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{{Short description|Extinct genus of primitive pinnipeds}}
{{Automatic taxobox
{{Speciesbox
| fossil_range = Late [[Oligocene]] - Early [[Miocene]], {{fossil range|24|21}}
| fossil_range = Late [[Oligocene]] - Early [[Miocene]], {{fossil range|24|21}}
| image = Puijila darwini (fossil).jpg
| image = Puijila darwini (fossil).jpg
| image_caption = Restored skeleton
| image_caption = Restored skeleton
⚫
| parent_authority = Rybczynski ''et al''., [[2009 in paleontology|2009]]
| taxon = Puijila
| genus = Puijila
⚫
| authority = Rybczynski et al., [[2009 in paleontology|2009]]
| species = darwini
| subdivision_ranks = Species
| authority = Rybczynski ''et al''., [[2009 in paleontology|2009]]
| subdivision =
*''P. darwini'' ([[Type species|type]])
}}
}}


'''''Puijila darwini''''' is an [[extinct]] [[species]] of basal [[pinniped]] which lived during the [[Miocene]] epoch about 21 to 24 million years ago. Approximately a metre (three feet) in length, the animal possessed only minimal physical adaptations for swimming. Unlike modern pinnipeds, it did not have [[Flipper (anatomy)|flipper]]s and its overall form was [[otter]]-like, albeit more specialized; its skull and teeth are the features that most clearly indicate that it is a seal.<ref name="Puijila, the walking seal">{{cite web
'''''Puijila darwini''''' is an [[extinct]] [[species]] of stem-[[pinniped]] (seal) which lived during the [[Miocene]] about 21 to 24 million years ago. About a metre (3 feet) long, the animal had only minimal physical adaptations for swimming. Unlike modern pinnipeds, it did not have [[Flipper (anatomy)|flipper]]s and its shape was [[otter]]-like, albeit more specialized; its skull and teeth are the features that most clearly indicate that it is a seal.<ref name="Puijila, the walking seal">{{cite web
| url = http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/notrocketscience/2009/04/22/puijila-the-walking-seal-a-beautiful-transitional-fossil/#.UofLgtK-2So
| url = http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/notrocketscience/2009/04/22/puijila-the-walking-seal-a-beautiful-transitional-fossil/#.UofLgtK-2So
| title = Puijila, the walking seal – a beautiful transitional fossil
| title = Puijila, the walking seal – a beautiful transitional fossil
Line 24: Line 24:
}}</ref>
}}</ref>


It is considered to be the most primitive pinniped yet found. The genus name is an [[Inuktitut]] word for a young seal; the species name honours the [[England|English]] [[naturalist]] [[Charles Darwin]].<ref name="Puijila website">{{cite web
It is considered to be the most primitive pinnipedimorph yet found. The genus name is an [[Inuktitut]] word for a young seal; the species name honours [[Charles Darwin]].<ref name="Puijila website">{{cite web
|url = http://nature.ca/puijila/index_e.cfm
|url = http://nature.ca/puijila/index_e.cfm
|title = Puijila: A prehistoric walking seal
|title = Puijila: A prehistoric walking seal
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|archive-date = 2015-06-21
|archive-date = 2015-06-21
|url-status = dead
|url-status = dead
}}</ref> The [[holotype]] and only known specimen is a nearly complete fossilised skeleton. It is being housed at the [[Canadian Museum of Nature]] in [[Ottawa]], [[Ontario]].
}}</ref> The [[holotype]] and only known specimen is a nearly complete fossil skeleton. It is housed at the [[Canadian Museum of Nature]], [[Ottawa]], [[Ontario]].


==Background==
==Background==
[[File:Puijila BW.jpg|thumb|left|Restoration]]
[[File:Puijila BW.jpg|thumb|left|Restoration]]
''Puijila darwini'' was a semi-aquatic [[carnivore]] which represents a [[Morphology (biology)|morphological]] link in early [[pinniped]] evolution. Its fossil remains demonstrate the presence of enlarged, probably webbed<ref>
''Puijila darwini'' was a semi-aquatic [[carnivore]] which represents a [[Morphology (biology)|morphological]] link in early [[pinniped]] evolution. Its fossil shows enlarged, probably webbed<ref>
{{cite press release
{{cite press release
| publisher = BBC News
| publisher = BBC News
Line 47: Line 47:
| archive-date = 2 August 2014
| archive-date = 2 August 2014
| url-status = live
| url-status = live
}}</ref> feet, robust forelimbs and an unspecialized tail. This suggests that ''Puijila'' swam quadrupedally using its webbed fore and hind feet for propulsion. Phylogenetic studies including molecular evidence suggest a sister relationship between pinnipeds (seals) and ursoids (bears) as well as musteloids (weasels and otters). It had been popularly assumed that land-dwelling mammals had at some point transitioned to a more marine existence, in essence "returning to the sea" in order to gain some sort of survival advantage. However, fossil evidence of this transition had been weak or contentious. The discovery of ''Puijila'' is important as it represents a morphological link in early pinniped evolution, and one that appears to morphologically precede the more familiarly structured genus ''[[Enaliarctos]]'', despite apparently being a younger genus. In other words, ''Puijila'' is a [[transitional fossil]] that provides information about how the seal family returned to the seas, similar to the way that ''[[Archaeopteryx]]'' illuminates the origin of modern birds.
}}</ref> feet, robust forelimbs and an unspecialized tail. This suggests that ''Puijila'' swam quadrupedally using its webbed fore and hind feet for propulsion. Phylogenetic studies including molecular evidence suggest a sister relationship between seals, bears and musteloids (weasels and otters). It had been popularly assumed that land mammals at some point transitioned to being more marine, in essence "returning to the sea" in order to gain some sort of survival advantage. However, fossil evidence of this transition had been weak or contentious. The discovery of ''Puijila'' is important as it represents a morphological link in early seal evolution, and one that appears to morphologically precede the more familiarly structured genus ''[[Enaliarctos]]'', despite apparently being a younger genus. In other words, ''Puijila'' is a [[transitional fossil]] that provides information about how the seals returned to the sea, similar to how ''[[Archaeopteryx]]'' illuminates the origin of [[bird]]s.


==Discovery==
==Discovery==
[[File:Puijila.jpg|thumb|right|Life restoration of ''Puijila darwini''.]]This novel species was [[2007 in paleontology|discovered in 2007]] by [[Natalia Rybczynski]] and her team using surface collection and screening at an early Miocene lake deposit of the Haughton Formation of [[Devon Island]] in [[Nunavut]], [[Canada]].<ref name=Rybczynski07>{{cite journal | author = Rybczynski, N., Dawson, M.R., Tedford, R.H. | year = 2009 | title = A semi-aquatic Arctic mammalian carnivore from the Miocene epoch and origin of Pinnipedia | journal = Nature | volume = 458 | issue = 7241 | pages = 1021–24 | doi = 10.1038/nature07985 | pmid = 19396145| bibcode = 2009Natur.458.1021R | s2cid = 4371413 }}</ref> The palaeobotanical record suggests that the palaeoenvironment around the lake comprised a forest community transitional between a boreal and a conifer–hardwood forest, in a cool temperate, coastal climate with moderate winters. ''Puijila darwini'' is the first mammalian carnivore found in the Haughton lake deposits. This also gives an indication that the entire pinniped family may have originated in the [[Arctic]].<ref name="Puijila, the walking seal"/>
[[File:Puijila.jpg|thumb|right|Life restoration of ''Puijila darwini'']]This novel species was [[2007 in paleontology|discovered in 2007]] by [[Natalia Rybczynski]] and her team using surface collection and screening at an early Miocene lake deposit of the Haughton Formation of [[Devon Island]], [[Nunavut]], [[Canada]].<ref name="Rybczynski07">{{Cite journal |last=Rybczynski |first=Natalia |last2=Dawson |first2=Mary R. |last3=Tedford |first3=Richard H. |year=2009 |title=A semi-aquatic Arctic mammalian carnivore from the Miocene epoch and origin of Pinnipedia |journal=Nature |language=en |volume=458 |issue=7241 |pages=1021–1024 |bibcode=2009Natur.458.1021R |doi=10.1038/nature07985 |issn=0028-0836 |pmid=19396145 |s2cid=4371413}}</ref> The paleobotanical record suggests that the paleoenvironment around the lake comprised a forest community transitional between a boreal and a conifer–hardwood forest, in a cool temperate, coastal climate with moderate winters. ''Puijila darwini'' is the first mammalian carnivore found in the Haughton lake deposits. This is also an indication that the entire pinniped clade may have originated in the [[Arctic]].<ref name="Puijila, the walking seal"/>


The initial find is credited to field assistant Elizabeth Ross, and was partly a matter of luck. Ross had been unexpectedly stranded with the team's ATV which had run out of fuel several kilometers away from base camp. The brain case was discovered a year later on the first day of the 2008 field expedition by Martin Lipman, the team's photographer.
The initial find is credited to field assistant Elizabeth Ross, and was partly a matter of luck. Ross had been unexpectedly stranded with the team's [[all terrain vehicle|ATV]] which had run out of fuel several kilometers from base camp. The brain case was discovered a year later on the first day of the 2008 field expedition by Martin Lipman, the team's photographer.<ref name="National Geographic">{{cite web | url = https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/puijila-the-walking-seal-a-beautiful-transitional-fossil | title = Puijila, the walking seal – a beautiful transitional fossil | author = Yong, Ed | date = 22 April 2009 | publisher = National Geographic | access-date = 10 January 2024 }}</ref>


==References==
==References==
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* [https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20227054.700-fossil-seal-had-the-feet-of-an-otter.html "Fossil seal had the feet of an otter"] by Bob Holmes, [[New Scientist]], 25 April 2009, p.&nbsp;10.
* [https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20227054.700-fossil-seal-had-the-feet-of-an-otter.html "Fossil seal had the feet of an otter"] by Bob Holmes, [[New Scientist]], 25 April 2009, p.&nbsp;10.


{{Pan-Pinnipedia|P.}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q895480}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q895480}}
{{Crowned and Stemmed Genera of Pinnipeds}}


[[Category:Prehistoric pinnipeds of North America]]
[[Category:Prehistoric pinnipeds of North America]]
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[[Category:Fossil taxa described in 2009]]
[[Category:Fossil taxa described in 2009]]
[[Category:Chattian genus first appearances]]
[[Category:Chattian genus first appearances]]
[[Category:Prehistoric mammal genera]]
[[Category:Monotypic prehistoric carnivoran genera]]

Latest revision as of 01:19, 5 November 2024

Puijila
Temporal range: Late Oligocene - Early Miocene, 24–21 Ma
↓
Restored skeleton
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Carnivora
Family: †Semantoridae
Genus: †Puijila
Rybczynski et al., 2009
Species:
†P. darwini
Binomial name
†Puijila darwini
Rybczynski et al., 2009

Puijila darwini is an extinct species of stem-pinniped (seal) which lived during the Miocene about 21 to 24 million years ago. About a metre (3 feet) long, the animal had only minimal physical adaptations for swimming. Unlike modern pinnipeds, it did not have flippers and its shape was otter-like, albeit more specialized; its skull and teeth are the features that most clearly indicate that it is a seal.[1]

It is considered to be the most primitive pinnipedimorph yet found. The genus name is an Inuktitut word for a young seal; the species name honours Charles Darwin.[2] The holotype and only known specimen is a nearly complete fossil skeleton. It is housed at the Canadian Museum of Nature, Ottawa, Ontario.

Background

[edit]
Restoration

Puijila darwini was a semi-aquatic carnivore which represents a morphological link in early pinniped evolution. Its fossil shows enlarged, probably webbed[3] feet, robust forelimbs and an unspecialized tail. This suggests that Puijila swam quadrupedally using its webbed fore and hind feet for propulsion. Phylogenetic studies including molecular evidence suggest a sister relationship between seals, bears and musteloids (weasels and otters). It had been popularly assumed that land mammals at some point transitioned to being more marine, in essence "returning to the sea" in order to gain some sort of survival advantage. However, fossil evidence of this transition had been weak or contentious. The discovery of Puijila is important as it represents a morphological link in early seal evolution, and one that appears to morphologically precede the more familiarly structured genus Enaliarctos, despite apparently being a younger genus. In other words, Puijila is a transitional fossil that provides information about how the seals returned to the sea, similar to how Archaeopteryx illuminates the origin of birds.

Discovery

[edit]
Life restoration of Puijila darwini

This novel species was discovered in 2007 by Natalia Rybczynski and her team using surface collection and screening at an early Miocene lake deposit of the Haughton Formation of Devon Island, Nunavut, Canada.[4] The paleobotanical record suggests that the paleoenvironment around the lake comprised a forest community transitional between a boreal and a conifer–hardwood forest, in a cool temperate, coastal climate with moderate winters. Puijila darwini is the first mammalian carnivore found in the Haughton lake deposits. This is also an indication that the entire pinniped clade may have originated in the Arctic.[1]

The initial find is credited to field assistant Elizabeth Ross, and was partly a matter of luck. Ross had been unexpectedly stranded with the team's ATV which had run out of fuel several kilometers from base camp. The brain case was discovered a year later on the first day of the 2008 field expedition by Martin Lipman, the team's photographer.[5]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b Ed Yong (2009-04-22). "Puijila, the walking seal – a beautiful transitional fossil". Not Exactly Rocket Science. Discover Magazine. Archived from the original on 3 November 2012. Retrieved 2014-10-07.
  2. ^ "Puijila: A prehistoric walking seal". Puijila: A prehistoric walking seal. Canadian Museum of Nature. Archived from the original on 2015-06-21. Retrieved 2014-10-07.
  3. ^ "'Missing link' fossil seal walked" (Press release). BBC News. 2009-04-22. Archived from the original on 2 August 2014. Retrieved 2014-10-07.
  4. ^ Rybczynski, Natalia; Dawson, Mary R.; Tedford, Richard H. (2009). "A semi-aquatic Arctic mammalian carnivore from the Miocene epoch and origin of Pinnipedia". Nature. 458 (7241): 1021–1024. Bibcode:2009Natur.458.1021R. doi:10.1038/nature07985. ISSN 0028-0836. PMID 19396145. S2CID 4371413.
  5. ^ Yong, Ed (22 April 2009). "Puijila, the walking seal – a beautiful transitional fossil". National Geographic. Retrieved 10 January 2024.
[edit]
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