A new discovery suggest that Antartica army have served as a refuge during the widespread end Permian extinction.
Scientist have discovered an ancestor of mammals
Kombuisia antarctica , which was a member of the extinct group called anomodonts. It proves a prediction, based on fossils found in South Africa later in the Triassic Period, that animals like
Kombuisia antarctica should have existed at this time.
Interestingly this 'new' discovery was made amongst sample collected over
30 years ago that were part of a collection at the American Museum of Natural History.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/12/091202205621.htm
Scientists are still debating what caused the end-Permian extinction, but it was likely associated with massive volcanic activity in Siberia that could have triggered global warming. When it served as refuge, Antarctica was located some distance north of its present location, was warmer and wasn't covered with permanent glaciers, said the researchers. The refuge of Kombuisia in Antarctica probably wasn't the result of a seasonal migration but rather a longer-term change that saw the animal's habitat shift southward.
Fossil evidence suggests that small and medium sized animals were more successful at surviving the mass extinction than larger animals. They may have engaged in "sleep-or-hide" behaviors like hibernation, torpor and burrowing to survive in a difficult environment.
Position of Antartica at this time
