The Sobral Formation is a

palaeontological Paleontology (), also spelled palaeontology or palæontology, is the scientific study of life that existed prior to, and sometimes including, the start of the Holocene epoch (roughly 11,700 years before present). It includes the study of fossi ...

formation located in

Antarctica Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean, it contains the geographic South Pole. Antarctica is the fifth-largest co ...

. It dates to the

Danian The Danian is the oldest age or lowest stage of the Paleocene Epoch or Series, of the Paleogene Period or System, and of the Cenozoic Era or Erathem. The beginning of the Danian (and the end of the preceding Maastrichtian) is at the Creta ...

stage of the Lower

Paleocene The Paleocene, ( ) or Palaeocene, is a geological epoch that lasted from about 66 to 56 million years ago (mya). It is the first epoch of the Paleogene Period in the modern Cenozoic Era. The name is a combination of the Ancient Greek ''pal ...

period. Spectacular

fossil A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserved ...

s documenting marine and terrestrial ecosystems soon after the (non-

avian Avian may refer to: *Birds or Aves, winged animals * Avian (given name) (russian: Авиа́н, link=no), a male forename Aviation *Avro Avian, a series of light aircraft made by Avro in the 1920s and 1930s * Avian Limited, a hang glider manufactu ...

)

dinosaur Dinosaurs are a diverse group of reptiles of the clade Dinosauria. They first appeared during the Triassic period, between 243 and 233.23 million years ago (mya), although the exact origin and timing of the evolution of dinosaurs is t ...

s became extinct at the Cretaceous-Paleogene boundary are found in this formation. One of the most significant sites is on

Seymour Island Seymour Island or Marambio Island, is an island in the chain of 16 major islands around the tip of the Graham Land on the Antarctic Peninsula. Graham Land is the closest part of Antarctica to South America. It lies within the section of the isla ...

References

* * * {{cite journal , author = Poole I., Mennega A. M. W., Cantrill D. J. , year = 2003 , title = Valdivian ecosystems in the Late Cretaceous and Early Tertiary of Antarctica: further evidence from myrtaceous and eucryphiaceous fossil wood , url =https://dspace.library.uu.nl/bitstream/1874/31608/1/Review%20of%20Palaeobotany%20and%20Palynology%20124%20%282003%29%201-2.pdf , journal = Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology , volume = 124 , issue = 1–2 , pages = 9–27 , doi=10.1016/s0034-6667(02)00244-0, hdl = 1874/31608 Geologic formations of Antarctica Cenozoic Antarctica Paleocene Series Paleogene System of Antarctica Danian Stage Siltstone formations Mudstone formations Shallow marine deposits Graham Land

See also

References

Further reading