All articles tagged with #paleogene
New fossil evidence from Denmark suggests that ammonites survived up to 200,000 years after the asteroid impact that killed the dinosaurs, challenging the long-held belief that they went extinct simultaneously with the dinosaurs. The findings imply a delayed extinction possibly caused by long-term ecosystem disruptions, highlighting how fossil record interpretations can be revised with new discoveries.
Paleontologists have discovered evidence of a third type of monkey that made the journey from Africa to South America millions of years ago. The discovery was made through the analysis of a tooth found in Brazil, which belonged to an extinct primate known as Ashaninkacebus simpsoni. The tooth suggests that this monkey was a small species, similar in size to a modern marmoset, and likely fed on fruits and insects. Further testing and comparisons with other simian primates revealed similarities to extinct species from South Asia. The finding suggests that the migration of monkeys across the Atlantic Ocean may have been more common than previously thought.
New research suggests that seasonal Asian monsoon conditions were established back in the Paleogene, a period that experienced extreme climate warming events. The researchers conducted summary analyses of 20 paleoclimate simulations and found that the uplift and creation of a number of mountain ranges through the millennia have resulted in the South Asian monsoon patterns we see today. The presence of wind-blown dust in northeast Tibet as well as the preservation of paleobotanical indicators in Myanmar and China, all point to this earlier evolution of monsoonal climate beginning in the late Eocene, 20 million years sooner than previously thought.