30-4 An Ancient Whale Fall Ecosystem Recorded in the Taphonomy of a Toothed Whale (Cetacea - Odontoceti) from the Choptank Formation (Middle Miocene), Maryland

Session: Laws of the Grave: Advances in Taphonomy Across the Paleontologic Record (Posters)

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            The Calvert and overlying Choptank Formations of Maryland record the evolution of a shallow marine environment through the changing climate of the Early-Middle Miocene. The diversification of whales during this time is also recorded in these formations. More than a dozen whale species, belonging to several different clades, have been described from the Calvert and Choptank. Unfortunately, most whale fossils recovered from these formations are extremely fragmentary, to the point that species-level identifications cannot be given. Nonetheless, the taphonomy of some incomplete specimens can provide key information about ecological interactions in the Miocene Atlantic.

            An isolated lumbar vertebra found in the Choptank is one such ecologically-informative specimen. Taphonomic artifacts, ranging from borings to associated shell material, indicate that the whale’s body endured significant exposure and decomposition before burial. During this time, a community of microbes and invertebrates fed on the carcass. Similar associations, known as whale fall ecosystems, occur in modern marine environments. The constituents of the new whale fall community are similar to those reported from Oligo-Miocene whale falls in the Pacific. However, the reported specimen is one of the earliest known instances of a whale fall ecosystem in the Atlantic.

Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs. Vol. 57, No. 6, 2025

doi: 10.1130/abs/2025AM-9154

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