Portal de Periódicos da CAPES

Mediterranean fossil whale falls and the adaptation of mollusks to extreme habitats

2009; Geological Society of America; Volume: 37; Issue: 9 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1130/g30073a.1

1943-2682

Stefano Dominici, E. Cioppi, Silvia Danise, U. Betocchi, Gianni Gallai, F. Tangocci, G. Valleri, Simonetta Monechi,

Marine animal studies overview

Research Article| September 01, 2009 Mediterranean fossil whale falls and the adaptation of mollusks to extreme habitats Stefano Dominici; Stefano Dominici 1Museo di Storia Naturale, Sezione di Geologia e Paleontologia, Università di Firenze, via La Pira 4, 50121 Florence, Italy Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Elisabetta Cioppi; Elisabetta Cioppi 1Museo di Storia Naturale, Sezione di Geologia e Paleontologia, Università di Firenze, via La Pira 4, 50121 Florence, Italy Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Silvia Danise; Silvia Danise 2Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, Università di Firenze, via La Pira 4, 50121 Florence, Italy Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Ubaldo Betocchi; Ubaldo Betocchi 2Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, Università di Firenze, via La Pira 4, 50121 Florence, Italy Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Gianni Gallai; Gianni Gallai 1Museo di Storia Naturale, Sezione di Geologia e Paleontologia, Università di Firenze, via La Pira 4, 50121 Florence, Italy Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Francesca Tangocci; Francesca Tangocci 2Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, Università di Firenze, via La Pira 4, 50121 Florence, Italy Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Gigliola Valleri; Gigliola Valleri 2Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, Università di Firenze, via La Pira 4, 50121 Florence, Italy Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Simonetta Monechi Simonetta Monechi 2Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, Università di Firenze, via La Pira 4, 50121 Florence, Italy Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Author and Article Information Stefano Dominici 1Museo di Storia Naturale, Sezione di Geologia e Paleontologia, Università di Firenze, via La Pira 4, 50121 Florence, Italy Elisabetta Cioppi 1Museo di Storia Naturale, Sezione di Geologia e Paleontologia, Università di Firenze, via La Pira 4, 50121 Florence, Italy Silvia Danise 2Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, Università di Firenze, via La Pira 4, 50121 Florence, Italy Ubaldo Betocchi 2Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, Università di Firenze, via La Pira 4, 50121 Florence, Italy Gianni Gallai 1Museo di Storia Naturale, Sezione di Geologia e Paleontologia, Università di Firenze, via La Pira 4, 50121 Florence, Italy Francesca Tangocci 2Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, Università di Firenze, via La Pira 4, 50121 Florence, Italy Gigliola Valleri 2Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, Università di Firenze, via La Pira 4, 50121 Florence, Italy Simonetta Monechi 2Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, Università di Firenze, via La Pira 4, 50121 Florence, Italy Publisher: Geological Society of America Received: 27 Jan 2009 Revision Received: 13 Apr 2009 Accepted: 28 Apr 2009 First Online: 02 Mar 2017 Online ISSN: 1943-2682 Print ISSN: 0091-7613 © 2009 Geological Society of America Geology (2009) 37 (9): 815–818. https://doi.org/10.1130/G30073A.1 Article history Received: 27 Jan 2009 Revision Received: 13 Apr 2009 Accepted: 28 Apr 2009 First Online: 02 Mar 2017 Cite View This Citation Add to Citation Manager Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Permissions Search Site Citation Stefano Dominici, Elisabetta Cioppi, Silvia Danise, Ubaldo Betocchi, Gianni Gallai, Francesca Tangocci, Gigliola Valleri, Simonetta Monechi; Mediterranean fossil whale falls and the adaptation of mollusks to extreme habitats. Geology 2009;; 37 (9): 815–818. doi: https://doi.org/10.1130/G30073A.1 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Refmanager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentBy SocietyGeology Search Advanced Search Abstract The hypothesis that sunken carcasses of Mesozoic marine reptiles and Cenozoic whales acted as evolutionary stepping stones to deep-sea reducing habitats is underlain by the question of whether vent-like, chemosymbiotic specialization first evolved at shelf depths. Fossil skeletons of large whales have long been known from ancient shallow-water strata, but they have never been considered as a source of information on ecosystem development. We present a study on a 3 Ma old fossil whale fall and a survey of other Pliocene fossil skeletons to show that the associated biota is dominated by heterotrophs, with subsidiary chemoautotrophs. The taphonomy of the Mediterranean shelf whale falls shows some differences with respect to deep-water studies. Quantitative analyses of abundance data within a large data set on fossil and modern mollusk families confirm that deep- and shallow-water communities at reducing habitats are composed of a different set of taxa, i.e., specialists occurring only below the shelf break. Mediterranean carcasses sunken in coastal settings do not seem to be favorable for the evolution of whale-fall specialists among the mollusks. The situation reverses as the shelf break is approached. You do not have access to this content, please speak to your institutional administrator if you feel you should have access.