A tiny fossil provides a clue as to how things were in Antarctica millions of years ago.
Abstract
We have discovered a fossil of a higher fly (Diptera: Cyclorrhapha) from Antarctica, a finding that goes against the long-held belief that the continent was never inhabited by these insects1. The fly must either have colonized Antarctica during a warm interval in the Neogene epoch, between 3 million and 17 million years ago, or it was an original member of the Gondwana fauna that survived in Antarctica for tens of millions of years before becoming extinct.
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Ashworth, A., Thompson, F. A fly in the biogeographic ointment. Nature 423, 135–136 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1038/423135a
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/423135a
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