Formation of the Isthmus of Panama

ODEA, A.; LESSIOS, H. A.; COATES, A. G.; EYTAN, R. I.; RESTREPO-MORENO, S. A.; CIONE, A. L.; COLLINS, L. S.; DE QUEIROZ, A.; FARRIS, D. W.; NORRIS, R. D.; STALLARD, R. F.; WOODBURNE, M. O.; AGUILERA, O.; AUBRY, M.-P.; BERGGREN, W. A.; BUDD, A. F.; COZZUOL, M. A.; COPPARD, S. E.; DUQUE-CARO, H.; FINNEGAN, S.; GASPARINI, G. M.; GROSSMAN, E. L.; JOHNSON, K. G.; KEIGWIN, L. D.; KNOWLTON, N.; LEIGH, E. G.; LEONARD-PINGEL, J. S.; MARKO, P. B.; PYENSON, N. D.; RACHELLO-DOLMEN, P. G.; SOIBELZON, E.; SOIBELZON, L.; TODD, J. A.; VERMEIJ, G. J.; JACKSON, J. B. C.

Science Advances

American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)

Año: 2016 vol. 2 p. 1 - 11

2375-2548

The formation of the Isthmus of Panama stands as one of the greatest natural events of the Cenozoic, driving profoundbiotic transformations on land and in the oceans. Some recent studies suggest that the Isthmus formed manymillionsof years earlier than the widely recognized age of approximately 3 million years ago (Ma), a result that if true wouldrevolutionize our understanding of environmental, ecological, and evolutionary change across the Americas. To bringclarity to the question of when the Isthmus of Panama formed, we provide an exhaustive review and reanalysis ofgeological, paleontological, and molecular records. These independent lines of evidence converge upon a cohesivenarrative of gradually emerging land and constricting seaways,withformationof theIsthmus of Panama sensustrictoaround 2.8 Ma. The evidence used to support an older isthmus is inconclusive, and we caution against the uncriticalacceptance of an isthmus before the Pliocene