Abstracts
Abstract
A nearly complete, articulated skeleton of an old white whale (Delphinapterus leucas) from Champlain Sea deposits at Saint-Félix-de-Valois is the best preserved specimen of its kind recorded from North America. It is one of 21 white whale specimens known from Champlain Sea deposits. Collagen from a vertebra yielded an accelerator mass spectrometry radiocarbon date of 10 700 ± 90 BP, which, with stratigraphic and paleoenvironmental data, is in accord with our knowledge of the past distribution of this species, its known habitat and habits. This study quantitatively traces regional sea-surface temperature, salinity and ice-cover. Dinocysts indicate a change from cold to cool conditions in surface water during that period corresponding to the withdrawal of ice and the beginning of the Holocene.
Résumé
Un squelette presque complet et articulé d’une vieille baleine blanche (Delphinapterus leucas) provenant des dépôts de la mer de Champlain à Saint-Félix-de-Valois représente le spécimen le mieux conservé du genre en Amérique du Nord. Il s’agit de l’un des 21 spécimens de baleine blanche découvert à ce jour dans les dépôts de la Mer de Champlain. Du collagène extrait d’une vertèbre a donné une date radiocarbone par spectrométrie de masse par accélérateur de 10 700 ± 90 BP, laquelle, avec les données stratigraphiques et paléoenvironnementales, est en accord avec nos connaissances actuelles sur la dispersion ancienne de l’espèce, son habitat et son mode de vie. Cette étude livre une esquisse quantitative régionale de la température des eaux de surface, de la salinité et du couvert de glace. Les dinokystes indiquent un changement des conditions de froides à fraîches des eaux de surface durant la période correspondant au retrait glaciaire et au début de l’Holocène.
Appendices
References
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