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| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Dataset Open Access |
| Language: | en |
| Published: |
PANGAEA
2009
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.777716 |
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Table of Contents:
- We propose a phenomenon termed “pre-extinction dwarfing” in Cenozoic planktonic foraminifera. High-resolution morphometric analysis shows a reduction in maximum or mean test size in the 2-20 kyr interval preceding the extinction of Pliocene Globorotalia exilis and Globorotalia miocenica from the Caribbean Sea and middle Eocene Morozovelloides crassatus from the western North Atlantic. Through a series of case studies and review of qualitative observations from the literature, we suggest that dwarfing occurs in a number of species of planktonic foraminifera foreshadowing their demise and that such size changes are not just a phenomenon associated with mass extinction events. We propose that this is a common stress-induced pattern that results in diminutive size in the pre-extinction interval.