Mount Kirkpatrick
Encyclopedia
Mount Kirkpatrick is a lofty, generally ice-free mountain in Antarctica's Queen Alexandra Range
. Located 8 km (5 mi) west of Mount Dickerson
, Mt. Kirkpatrick is the highest point in the Queen Alexandra Range
, as well as in its parent range, the Transantarctic Mountains
. Discovered and named by the British Antarctic Expedition (1907–09), the mountain was named for a Glasgow
businessman, who was one of the original supporters of the expedition. Mount Kilpatrick is an alternate name for this mountain.
. Because Antarctica used to be warmer and supported dense conifer and cycad
forest and because all the continents were fused into a giant supercontinent called Pangaea
, many ancient Antarctic wildlife share relatives elsewhere in the world. Among these creatures are tritylodonts, hebivorous mammal-like reptiles that are prevalent elsewhere at the time. A crow
-sized pterosaur
has been identified. In addition to these finds, numerous dinosaur
remains have been uncovered. Fossils of dinosaurs resembling Plateosaurus
, Coelophysis
, and Dilophosaurus
were excavated. Mount Kirkpatrick holds the first dinosaur scientifically named on the continent: the large predatory Cryolophosaurus
. In 2004, scientists have even found partial remains of a large sauropod plant-eating dinosaur.
Glacialisaurus
hammeri, an herbivorous dinosaur thought to be around 25 feet (7.6 m) long and weighing perhaps 4-6 tons, was also identified from fossils on Mt. Kirkpatrick in 2007, the only known site of Glacialisaurus hammeri.
Queen Alexandra Range
The Queen Alexandra Range is a major mountain range in East Antarctica, about 160 km long, bordering the entire western side of Beardmore Glacier from the Polar Plateau to the Ross Ice Shelf. Alternate names for this range include Alexandra Mountains, Alexandra Range and Königin Alexandra...
. Located 8 km (5 mi) west of Mount Dickerson
Mount Dickerson
Mount Dickerson is a prominent mountain, standing 6 km east of Mount Kirkpatrick in the Queen Alexandra Range in East Antarctica. The mountain was named by US-ACAN for LCDR Richard G. Dickerson, US Navy, VX-6 aircraft commander during US naval operations in 1964....
, Mt. Kirkpatrick is the highest point in the Queen Alexandra Range
Queen Alexandra Range
The Queen Alexandra Range is a major mountain range in East Antarctica, about 160 km long, bordering the entire western side of Beardmore Glacier from the Polar Plateau to the Ross Ice Shelf. Alternate names for this range include Alexandra Mountains, Alexandra Range and Königin Alexandra...
, as well as in its parent range, the Transantarctic Mountains
Transantarctic Mountains
The three largest mountain ranges on the Antarctic continent are the Transantarctic Mountains , the West Antarctica Ranges, and the East Antarctica Ranges. The Transantarctic Mountains compose a mountain range in Antarctica which extend, with some interruptions, across the continent from Cape Adare...
. Discovered and named by the British Antarctic Expedition (1907–09), the mountain was named for a Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
businessman, who was one of the original supporters of the expedition. Mount Kilpatrick is an alternate name for this mountain.
Mount Kirkpatrick as a fossil site
Mount Kirkpatrick holds one of the most important fossil sites in Antarctica, the Mount Kirkpatrick FormationMount Kirkpatrick Formation
The Mount Kirkpatrick Formation is one of only two major dinosaur-bearing rock formations yet found on the continent of Antarctica; the other is the Santa Marta Formation from the Late Cretaceous...
. Because Antarctica used to be warmer and supported dense conifer and cycad
Cycad
Cycads are seed plants typically characterized by a stout and woody trunk with a crown of large, hard and stiff, evergreen leaves. They usually have pinnate leaves. The individual plants are either all male or all female . Cycads vary in size from having a trunk that is only a few centimeters...
forest and because all the continents were fused into a giant supercontinent called Pangaea
Pangaea
Pangaea, Pangæa, or Pangea is hypothesized as a supercontinent that existed during the Paleozoic and Mesozoic eras about 250 million years ago, before the component continents were separated into their current configuration....
, many ancient Antarctic wildlife share relatives elsewhere in the world. Among these creatures are tritylodonts, hebivorous mammal-like reptiles that are prevalent elsewhere at the time. A crow
Crow
Crows form the genus Corvus in the family Corvidae. Ranging in size from the relatively small pigeon-size jackdaws to the Common Raven of the Holarctic region and Thick-billed Raven of the highlands of Ethiopia, the 40 or so members of this genus occur on all temperate continents and several...
-sized pterosaur
Pterosaur
Pterosaurs were flying reptiles of the clade or order Pterosauria. They existed from the late Triassic to the end of the Cretaceous Period . Pterosaurs are the earliest vertebrates known to have evolved powered flight...
has been identified. In addition to these finds, numerous dinosaur
Dinosaur
Dinosaurs are a diverse group of animals of the clade and superorder Dinosauria. They were the dominant terrestrial vertebrates for over 160 million years, from the late Triassic period until the end of the Cretaceous , when the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event led to the extinction of...
remains have been uncovered. Fossils of dinosaurs resembling Plateosaurus
Plateosaurus
Plateosaurus is a genus of plateosaurid dinosaur that lived during the Late Triassic period, around 216 to 199 million years ago, in what is now Central and Northern Europe. Plateosaurus is a basal sauropodomorph dinosaur, a so-called "prosauropod"...
, Coelophysis
Coelophysis
Coelophysis , meaning "hollow form" in reference to its hollow bones , is one of the earliest known genera of dinosaur...
, and Dilophosaurus
Dilophosaurus
Dilophosaurus was a theropod dinosaur from the Sinemurian stage of the Early Jurassic Period, about 193 million years ago. The first specimens were described in 1954, but it was not until over a decade later that the genus received its current name...
were excavated. Mount Kirkpatrick holds the first dinosaur scientifically named on the continent: the large predatory Cryolophosaurus
Cryolophosaurus
Cryolophosaurus was a large theropod dinosaur, with a crest on its head that looked like a Spanish comb. Due to the resemblance of this feature to Elvis Presley's pompadour haircut from the 1950s, this dinosaur was at one point informally known as "Elvisaurus".Cryolophosaurus was excavated from...
. In 2004, scientists have even found partial remains of a large sauropod plant-eating dinosaur.
Glacialisaurus
Glacialisaurus
Glacialisaurus is a genus of massospondylid sauropodomorph dinosaur. It lived during the Early Jurassic period in what is now central Transantarctic Mountains of Antarctica. It is known from the holotype FMNH PR1823, a partial hind limb and from the referred material FMNH PR1822, a left...
hammeri, an herbivorous dinosaur thought to be around 25 feet (7.6 m) long and weighing perhaps 4-6 tons, was also identified from fossils on Mt. Kirkpatrick in 2007, the only known site of Glacialisaurus hammeri.
See also
- List of fossil sites (with link directory)
- Paper (Smith, N.D. and Pol, D. 2007) on Glacialisaurus hammeri