Fossils from the Ellsworth Mountains, Antarctica

Abstract

THE Ellsworth Mountains are centred at 79° S., 85° W. in West Antarctica south of the eastern Pacific Ocean (sec Fig. 1). They extend about 220 miles in a north-north-west direction and are divided into a northern Sentinel Range and a southern Heritage Range. Widespread rock exposure and critical location make these mountains important in seeking an understanding of the structural evolution of West Antarctica. One of us (C. C.) visited the Ellsworth Mountains briefly in 1959 during an airborne traverse, and University of Minnesota expeditions worked there during the 1961–62 and 1962–63 summer seasons. Few fossils were found by the first expedition1, and none has proved identifiable even to genus. Significant palseontological discoveries were made, however, during the 1962–63 season when one of us (G. F. W.) led a party in the Heritage Range and the other a party in the Sentinel Range. Although the new material was only briefly examined and the field work is continuing, it seems desirable to make available a summary of the fossil discoveries so far.