PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Molnar, R. E.
TI  - Terrestrial tetrapods in Cretaceous Antarctica
AID  - 10.1144/GSL.SP.1989.047.01.11
DP  - 1989 Jan 01
TA  - Geological Society, London, Special Publications
PG  - 131--140
VI  - 47
IP  - 1
4099  - http://sp.lyellcollection.org/content/47/1/131.short
4100  - http://sp.lyellcollection.org/content/47/1/131.full
SO  - Geological Society, London, Special Publications1989 Jan 01; 47
AB  - The fossil record of continental vertebrates from Antarctica is practically nonexistent, hence the composition of the supposed Mesozoic terrestrial vertebrate fauna must be inferred indirectly. This may be done using the reconstructed positions of the continents during the Mesozoic. These positions suggest the presence in Antarctica of primitive sauropods, large theropods, hypsilophodontian and iguanodontid ornithopods, ankylosaurs, pterosaurs, crocodilians, lungfish and possibly birds. In the absence of evidence to the contrary, monotremes are considered endemic Australian forms during the Cretaceous. The discovery of hypsilophodontian material in New Zealand corroborates the inference of Antarctic hypsilophodontians from their occurrence in Australia. The existence in the Australian Early Cretaceous of relict taxa and taxa that seem unusual compared to their overseas relatives suggests that the south polar tetrapod fauna was characterized by singular forms.