Cambridge Prisms: Extinction (Jan 2024)
The extinct marine megafauna of the Phanerozoic
- Catalina Pimiento,
- Kristína Kocáková,
- Gregor H. Mathes,
- Thodoris Argyriou,
- Edwin-Alberto Cadena,
- Jack A. Cooper,
- Dirley Cortés,
- Daniel J. Field,
- Christian Klug,
- Torsten M. Scheyer,
- Ana M. Valenzuela-Toro,
- Timon Buess,
- Meike Günter,
- Amanda M. Gardiner,
- Pascale Hatt,
- Geraldine Holdener,
- Giulia Jacober,
- Sabrina Kobelt,
- Sheldon Masseraz,
- Ian Mehli,
- Sarah Reiff,
- Eva Rigendinger,
- Mimo Ruckstuhl,
- Santana Schneider,
- Clarissa Seige,
- Nathalie Senn,
- Valeria Staccoli,
- Jessica Baumann,
- Livio Flüeler,
- Lino J. Guevara,
- Esin Ickin,
- Kimberley C. Kissling,
- Janis Rogenmoser,
- Dominik Spitznagel,
- Jaime A. Villafaña,
- Chiara Zanatta
Affiliations
- Catalina Pimiento
- ORCiD
- Department of Paleontology, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland Department of Biosciences, Swansea University, Swansea, UK
- Kristína Kocáková
- ORCiD
- Department of Paleontology, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
- Gregor H. Mathes
- ORCiD
- Department of Paleontology, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
- Thodoris Argyriou
- ORCiD
- Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Munich, Germany GeoBio-Center, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Munich, Germany Department of Science and Mathematics, American College of Greece-Deree, Athens, Greece
- Edwin-Alberto Cadena
- ORCiD
- Facultad de Ciencias Naturales and Grupo de Investigación Paleontología Neotropical Tradicional y Molecular (PaleoNeo), University of Rosario, Bogotá, Colombia Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago, IL, USA Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Balboa, Panama
- Jack A. Cooper
- ORCiD
- Department of Biosciences, Swansea University, Swansea, UK
- Dirley Cortés
- ORCiD
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Balboa, Panama Redpath Museum, Biology Department, McGill University, Montréal, QC, Canada Centro de Investigaciones Paleontológicas, Villa de Leyva, Boyacá, Colombia Grupo de Investigación Biología para la Conservación, Universidad Pedagógica y Tecnológica de Colombia, Boyacá, Colombia
- Daniel J. Field
- ORCiD
- Department of Earth Sciences, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK Museum of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK Fossil Reptiles, Amphibians and Birds Section, Natural History Museum, London, UK
- Christian Klug
- ORCiD
- Department of Paleontology, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
- Torsten M. Scheyer
- ORCiD
- Department of Paleontology, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
- Ana M. Valenzuela-Toro
- ORCiD
- Centro de Investigación y Avance de la Historia Natural de Atacama (CIAHN), Caldera, Chile Department of Paleobiology, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC, USA
- Timon Buess
- Faculty of Science, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
- Meike Günter
- Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
- Amanda M. Gardiner
- ORCiD
- Department of Paleontology, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
- Pascale Hatt
- ORCiD
- Faculty of Science, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
- Geraldine Holdener
- Faculty of Science, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
- Giulia Jacober
- Department of Evolutionary Medicine, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
- Sabrina Kobelt
- Faculty of Science, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
- Sheldon Masseraz
- Department of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
- Ian Mehli
- Department of Environmental Systems Science, ETH, Zurich, Switzerland
- Sarah Reiff
- Department of Systematic and Evolutionary Botany, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
- Eva Rigendinger
- Department of Biology, ETH, Zurich, Switzerland
- Mimo Ruckstuhl
- Faculty of Science, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
- Santana Schneider
- Faculty of Science, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
- Clarissa Seige
- Faculty of Science, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
- Nathalie Senn
- Tissue Biology Research Unit, Department of Surgery, University Children’s Hospital, Zurich, Switzerland
- Valeria Staccoli
- Faculty of Science, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
- Jessica Baumann
- Department of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
- Livio Flüeler
- Department of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
- Lino J. Guevara
- GeoBio-Center, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Munich, Germany
- Esin Ickin
- Department of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
- Kimberley C. Kissling
- Department of Paleontology, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
- Janis Rogenmoser
- Institute of Medical Microbiology, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
- Dominik Spitznagel
- Department of Paleontology, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
- Jaime A. Villafaña
- ORCiD
- Laboratorio de Paleobiología, Centro de Estudios Avanzados en Zonas Áridas (CEAZA), Coquimbo, Chile Centro de Investigación en Recursos Naturales y Sustentabilidad, Universidad Bernardo O’Higgins, Santiago, Chile
- Chiara Zanatta
- Department of Paleontology, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1017/ext.2024.12
- Journal volume & issue
-
Vol. 2
Abstract
The modern marine megafauna is known to play important ecological roles and includes many charismatic species that have drawn the attention of both the scientific community and the public. However, the extinct marine megafauna has never been assessed as a whole, nor has it been defined in deep time. Here, we review the literature to define and list the species that constitute the extinct marine megafauna, and to explore biological and ecological patterns throughout the Phanerozoic. We propose a size cut-off of 1 m of length to define the extinct marine megafauna. Based on this definition, we list 706 taxa belonging to eight main groups. We found that the extinct marine megafauna was conspicuous over the Phanerozoic and ubiquitous across all geological eras and periods, with the Mesozoic, especially the Cretaceous, having the greatest number of taxa. Marine reptiles include the largest size recorded (21 m; Shonisaurus sikanniensis) and contain the highest number of extinct marine megafaunal taxa. This contrasts with today’s assemblage, where marine animals achieve sizes of >30 m. The extinct marine megafaunal taxa were found to be well-represented in the Paleobiology Database, but not better sampled than their smaller counterparts. Among the extinct marine megafauna, there appears to be an overall increase in body size through time. Most extinct megafaunal taxa were inferred to be macropredators preferentially living in coastal environments. Across the Phanerozoic, megafaunal species had similar extinction risks as smaller species, in stark contrast to modern oceans where the large species are most affected by human perturbations. Our work represents a first step towards a better understanding of the marine megafauna that lived in the geological past. However, more work is required to expand our list of taxa and their traits so that we can obtain a more complete picture of their ecology and evolution.
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