Gasparini. It was therefore the second named genus of dinosaur from Antarctica after "Cryolophosaurus" in 1993, despite being discovered first.
Antarctopelta | Discovery and naming
Few terrestrial vertebrates live in Antarctica, and those that do are limited to the sub-Antarctic islands. Invertebrate life includes microscopic mites like the "Alaskozetes antarcticus", lice, nematodes, tardigrades, rotifers, krill and springtails. The flightless midge "Belgica antarctica", up to in size, is the largest purely terrestrial animal in Antarctica. Another member of Chironomidae is "Parochlus steinenii". The snow petrel is one of only three birds that breed exclusively in Antarctica. Some species of marine animals exist and rely, directly or indirectly, on the phytoplankton. Antarctic sea life includes penguins, blue whales, orcas, colossal squids and fur seals. The emperor penguin is the only penguin that breeds during the winter in Antarctica; it and the Adélie penguin breed farther south than any other penguin.
Antarctica | Animals
Cirroctopus antartica is a species of deep-sea octopus known from only two specimens, both collected around the Antarctic Peninsula. Its shell is like the letter "U" in shape. It is possible, though not certain, that "C. antarctica" is a synonym of "C. glacialis".
Cirroctopus antarctica | Introduction
Polar and deep-sea gigantism, where invertebrates are considerably larger than their warmer-water relatives, is common in this habitat. These two similar types of gigantism are believed to be related to the cold water, which can contain high levels of oxygen, combined with the low metabolic rates ("slow life") of animals living in such cold environments.
Wildlife of Antarctica | Animals
Seven pinniped species inhabit Antarctica. The largest, the elephant seal ("Mirounga leonina"), can reach up to , while females of the smallest, the Antarctic fur seal ("Arctocephalus gazella"), reach only . These two species live north of the sea ice, and breed in harems on beaches. The other four species can live on the sea ice. Crabeater seals ("Lobodon carcinophagus") and Weddell seals ("Leptonychotes weddellii") form breeding colonies, whereas leopard seals ("Hydrurga leptonyx") and Ross seals ("Ommatophoca rossii") live solitary lives. Although these species hunt underwater, they breed on land or ice and spend a great deal of time there, as they have no terrestrial predators.
Wildlife of Antarctica | Mammals
On land, the absence of ferns and the dominance of dry-adapted conifers suggest that the climate was semi-arid. Both "Ardeosaurus brevipes" and "A. digitatellus" were discovered at Wintershof with "E. schroederi", along with "Homoeosaurus maximiliani" and the rhynchocephalian "Pleurosaurus goldfussi". Also known from Wintershof are the pterosaur "Rhamphorhynchus muensteri", the crocodyliform "Alligatorellus bavaricus", and various aquatic animals: the fish "Anaethalion angustus", "Ascalabos voithii", "Aspidorhynchus acutirostris", "Belonostomus spyraenoides", "Caturus giganteus", "Gyrodus circularis", "Macrosemius rostratus", "Palaeomacrosemius thiollieri", "Propterus elongatus", and "Zandtfuro tischlingeri"; the angelshark "Pseudorhina alifera"; the squid-like coleoids "Acanthoteuthis problematica", "Belemnotheutis mayri", and "Plesioteuthis prisca"; the crinoid "Saccocoma tenella", which is very common in Solnhofen deposits; the shrimp "Dusa reschi"; and the horseshoe crab "Mesolimulus walchi".
Eichstaettisaurus | "E. schroederi"
"Acodontaster conspicuus" is found in the cold seas around Antarctica, including the Antarctic Peninsula and South Georgia, at depths down to 750 metres.
Acodontaster conspicuus | Distribution
There are no land animals on Antarctic or Polar Plateau, except for nematodes, springtails, mites, midges, humans and their laboratory animals.
Antarctic Plateau | Fauna
The largest of these, the blue whale ("Balaenoptera musculus"), grows to long weighing 84 tonnes. Many of these species are migratory, and travel to tropical waters during the Antarctic winter. Orcas, which do not migrate, nonetheless regularly travel to warmer waters, possibly to relieve the stress the temperature has on their skin.
Wildlife of Antarctica | Mammals
The only described species is known from a single specimen, UCMP 276000, which was first uncovered in 2003 at the early Maastrichtian-aged Cape Lamb Member of the Snow Hill Island Formation on James Ross Island, Antarctica. The Cape Lamb Member has been dated to the early Maastrichtian, about 71 million years ago. UCMP 276000 consists of an incomplete isolated left pes including a portion of the tibia, an incomplete astragalus, a partial calcaneus and fibula, as well as an ungual, partial phalanges and metacarpals. The specimen was formally described as the holotype of a new genus and species, "Imperobator antarcticus", by Ely and Case in 2019.
Imperobator | Discovery and naming
"H. antarcticus" is one of only two species of "Haliclystus" which inhabit the Southern hemisphere. It was first identified living in the waters of South Georgia Island, Antarctica. Its presence has since been reported in several locations in Antarctica with probable sightings in Chile and Argentina.
Haliclystus antarcticus | Distribution
This animal was likely similar to the contemporary "Kobus ellipsiprymnus" or "Kobus megaceros". It was a medium-to-large sized antelope.
Menelikia | Description
The Antarctic fur seal ("Arctocephalus gazella"), is one of eight seals in the genus "Arctocephalus", and one of nine fur seals in the subfamily "Arctocephalinae". Despite what its name suggests, the Antarctic fur seal is mostly distributed in Subantarctic islands and its scientific name is thought to have come from the German vessel SMS Gazelle, which was the first to collect specimens of this species from Kerguelen Islands.
Antarctic fur seal | Introduction
Antarctica's cold deserts have some of the least diverse fauna in the world. Terrestrial vertebrates are limited to sub-antarctic islands, and even then they are limited in number. Antarctica, including the subantarctic islands, has no natural fully terrestrial mammals, reptiles, or amphibians. Human activity has however led to the introduction in some areas of foreign species, such as rats, mice, chickens, rabbits, cats, pigs, sheep, cattle, reindeer, and various fish. Invertebrates, such as beetle species, have also been introduced. The benthic communities of the seafloor are diverse and dense, with up to 155,000 animals found in . As the seafloor environment is very similar all around the Antarctic, hundreds of species can be found all the way around the mainland, which is a uniquely wide distribution for such a large community.
Wildlife of Antarctica | Animals
Larger species are restricted to the subantarctic islands, and the majority of species discovered have been terrestrial. Plants are similarly restricted mostly to the subantarctic islands, and the western edge of the Peninsula. Some mosses and lichens however can be found even in the dry interior. Many algae are found around Antarctica, especially phytoplankton, which form the basis of many of Antarctica's food webs.
Wildlife of Antarctica | Introduction
It contains the nasal branch of the right maxilla; a partial skull roof including partial parietals, frontals and a right laterosphenoid; and the front of the left dentary. The specimen is from a fully mature individual, as it has a smooth nasal contact. "Nanuqsaurus" was first described and named by Anthony R. Fiorillo and Ronald S. Tykoski in 2014. The type species is "Nanuqsaurus hoglundi". The generic name is derived from the Iñupiaq word for "polar bear", "nanuq", and the Greek word "sauros", meaning "lizard". The specific name honours the philanthropist Forrest Hoglund, for his work on philanthropy and cultural institutions.
Nanuqsaurus | Discovery and naming
Whaling for other species in the Southern Hemisphere was banned in 1976. Numbers have recovered somewhat since, but the largest species remain endangered.
List of mammals of Antarctica | Infraorder: Cetacea (whales, dolphins and porpoises)
Antarctica, also known as the southern pole, is larger and can become much colder than the northern pole. As a result, few animals can survive on the mainland of Antarctica, and those that do mostly live near the coast. The few animals that live on the mainland are birds such as Antarctic terns, grey-headed albatross, imperial shag, snowy sheathbill and the most well known inhabitant of Antarctica, penguins. The inhospitable environment helps to deter predators; the few predators that hunt on the mainland, including the south polar skua and the southern giant petrel, mainly prey upon chicks. Most Antarctic predators are found in the polar waters, including the orca and the leopard seal.
Chionophile | Antarctic animals
The name of the genus is derived from the Greenlandic word "", meaning "predator" or "hunter". The specific epithet is in honor of Norman John (Jack) Soper who, together with A. K. Higgins, discovered the Sirius Passet fauna and collected the first fossils from the locality.
Kiisortoqia | Etymology
This species occurs in Antarctic waters of the Weddell Sea.
Cornisepta antarctica | Distribution
Many benthic crustaceans have a non-seasonal breeding cycle, and some raise their eggs and young in a brood pouch (they lack a pelagic larvae stage). "Glyptonotus antarcticus" at up to in length and in weight, and "Ceratoserolis trilobitoides" at up to in length are unusually large benthic isopods and examples of Polar gigantism. Amphipods are abundant in soft sediments, eating a range of items, from algae to other animals. The amphipods are highly diverse with more than 600 recognized species found south of the Antarctic Convergence and there are indications that many undescribed species remain. Among these are several "giants", such as the iconic epimeriids that are up to long.
Wildlife of Antarctica | Arthropods
Others include the blue shark ("Prionace glauca"), the smalltooth sand tiger ("Odontaspis ferox"), "Pristiophorus" sawsharks, "Squatina" angelsharks, bullhead sharks ("Heterodontus" spp.), "Myliobatis" eagle rays, and elephantfish ("Callorhinchus" spp.). "Pachyptila" prion seabirds were found here. It also yielded several marine mammals: a rorqual, "Acrophoca", the sperm whale "Scaldicetus", and "Odobenocetops".
Thalassocnus | Paleoecology
The description of "Antarctilamna prisca" includes material derived from both Antarctic and New South Wales localities, the prior comprising the holotype, a partial decayed carcass with dermal denticles, a fin spine and teeth preserved. Material from New South Whales comprises isolated spines. On this basis the authors proposed a tentative correlation between the lower part of the Aztec Siltstone of South Victoria and the Bunga beds of the New South Wales south coast.
Antarctilamna | "Antarctilamna prisca" (sp. nov.)
Antarctodon sobrali is an extinct species belonging to the group of South American Meridiungulata. It has been found only on Seymor Island in the Antarctic Peninsular and is believed to have lived during the early Eocene in West Antarctica. The species is only known from its teeth. The teeth found shows a resemblance to "Trigonostylops".
Antarctodon sobrali | Introduction
Knightoconus antarcticus is an extinct species of fossil monoplacophoran from the Cambrian Minaret Formation of Antarctica. It is thought to represent an ancestor to the cephalopods. It had a chambered conical shell, but lacked a siphuncle.
Knightoconus | Introduction
The holotype (specimen used as the basis for the taxon) is the only known example of this genus and species, and was the first dinosaur ever found in Antarctica. It consists of three isolated teeth, part of the lower jaw with another tooth "in situ", some other skull fragments, vertebrae (neck, back, hips and tail), some partial limb bones (scapula, ilium and femur), toe bones (five metapodials and two phalanges), and numerous pieces of armor. This specimen was initially located in January 1986 on James Ross Island, off the Antarctic Peninsula. It was discovered by Argentine geologists Eduardo Olivero and Roberto Scasso, but excavation was not completed for almost a decade due to the frozen ground and harsh weather conditions.
Antarctopelta | Discovery and naming
"Leaellynasaura" was an Australian polar dinosaur. At this period in time, Victoria would have been within the Antarctic Circle. Although this latitude is very cold today, it was significantly warmer during the mid-Cretaceous. Because of the Earth's tilt, "Leaellynasaura" and its contemporaries would still have been living under conditions with extended periods of both daylight and night. Depending on latitude, it is possible that the sun might not have risen for several weeks or months in the winter, which means that "Leaellynasaura" would have had to live in the dark for perhaps months at a time. A skull fragment interpreted as being from "Leaellynasaura" has been reported as showing enlarged eyes and the suggestion of proportionally large optic lobes, implying an adaptation to low-light conditions.
Leaellynasaura | Biology and ecology
The terrestrial and native all year round species appears to be the descendants of ancestors who lived in geothermally warmed environments during the last ice age, when these areas were the only places on the continent not covered by ice.
Antarctica | Biodiversity
The latter, with its low-crowned and lophoselenodont cheek teeth, is considered the most primitive astrapothere. Trigonostylopids are distinct from other astrapotheres in their ear anatomy but are included in the order because of otherwise similar characters. "Antarctodon" is one of few eutherian mammals, as well as one of the last known terrestrial vertebrates, found in Antarctica.
Astrapotheria | Description
This species occurs off the Beauchene Island, Falkland Islands, in the South Atlantic Ocean; in the McMurdo Sound, Ross Sea, Antarctica
Antarctospira badenpowelli | Distribution
At the Beticha locality, the large vertebrate assemblage is: colobine and cercopithecine monkeys, a hippo, the pig "Nyanzachoerus", the antelope-like siveratheriine and "Palaeotragus", a bosalephine antelope, wild cattle, the horse "Cormohipparion" and an unidentified equine, a rhino, what may be the elephant "Stegotetrabelodon", a percrocutid hyena, and a large cat. Because horses and rodents are much less common in the Beticha locality than the type locality of the formation, Beticha may have been a comparatively more forested and closed environment.
Chororapithecus | Palaeobiology
This species is found off the South Sandwich Islands, the South Orkneys, South Shetland, the Antarctic Peninsula and the Weddell Sea, Antarctica
Aforia magnifica | Distribution
Antarctotrechus balli, with a proposed vernacular name of Ball's Antarctic tundra beetle (in honor of the beetle scientist George Ball), is a long-extinct beetle that used to inhabit the temperate climate of what is now Antarctica. It was less than a centimeter long, believed to be dark brown in color, and existed during the mid-Miocene period, between 14 and 20 million years ago.
Antarctotrechus | Introduction
Antarctaspis (meaning 'Antarctica's shield') is an extinct genus of placoderm fish which existed in Antarctica during the Devonian period. It was first named by Louis Agassiz in 1845, and the type species, Antarctaspis mcmurdoensis by White in 1986. It is known from a partial head shield. The fossils were first discovered in the Lashly Mountains. Recently, new types of placoderms related to "Antarctaspis" have been discovered in Australia. They may have been the same as "Antarctaspis" ."sp", described in 1845.
Antarctaspis | Introduction
A comparatively large animal from the Middle Devonian of Siberia, with a head shield estimated around 40 centimeters long. Known only from an infragnathal bone, and an intero-lateral and a marginal plate.
Homostiidae | "Angarichthys"
Species of mammals: brown bear ("Ursus arctos"), deer ("Cervus elaphus"), roe deer ("Capreolus capreolus"), gray wolf ("Canis lupus"), wild boar ("Sus scrofa"), lynx ("lynx lynx"), fox ("vulpes vulpes"), pine marten ("Martes martes"), squirrel ("Sciurus carolinensis"), alpine shrew ("Sorex alpinus"), brown long-eared bat ("Plecotus auritus"), lesser mouse-eared bat ("Myotis blythii"), barbastelle ("Barbastella barbastellus"); Species of birds: western capercaillie ("Tetrao urogallus"), rock bunting ("Emberiza cia"), white-crowned wheatear ("Oenanthe leucopyga"), lesser spotted eagle ("Aquila pomarina"), wallcreeper ("Tichodroma muraria"), hoopoe ("Upupa epops").
Mount Stogu | Fauna
The first tetrapod or land-living vertebrate from Antarctica was found in the Fremouw Formation and described in 1968. It was represented by a small bone fragment that is probably part of the left mandible of a temnospondyl amphibian. The bone was found the previous year by a researcher from Ohio State University who was studying the geology of the Transantarctic Mountains. The animal was later named "Austrobrachyops jenseni". After its discovery, paleontological expeditions were launched to the area around the Beardmore Glacier to uncover more fossils. Since then, fragmentary remains of temnospondyls, therapsids, and archosauriform reptiles have all been found in the formation.
Fremouw Formation | Biota
"D. aspetos" has originally been considered as a "High Arctic species" found in low Arctic only in winter since it has originally been found in its type locality (Kigdlugssaitsut, Disko Island, West Greenland) exclusively during winter. However, in 2006, the animal has also been sampled during the summer in the bay of Iterdla (also in Disko Island). Specimens are found in 2 to 5 meters water depth in well-sorted sand with detritus. "D. aspetos" appears to be associated to a rich diversity of Gastrotricha like "Chaetonotus atrox", "Halichaetonotus" sp., "Mesodasys" sp., "Paradasys" sp., "Tetranchyroderma" sp., "Thaumastoderma" sp. and "Turbanella" sp.
Diuronotus aspetos | Distribution and ecology
Antarcticavis (meaning "Antarctic bird") is an extinct genus of bird of uncertain phylogenetic placement, possibly a member of Ornithuromorpha belonging to the group Ornithurae. It is known from a partial skeleton which was discovered in the Snow Hill Island Formation in Antarctica. The type and only species, Antarcticavis capelambensis, was announced in 2019 although the final version of the article naming it was published in 2020. It was the first extinct bird genus described in 2020 and it is also the geologically oldest bird described from Antarctica. The holotype, SDSM 78147, consists of two thoracic vertebrae, the sternum keel, the right coracoid and shoulder blade, the sternal part of the left coracoid, the right upper arm, parts of the left upper arm, the proximal right ulna, the proximal left ulna and radius (articulated), the proximal right carpometacarpus, the proximal left carpometacarpus, the distal left carpometacarpus, the synsacrum, the right and left thighs, the proximal right tibiotarsus, the right and left distal tibiotarsus, and the proximal right tarsometatarsus.
Antarcticavis | Introduction
Excavations took places during three Antarctic summer expeditions in 1993, 1999 and 2005. MLP 93-I-5-1 was collected from an area of 3 square meters in a semi-articulated state, at locality "Assemblage 10", which belongs to the middle section of Cape Lamb Member of the Snow Hill Island Formation, dating to the early Maastrichtian stage of the Late Cretaceous, about 72 million years ago. "Vegasaurus" was first described and named by José P. O’Gorman, Leonardo Salgado, Eduardo B. Olivero and Sergio A. Marenssi in 2015 and the type species is "Vegasaurus molyi". The generic name is derived from "Vega", in reference to the Vega Island where the holotype was found, and from Greek "saurus", meaning "lizard", a common suffix for genus names of extinct reptile.
Vegasaurus | Discovery and naming
It is known from partial remains, largely from the hindlimbs, which indicate an animal with an overall length of 1 meters (3.3 ft).
Dromomeron | Description
Nanuqsaurus (meaning "polar bear lizard") is a genus of carnivorous tyrannosaurid theropod known from the Late Cretaceous (early Late Maastrichtian stage) Prince Creek Formation of the North Slope of Alaska, USA. It contains a single species, Nanuqsaurus hoglundi, known only from a partial skull.
Nanuqsaurus | Introduction
They are the only Antarctic animal to breed during the winter.
Southern Ocean | Birds
in Antarctica.
Snowcat | History
a. bonaerensis", after Burmeister's specimen. In the 1980s further studies based on external appearance and osteology suggested there were in fact two forms in the Southern Hemisphere, a larger form with dark flippers and a "diminutive" or "dwarf form" with white flippers, the latter of which appeared to be more closely related to the common form of the Northern Hemisphere. This was strengthened by genetic studies using allozyme and mitochondrial DNA analyses, which proposed there were at least two species of minke whale, "B. acutorostrata" and "B. bonaerensis", with the dwarf form being more closely related to the former species.
Antarctic minke whale | History
This broadens to form a light gray "shoulder patch" above the flippers. Like common and dwarf minkes, they have two light gray to whitish swaths, called the "thorax" and "flank patches", the former running diagonally up from the axilla and diagonally down again to form a triangular intrusion into the dark gray of the thorax and the latter rising more vertically along its anterior edge and extending further dorsally before gradually sloping posteriorly to merge with the white of the ventral side of the caudal peduncle. A dark gray, roughly triangular "thorax field" separates the two, while a narrower dark gray "shoulder infill" separates the thorax patch from the shoulder patch.
Antarctic minke whale | External appearance
Alaskozetes antarcticus is a species of non-parasitic mite, known for its ability to survive in subzero temperatures. This animal's name derives from its habitat: "Alasko", meaning "from Alaska", and "antarcticus", in connection with frigid conditions in which the mite lives. Scientists are unclear as to how "Alaskozetes antacticus" has been able to adapt to an environment so different from those of other arthropods. Whereas most arthropod species inhabit hot, moist environments, "A. antarcticus" survives in freezing conditions with almost no humidity. There are three subspecies: "Alaskozetes antarcticus antarcticus", "Alaskozetes antarcticus grandjeani", and "Alaskozetes antarcticus intermedius".
Alaskozetes antarcticus | Introduction
A variety of animals live in Antarctica for at least some of the year, including: Most of the Antarctic continent is permanently covered by ice and snow, leaving less than 1 percent of the land exposed. There are only two species of flowering plant, Antarctic hair grass and Antarctic pearlwort, but a range of mosses, liverworts, lichens and macrofungi.
Antarctic | Antarctica
The genus is named for Tupaia (c. 1725 – 1770), a Tahitian navigator and priest. The specific epithet, "antarctica", derives from the Latin word, "anti", meaning "against" or "opposite" and the Greek word, "arktos", meaning "bear", giving an adjective, "antarctica", which meant opposite the constellations of the Ursus Major and Ursus Minor, "opposing the north", or "Antarctic".
Tupeia | Etymology
Arkell Cirque () is a large cirque on the south face of the central Read Mountains, Shackleton Range. It was photographed from the air by the U.S. Navy in 1967 and surveyed from the ground by the British Antarctic Survey, 1968–71. It was named by the United Kingdom Antarctic Place-Names Committee after William Joscelyn Arkell, English geologist, a specialist in Jurassic stratigraphy and paleontology.
Arkell Cirque | Introduction
In December 2003, U.S. paleontologist Judd Case from Saint Mary's College of California and U.S. geologist James Martin from the South Dakota School of Mines & Technology discovered the bones of a theropod dinosaur on the island. Nicknamed "Naze" after the northerly Naze Peninsula on which it was found, the Late Cretaceous remains include an upper jaw and teeth, and most of the lower legs and feet. Little information is available, but the shape of the leg and feet indicate it was a runner. In 2019, it was given the name "Imperobator antarcticus". It was large, about the size of "Utahraptor".
James Ross Island | Paleontology
This species was described from Cape Adare at the mouth of Robertson Bay, Antarctica in 82–92 m of water.
Eubranchus adarensis | Distribution
Dorymyrmex antarcticus is a species of ant in the genus "Dorymyrmex". Described by Forel in 1904, the species is endemic to Argentina and Chile.
Dorymyrmex antarcticus | Introduction
Species of mammals: brown bear ("Ursus arctos"), deer ("Cervus elaphus"), roe deer ("Capreolus capreolus"), gray wolf ("Canis lupus"), wild boar ("Sus scrofa"), European otter ("Lutra lutra"), lynx ("Lynx linx"), wildcat ("Felis silvestris"), pine marten ("Martes martes"), badger ("Males males"), pygmy shrew ("Sorex minutus"), Blasius's horseshoe bat ("Rhinolophus blasii") or lesser mouse-eared bat ("Myotis blythii"). Species of birds: golden eagle ("Aquila chrysaetos"), lesser spotted eagle ("Aquila pomarina"), common kingfisher ("Alcedo athis"), hazel grouse ("Bonasa bonasia"), hen harrier ("Circus cyaneus"), Eurasian eagle-owl ("Bubo bubo"), short-toed snake eagle ("Circaetus gallicus"), red-breasted flycatcher ("Ficedula parva"), European honey buzzard ("Pernis apivorus"), European nightjar ("Caprimulgus europaeus"), grey-headed woodpecker ("Picus canus"), Ural owl ("Strix uralensis"), corn crake ("Crex crex"), barred warbler ("Sylvia nisoria"), red-backed shrike ("Lanius collurio"), ortolan bunting ("Emberiza hortulana"), European roller ("Coracias garrulus"), Montagu's harrier ("Circus pygargus") or middle spotted woodpecker ("Dendrocopos medius").
Nera Gorge-Beușnița National Park | Fauna
The infraorder Cetacea includes whales, dolphins and porpoises. They are the mammals most fully adapted to aquatic life with a spindle-shaped nearly hairless body, protected by a thick layer of blubber, and forelimbs and tail modified to provide propulsion underwater. Their closest extant relatives are the hippos, which are artiodactyls, from which cetaceans descended; cetaceans are thus also artiodactyls. The hunting of baleen whales in the vicinity of Antarctica began around 1904, with the establishment of a whaling station on South Georgia. Hunting of blue whales was banned in 1966, and finally brought under control in the 1970s. By that time the blue whale population had been reduced to 0.15% of its original size.
List of mammals of Antarctica | Infraorder: Cetacea (whales, dolphins and porpoises)
A large variety of mammals have been observed in this exclosure, with scientific (italics), English and Tigrinya language names. - "Crocuta crocuta", spotted hyena, ዝብኢ ("zibi") - "Caracal caracal", caracal, ጭክ ኣንበሳ ("ch’ok anbessa") - "Xerus rutilus", unstriped ground squirrel, ምጹጽላይ or ጨጨራ ("mitsutsilay", "chechera") - "Canis mesomelas", black-backed jackal, ቡኳርያ ("bukharya") - "Canis anthus", golden jackal, ቡኳርያ ("bukharya") - "Procavia capensis", rock hyrax, ጊሐ ("gihè") - "Felis silvestris", African wildcat, ሓክሊ ድሙ ("hakili dummu") - "Civettictis civetta", African civet, ዝባድ ("zibad") - "Ichneumia albicauda", white-tailed mongoose, ፂሒራ ("tsihira") - "Herpestes ichneumon", large grey mongoose, ፂሒራ ("tsihira") - "Hystrix cristata", crested porcupine, ቅንፈዝ ("qinfiz") - "Genetta genetta", common genet, ስልሕልሖት ("silihlihot") - "Lepus capensis", cape hare, ማንቲለ ("mantile") - "Mellivora capensis", honey badger, ትትጊ ("titigi").
May Be'ati (exclosure) | Wildlife
Already present in the park are nine species of large herbivores and one omnivore species: Bashkir horses (a strain of "Equus ferus caballus") from the southern part of the Ural Mountains, Altai maral/Altai wapiti ("Cervus canadensis sibiricus"), Edilbaevskaya sheep (a strain of "Ovis orientalis aries"), roe deer ("Capreolus spec."), Kalmykian cattle (a strain of "Bos primigenius taurus"), domestic yaks ("Bos mutus grunniens"), wild boar ("Sus scrofa"), one female elk/moose ("Alces alces"), four reindeer ("Rangifer tarandus") and 73 domestic Pridonskaya goats (a strain of "Capra aegagrus hircus").
Pleistocene Park | Southern branch of Pleistocene Park: The Wild Field wilderness reserve
The pleotelson is bent slightly downwards and ends in a pointed terminal segment, the telson, which bears a pair of appendages, the uropods. The last three thoracic segments, the pleopods and the uropods are clothed in setae (bristles) on the margins.
Aega antarctica | Description
This classification follows Eastman and Eakin, 2000 and includes references to additional classified species. Except where noted, species are restricted to the vicinity of Antarctica.
Notothenioidei | Classification
This anemone has been found from King George Island off Antarctica and the Strait of Magellan in Chile.
Dactylanthus antarcticus | Distribution
The fossils of this animal were found in 1976, during the excavations for the construction of the Toronto subway, before being donated to the Royal Ontario Museum. The fossils included part of a skull with fragments of antlers still attached, part of the rib cage and a femur. The genus' binomial name comes from the Greek words for below and earth.
Torontoceros | Discovery
"Megadromus antarcticus" is common throughout much of the Canterbury region. Their range extents from a northern limit in the Waikari area, to the coast in the east, comprising Banks Peninsula, as far south as the Cave area in South Canterbury, and to the lower reach of the Southern Alps in western Canterbury. Because "Megadromus antarcticus" is flightless it has limited Biological dispersal ability. Additionally the braided rivers of the Canterbury plains present a significant obstacle to "Megadromus antarcticus".
Megadromus antarcticus | New Zealand range
The wildlife of Antarctica are extremophiles, having to adapt to the dryness, low temperatures, and high exposure common in Antarctica. The extreme weather of the interior contrasts to the relatively mild conditions on the Antarctic Peninsula and the subantarctic islands, which have warmer temperatures and more liquid water. Much of the ocean around the mainland is covered by sea ice. The oceans themselves are a more stable environment for life, both in the water column and on the seabed. There is relatively little diversity in Antarctica compared to much of the rest of the world. Terrestrial life is concentrated in areas near the coast.
Wildlife of Antarctica | Introduction
The four species that inhabit sea ice are thought to make up 50% of the total biomass of the world's seals. Crabeater seals have a population of around 15 million, making them one of the most numerous large animals on the planet. The New Zealand sea lion ("Phocarctos hookeri"), one of the rarest and most localised pinnipeds, breeds almost exclusively on the subantarctic Auckland Islands, although historically it had a wider range. Out of all permanent mammalian residents, the Weddell seals live the furthest south. There are 10 cetacean species found in the Southern Ocean; six baleen whales, and four toothed whales.
Wildlife of Antarctica | Mammals
Antarctosuchus is an extinct genus of capitosauroid temnospondyl known from the Middle Triassic upper Fremouw Formation in the Transantarctic Mountains of Antarctica. It contains a single species, Antarctosuchus polyodon.
Antarctosuchus | Introduction
Animals of the range include European mink, roe deer, wild boar and various small and medium mammals such as Pyrenean desmans and the European snow voles. There are amphibians such as the alpine newts.
Aralar Range | Animals
This species occurs in Antarctic waters off the South Shetland Islands at a depth of about 3700 m.
Asthelys antarctica | Distribution
The moss species "Campylopus pyriformis" is restricted to geothermal sites. Moss species identified in recent research:
Wildlife of Antarctica | Mosses
In the Early Jurassic, Antarctica was closer to the equator and the world was considerably warmer than today, but the climate was still cool temperate. Models of Jurassic air flow indicate that coastal areas probably never dropped much below freezing, although more extreme conditions existed inland. "Cryolophosaurus" was found about from the South Pole but, at the time it lived, this was about or so farther north. This formation has produced the remains of "Glacialisaurus" (a large basal sauropodomorph), a crow-sized pterosaur (a dimorphodontid), a synapsid (a tritylodont, which is a type of synapsid about the size of a rat), herbivorous synapsid, and two small unnamed sauropodmorphs.
Cryolophosaurus | Paleoecology
In 2009, Mátyás Vremir at Lancrăm near Sebeş-Glod in Transylvania at the SbG-B site uncovered the remains of a pterosaur. He donated these to the "Erdélyi Múzeum", of the "Societății Muzeului Ardelean" (Transylvanian Museum Society). Subsequent excavations by Vremir discovered additional bones of the same individual animal and were added by him to the collection of the Babeș-Bolyai University. In 2013, Vremir, Alexander Wilhelm Armin Kellner, Darren Naish, and Gareth Dyke named and described the type species "Eurazhdarcho langendorfensis". The generic name combines the name of Europe with that of the related form "Azhdarcho". The specific name refers to Langendorf, the name of Lancrǎm in the language of the German ethnic minority in Romania.
Eurazhdarcho | Discovery and naming
"P. antarctica" is native to Antarctica. It is known from the Antarctic Peninsula, McMurdo Sound, the Ross Sea, South Georgia, Victoria Land and various subarctic islands. The type locality is Coulman Island near Cape Wadworth in the Ross Sea.
Phyllophora antarctica | Distribution