Gondwanan Perspectives: Paleontological Studies in Antarctica and Its Biogeographic Connection with South America

Abstract

The Antarctic continent, today isolated from any other landmass due to the Antarctic Circumpolar Current, was part of the supercontinent Gondwana at the beginning of the Mesozoic (McLoughlin, 2001). During the Gondwanan breakup, starting in the Late Jurassic, South America, Africa, India, Australia, New Zealand, Madagascar, East and West Antarctica, and South America began to rift apart (e.g., Reguero & Goin, 2021). West Antarctica (including the Antarctic Peninsula) was connected to southern South America until the Drake Passage was completely formed. Goin et al. (2007) suggested that Antarctica and southern South America were part of a single biogeographical unit, the Andean Region of the Austral Kingdom. This relation among both regions appears to be corroborated by several studies of the biota (e.g., Woodburne & Zinsmeister, 1984; Chornogubsky et al., 2009; Reguero et al., 2013; Gelfo et al., 2019; Amenábar et al., 2022), much of them as part of research results of Argentine summer expeditions carried out by Argentina headed by the Instituto Antártico Argentino.