@flmnh.ufl.edu

Panama isthmus rise at 4.2-3.5 Ma

Orange=warm shallow waters

Blue=cold deep waters

Thermohaline Circulation

Broecker et al 1987; Lozier 2010

Artic glaciation, Gulf Stream

NHG at 2.7 Ma

BIRTH OF CARIBBEAN SEA

Caribbean

non-seasonal

nutrient-poor

high-carbonates (corals)

Pacific

Seasonality

rich in nutrients

low carbonates (few corals)

GABI

CA SA

Pacific Caribbean

3.5Ma

Classic “Panamanian Isthmus Rise” Literature

(more than 1800 citations over past 30 years)

Title Author/Publication Date

Total citations (Web of Knowledge)

Total citations (Google Scholar)

The geology of the Darien, Panama, and the late Miocene-Pliocene collision of the Panama Arc with northwestern South

America Coates et al., 2004 84 100

Early Neogene history of the Central American arc from Bocas del Toro, western Panama Coates et al., 2003 43 41

Effect of the formation of the Isthmus of Panama on Atlantic Ocean thermohaline circulation Haugh, 1998 356 408

The geologic evolution of the Central American isthmus Coates & Obando, 1996 - 460

Closure of the Isthmus of Panamá: The near-shore marine record of Costa Rica and western Panama Coates et al., 1992 - 306

The Choco Block in the Northwestern corner of South America: structural, tectonostratigraphic and paleogeographic implications Duque, 1990 - 78

Neogene stratigraphy, paleoceanography and paleobiogeography in northwest South America and evolution of

the Pama Seaway Duque, 1990 181 217

The great American biotic interchange Stehli & Webb, 1985 - 258

Splendid Isolation: The Curious History of South American Mammals Simpson, 1983 - 366

Pliocene closing of the Isthmus of Panama, based on biostratigraphic evidence from nearby Pacific Ocean and

Caribbean Sea cores Lloyd, 1978 - 222

“no vicariant date [3.5 Ma] is better dated than the Isthmus (Lessios et al 2008)”

@Ziegler

photos by C. Ziegler

Thermochronology

Farris et al 2011 Montes et al 2012

42-46 23-25

10-12 Panama block initial collision

with South America, initial uplift eastern Andes northern

South America

Farris, et al in review

The very shallow crystallization depth of Late basalt indicates no exhumation since the Miocene, or at the very least burial=exhumation

.

~16 Ma CANAL BASIN

(central Panama)

Montes et al 2015

By 13 Ma

sediments from

Panama arc

reached fluvial

Systems of

Western Colombia

Montes et al 2015

Lowland pollen flora

Cucaracha & Culebra Fm

Early Miocene (~18 Ma)

Panama Canal

Lowland flora

Barro Colorado Island 50ha plot

Extant

Panama Canal

Jaramillo et al 2014

Az

Az

BCI

Miocene

@Ziegler

Guazuma and Pentaclaris wood (Malvaceae)

Early Miocene (~18.5 Ma)

Rodriguez et al, 2014

A 20 million year old rainforests based on permineralized

fruits and seeds from the Cucaracha Formation

Lauraceae Juglandaceae Parinari

Sacoglottis Spondias Vitaceae Annonaceae

Herrera et al, in press

Boa constrictor (SA->CA), Cucaracha, Early Miocene

Head et al 2012

FRESH-WATER TURTLES, EARLY MIOCENE, CUCARACHA/CULEBRA

TESTUDINES

CRYPTODIRA

Geoemydidae

Rhinoclemmys panamaensis new speies

Early-middle Miocene

Cucaracha Formation, Panama

Estimated carapace length: 41 cm.

Cadena et. al. 2012

TESTUDINES

CRYPTODIRA

Kinosternidae

Staurotypus moschus new species

Early-middle Miocene

Cucaracha Formation

Estimated carapace length: 27cm

TESTUDINES

CRYPTODIRA

Trionychidae Incertae sedis

Early-middle Miocene

Cucaracha Formation

Cadena et. al. 2012

NA->CA

NA->CA

NA->CA

TESTUDINES

PLEURODIRA

Podocnemididae Incertae sedis

Early Miocene

Culebra Formation, Panama

Estimated large size of the shell:

100 cm.

SA->CA

Culebrasuchus mesoamericanus

cf. Purussaurus sp

SA->CA

Sister taxa to all Caimaninae

SA->CA

Hasting et. al. 2012

Crocodiles

EARLY MIOCENE

Modified from Rincon et al. (2013)

Mammal paleofaunas of Cascadas Fm (21 Ma)

Modified from Rincon et al. (2013)

Mammal paleofaunas of Cucarachas Fm (18.9 Ma)

The colonization of Central America by South American

Pristimantis involved at least 11 independent events.

At least 8 of these invasions into CA

took place prior to 4 Ma, mainly in the Miocene (6-14Ma)

Pinto et al, 2012

rain frogs, largely restricted to moist, forested habitats

part of of SA clade Terrarana

There is a strong increase in migration starting ~10/12 Ma

Bacon et al, 2015

Bacon et al, 2015

Bacon et al, 2015

Coates et al 2004

Montes et al 2012

Very similar models

but our model 1)quantify

the width of seaway (~200km)

and 2)terrestrial fossils indicate

a continuous land connection

of canal basin with NA

CAS

~21 Ma

Coates et al 2004

Montes et al 2012 ~10 Ma

Both models show a collision

of SA & Panama microplate

by 10 Ma CAS

connection is closed

No

CAS

No

CAS

Vargas and

Mann 2013

The collision

of Panama

Indenter produces

a tear across the

Andes, The Caldas

Tear, that starts

~10 Ma

*After McDougall’s (1996) taxonomical identification

-1.0 -0.5 0.0 0.5 1.0

-1.0

-0.5

0.0

0.5

1.0

ord$points[,1]

ord

$poin

ts[,

2]

Dimension 1

Dim

en

sio

n 2

Pleistocene

Pliocene

MessinianSite 503 (Pacific)

Site 502 (Caribbean)

Site 503

Site 502

Deep benthic foraminifera

Data after McDougall (1996)

MDS

By late Miocene, already separated

Gazel et al 2015

Gazel et al 2015

CAS paleoceanographic models

author CAS depth (m) CAS width (Km)

Mikolajewicz and Browley 1997 2100 90

Steph et al 2006 800 200

Scheider and Schmittner 2006 130;700;2000 450

Murdock et al 1997 3600 700

Nisancioglu et al 2003 1000;2700 840

Butzin et al 2011 250;500;1000;3000 900

Prange and Schulz, 2004 700 1000

Klocker et al 2005 700 1000

Steph et al 2010 700 1000

Lunt et al 2008 370 1400

Maier-Reimer et al 1990 2711 1700

Mikolajewicz et al 1993 2711 1700

Heydt & Dijkstra 2005 5000 2500

Heydt & Dijkstra 2006 5000 2500

Nof and van Gorder 2003 2500

Surface waters

A->P

Intermediate waters

P->A

Deep waters

P->A

-Net Flow P->A

-reduces salinity of A

-slows down

AMOC (Atlantic

Meridional Overturning

Circulation)

CAS

-400km wide

-Along a

parallel

Sepulchre et al 2014

NET FLOW P->A

7.8Sv ---------- Sill 1500m deep

5.4Sv----------- Sill 500m

0.4Sv----------- Sill 200m

-3.8Sv---------- Sill 50M

Major drop in P-A flow exchange once

a 200m deep CAS is reached

AMOC

NO

AMOC

Comparing Nd, empirical vs model

Sepulchre et al 2014

Poore

et al

2005

Onset significant NCW

Haug et al 2001

Nevertheles,

P-C water

exchange

still

continued

until

4.2 Ma

Neogene Eustatic Sea level

Hardenbol et al 1998

>50m

Northern hemisphere glaciation (NHG)

CAS closure, End of permanent El Nino, CO2

threshold, cooling of Antarctica, unknown mechanism

Empirical example

of a massive biological

invasion

NA SA

GABI revisited

Mammals

2.7

TRF

Dry Forest

Savanna

Desert

MAP

28C MAT

1500mm

NOAA’s Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES-11)

ITCZ

ITZC

And

Ice Caps

Sepulchre in progress

ITZC &

Isthmus open Andes

low

402 ppm, Jun 1/2014