Modern Whales Divergence

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A tale of modern whales: Divergence and radiation of Neoceti during the Oligocene period likely driven by environmental changes in Southern Oceans

ZOO*4910 Integrative Vertebrate Biology
Group 04

Candace Flynn (cflynn@mail.uoguelph.ca),
Melissa Westaway, Katherine Znotinas, and Daniela Banda Marin

2 November 2014

Abstract
Reasons for divergence within the animal kingdom is heavily debated across many orders. Macroevolution in Cetacea has been attributed to a variety of ecological and environmental dynamics which set the stage for the success of modern whales. In this meta-analysis, we investigate the magnitude of support for two current competing hypotheses explaining the divergence of Neoceti from archaic whales (Archaeoceti) …show more content…
Fitzgerald (2006) and Demere et al. (2008) provide evidence that the initial mysticete radiation did not coincide with the appearance of traits associated with bulk filter-feeding. Other studies suggest that previous timeframe estimates are incorrect, and that either the establishment of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (Pfuhl and Cave 2005) or the radiation of the Mysticeti (Geisler et al. 2011) occurred much later than previously …show more content…
Eocene-Oligocene transition of the Southern Ocean: history of water mass circulation and biological productivity. Geology. 24, 163-166.

Fitzgerald, E. M. G., 2009. The morphology and systematics of Mammalodon colliveri (Cetacea: Mysticeti), a toothed Mysticete from the Oligocene of Australia. Zool. J. Linn. Soc-lond. 158, 367-476.

Fitzgerald, E., 2005. Bizarre baleen whales from Australia's ancient seas. Australas. Sci. 26, 23-27.

Fitzgerald, E., 2006. A bizarre new toothed Mysticete (Cetacea) from Australia and the early evolution of baleen whales. Proc. Biol. Sci. 273(1604), 2955-2963.

Fordyce, E. F., 1977. The development of the circum-antarctic current and the evolution of the Mysticeti (mammalian: Cetacea). Palaeogeog. Palaeoclim. Palaeocol. 21, 265-271.
Fordyce, R.E., 1980. Whale evolution and Oligocene sourthern ocean environments. Palaeogeog. Palaeoclim. Palaeoecol. 31, 319-336.

Geisler, J. H., McGowen, M. R., Yang, G., and Gatesy, J., 2011. A supermatrix analysis of genomic, morphological, and paleontological data from crown Cetacea. BMC. Evol. Biol. 11, 112-144.

Lipps, J. H., and Mitchell, E., 1976. Trophic model for the adaptive radiations and extinctions of pelagic marine mammals. Paleobiol. 2,

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