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Klallamornis
''Klallamornis'' is an extinct genus of Plotopteridae, a family of large, flightless birds related to modern cormorants, darters, gannets, and boobies. This genus included the largest North American plotopterids. Its remains can be found in Late Eocene to Late Oligocene rocks from the Makah Formation, the overlying Pysht Formation and the Lincoln Creek Formation of the State of Washington. During its existence, ''Klallamornis'' was the largest plotopterid on the North American continent. The first fossil remains attributed to the taxon were collected in 1983, although the genus was not described until 2016. ''Klallamornis'' was a large pelagic seabird. Despite being unable to fly, its wings were heavily built and muscular, a consequence of wing-propelled diving adaptations. It was superficially similar with modern penguins, despite being only distantly related to them. The genus has a complicated taxonomy; of the three species published, two of them, ''K. buchanani'' and ''K. aby ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Olympidytes
''Olympidytes'' is an extinct genus of Plotopteridae, a family of large, flightless marine bird superficially similar to modern penguins but more closely related to cormorants and gannets. It lived during the Late Eocene or the Early Oligocene, in what is today the State of Washington and Japan. History and etymology The first specimen attributed to ''Olympidites'', a partial postcranial skeleton, was collected in 2012 by Bruce Thiel in Late Eocene to Early Oligocene sediments from the Lincoln Creek Formation. Another specimen attributed to the genus was collected by James L. Goedert in 2012, from Late Eocene or Early Oligocene rocks from the Jansen Creek member of the Makah Formation, in the southwest of the State of Washington. In 2016, those remains were identified by Goedert and Gerald Mayr as belonging to a new genus and species of plotopterid, which they named ''Olympidytes thieli'', based on the holotype SMF Av 608, the fragmentary skeleton found by Thiel. In 2021, Mori ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tonsala
''Tonsala'' is an extinct genus of Plotopteridae, a family of flightless seabird similar in biology with penguins, but more closely related to modern cormorants. The genus is known from terrains dated from the Late Oligocene of the State of Washington and Japan. History and Etymology In 1979, Storrs L. Olson and Hasegawa Yoshikazu identified several fossilized specimens of Late Oligocene and Early Miocene birds found in the State of Washington and in Japan as members of the family Plotopteridae, but distinct enough from ''Plotopterum'' in their general anatomy to warrant their own genus. The Washington fossils, collected by Douglas Emlong in Late Oligocene terrains of the Pysht Formation, in the north of the Olympic Peninsula, were formally described the next year, 1980, by Olson himself, as the type of the new genus and species ''Tonsala hildegardae''. Olson ascribed to the genus the holotype USNM 256518, an incomplete specimen comprising a fragmentary humerus, fragments of a d ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pysht Formation
The Pysht Formation is a Formation (geology), geologic formation in Washington (state). It preserves fossils dating back to the Paleogene Period (geology), period, which appear to have been deposited in an offshore marine environment. Outcrops are present on the northern Olympic Peninsula, in Clallam County, Washington, Clallam County. Fossil content Based on the Paleobiology Database: Cartilaginous fish Mammals Birds Crustaceans See also * List of fossiliferous stratigraphic units in Washington (state) * Paleontology in Washington (state) References * Oligocene Series of North America Paleogene geology of Washington (state) Chattian Stage Siltstone formations of the United States Mudstone formations of the United States Conglomerate formations of the United States {{Paleogene-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Makah Formation
The Makah Formation is a geologic formation in Washington (state). It was deposited during the late Paleogene period between the late Eocene and early Oligocene epoches, and preserves marine fossils dating to the early Oligocene. It outcrops at the northwestern edge of the Olympic Peninsula. Vertebrate paleobiota The following fossil taxa are known: Mammals Birds See also * List of fossiliferous stratigraphic units in Washington (state) * Paleontology in Washington (state) Paleontology in Washington encompasses Paleontology, paleontological research occurring within or conducted by people from the United States, U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington. Washington has a rich fossil Fossil record, record spanning ... References * Paleogene geology of Washington (state) Sandstone formations of the United States Siltstone formations of the United States [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Plotopteridae
Plotopteridae is an extinct family of flightless seabirds with uncertain placement, generally considered as member of order Suliformes. They exhibited remarkable convergent evolution with the penguins, particularly with the now extinct giant penguins. That they lived in the North Pacific, the other side of the world from the penguins, has led to them being described at times as the Northern Hemisphere's penguins, though they were not closely related. More recent studies have shown, however, that the shoulder-girdle, forelimb and sternum of plotopterids differ significantly from those of penguins, so comparisons in terms of function may not be entirely accurate. Plotopterids are regarded as closely related to Anhingidae (darters) and Phalacrocoracidae (cormorants). On the other hand, there is a theory that this group may have a common ancestor with penguins due to the similarity of forelimb and brain morphology. However, the endocast morphology of stem group Sphenisciformes differ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pacific Northwest
The Pacific Northwest (PNW; ) is a geographic region in Western North America bounded by its coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains to the east. Though no official boundary exists, the most common conception includes the U.S. states of Oregon, Washington (state), Washington, Idaho, and the Canadian province of British Columbia. Some broader conceptions reach north into Alaska and Yukon, south into Northern California, and east into western Montana. Other conceptions may be limited to the coastal areas west of the Cascade Mountains, Cascade and Coast Mountains, Coast mountains. The Northwest Coast is the coastal region of the Pacific Northwest, and the Northwest Plateau (also commonly known as "British Columbia Interior, the Interior" in British Columbia), is the inland region. The term "Pacific Northwest" should not be confused with the Northwest Territory (also known as the Great Northwest, a historical term in the United States) ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kelp Forest
Kelp forests are underwater areas with a high density of kelp, which covers a large part of the world's coastlines. Smaller areas of anchored kelp are called kelp beds. They are recognized as one of the most productive and dynamic ecosystems on Earth. Although algal kelp forest combined with coral reefs only cover 0.1% of Earth's total surface, they account for 0.9% of global Primary production, primary productivity. Kelp forests occur worldwide throughout temperate and polar region, polar coastal oceans. In 2007, kelp forests were also discovered in tropical waters near Ecuador. Physically formed by brown macroalgae, kelp forests provide a unique habitat for marine organisms and are a source for understanding many ecological processes. Over the last century, they have been the focus of extensive research, particularly in Trophic dynamics, trophic ecology, and continue to provoke important ideas that are relevant beyond this unique ecosystem. For example, kelp forests can infl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
North Pacific
The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is bounded by the continents of Asia and Australia in the west and the Americas in the east. At in area (as defined with a southern Antarctic border), the Pacific Ocean is the largest division of the World Ocean and the hydrosphere and covers approximately 46% of Earth's water surface and about 32% of the planet's total surface area, larger than its entire land area ().Pacific Ocean . '' Britannica Concise.'' 2008: Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. The centers of both the [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Volcanism
Volcanism, vulcanism, volcanicity, or volcanic activity is the phenomenon where solids, liquids, gases, and their mixtures erupt to the surface of a solid-surface astronomical body such as a planet or a moon. It is caused by the presence of a heat source, usually internally generated, inside the body; the heat is generated by various processes, such as radioactive decay or tidal heating. This heat partially melts solid material in the body or turns material into gas. The mobilized material rises through the body's interior and may break through the solid surface. Causes For volcanism to occur, the temperature of the mantle must have risen to about half its melting point. At this point, the mantle's viscosity will have dropped to about 1021 Pascal-seconds. When large scale melting occurs, the viscosity rapidly falls to 103 Pascal-seconds or even less, increasing the heat transport rate a million-fold. The occurrence of volcanism is partially due to the fact that melted materi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eocene
The Eocene ( ) is a geological epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from about 56 to 33.9 million years ago (Ma). It is the second epoch of the Paleogene Period (geology), Period in the modern Cenozoic Era (geology), Era. The name ''Eocene'' comes from the Ancient Greek (''Ēṓs'', 'Eos, Dawn') and (''kainós'', "new") and refers to the "dawn" of modern ('new') fauna that appeared during the epoch.See: *Letter from William Whewell to Charles Lyell dated 31 January 1831 in: * From p. 55: "The period next antecedent we shall call Eocene, from ήως, aurora, and χαινος, recens, because the extremely small proportion of living species contained in these strata, indicates what may be considered the first commencement, or ''dawn'', of the existing state of the animate creation." The Eocene spans the time from the end of the Paleocene Epoch to the beginning of the Oligocene Epoch. The start of the Eocene is marked by a brief period in which the concentration of the carbon isoto ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Desmostylian
The Desmostylia (from Greek δεσμά ''desma'', "bundle", and στῦλος ''stylos'', "pillar") are an extinct order of aquatic mammals native to the North Pacific from the early Oligocene (Rupelian) to the late Miocene (Tortonian) (). Desmostylians are the only known extinct order of marine mammals. The Desmostylia, together with Sirenia and Proboscidea (and possibly Embrithopoda), have traditionally been assigned to the afrotherian clade Tethytheria, a group named after the paleoocean Tethys around which they originally evolved. The relationship between the Desmostylia and the other orders within the Tethytheria has been disputed; if the common ancestor of all tethytheres was semiaquatic, the Proboscidea became secondarily terrestrial; alternatively, the Desmostylia and Sirenia could have evolved independently into aquatic mammals. The assignment of Desmostylia to Afrotheria has always been problematic from a biogeographic standpoint, given that Africa was the locus of the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
