Aglaocetus

Last updated

Aglaocetus
Temporal range: Early-Late Miocene
~20.4–7.2  Ma
Aglaocetus FMNH.jpg
A. moreni skull
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Artiodactyla
Infraorder: Cetacea
Superfamily: Balaenopteroidea
Family: Aglaocetidae
Steeman 2007
Genus: Aglaocetus
Kellogg 1934
Species
Synonyms

Aglaocetus is a genus of extinct mysticete known from the Miocene of Patagonia, the US Eastern Seaboard, Japan and the Low Countries. It was once considered a member of Cetotheriidae along with many other putative cetotheres, but was recently recognized as representing a distinct family from true Cetotheriidae.

Contents

Species

Front view of A. moreni skull Aglaocetus moreni skull.jpg
Front view of A. moreni skull

There are four currently recognized valid species: Aglaocetus moreni, A. latifrons, A. burtini, and A. rotundus. [1] [2] [3]

The type species, Aglaocetus moreni, was originally described as a species of Cetotherium , but later recognized as generically distinct from the latter. [4] "Aglaocetus" patulus, described from the Calvert Formation by Remington Kellogg in 1968, [5] was recovered by Bisconti et al. (2013) in a different phylogenetic position than the Aglaocetus type species. [6] In 2020, A. patulus was renamed Atlanticetus . [7]

Distribution

Fossils of Aglaocetus have been found in: [8]

Miocene

Related Research Articles

Eschrichtiidae Family of mammals

Eschrichtiidae or the gray whales is a family of baleen whale with a single extant species, the gray whale, as well as three described fossil genera: Archaeschrichtius and Eschrichtioides from the Miocene and Pliocene of Italy respectively, and Gricetoides from the Pliocene of North Carolina. More recent phylogenetic studies have found this family to be invalid, with its members nesting inside the Balaenopteridae. The names of the extant genus and the family honours Danish zoologist Daniel Eschricht.

Neobalaenidae Family of mammals

Neobalaenidae is a family of baleen whales including the extant pygmy right whale. Although traditionally considered related to balaenids, a recent phylogenetic study by Fordyce and Marx (2013) recovered the living pygmy right whale as a member of Cetotheriidae, making it the only extant cetotheriid, but not all authors agree with this argument.

<i>Cetotherium</i> Extinct genus of mammals

Cetotherium is an extinct genus of baleen whales from the family Cetotheriidae.

<i>Ontocetus</i> Extinct genus of carnivores

Ontocetus is an extinct genus of walrus, an aquatic carnivoran of the family Odobenidae, endemic to coastal regions of the southern North Sea and the southeastern coastal regions of the U.S. during the Miocene-Pleistocene. It lived from 13.6 mya—300,000 years ago, existing for approximately 13.3 million years.

Cetotheriidae Family of mammals

Cetotheriidae is a family of baleen whales. The family is known to have existed from the Late Oligocene to the Early Pleistocene before going extinct. Although some phylogenetic studies conducted by Fordyce & Marx 2013 recovered the living pygmy right whale as a member of Cetotheriidae, making the pygmy right whale the only living cetotheriid, other authors either dispute this placement or recover Neobalaenidae as a sister group to Cetotheriidae.

<i>Parietobalaena</i> Extinct genus of mammals

Parietobalaena is an extinct genus of baleen whale, belonging to the family Pelocetidae. Fossils are found in Miocene-aged marine strata in North America, Europe, Australia and Japan.

Mesocetus is an extinct genus of baleen whale from the Miocene of Europe.

<i>Diaphorocetus</i> Extinct genus of mammals

Diaphorocetus is an extinct genus of odontocete cetacean belonging to Physeteroidea. Its remains were found in the Monte León Formation of Argentina, dating to the Early Miocene.

<i>Balaenula</i> Extinct genus of cetaceans

Balaenula is an extinct genus of cetacean.

<i>Heterocetus</i> Extinct genus of mammals

Heterocetus is a dubious genus of extinct cetacean.

<i>Balaenotus</i> Extinct genus of cetaceans

Balaenotus is an extinct genus of cetaceans from the Pliocene of Belgium.

<i>Herpetocetus</i> Extinct genus of mammals

Herpetocetus is a genus of cetotheriid mysticete in the subfamily Herpetocetinae.

<i>Protororqualus</i> Extinct genus of mammals

Protororqualus is a genus of extinct rorqual from the late Pliocene of Mount Pulgnasco, Italy.

Plesiocetus is a genus of extinct balaenopterids found worldwide. It has had a chequered taxonomic history, having served as a wastebasket genus for a handful of mysticete species.

<i>Cetotheriopsis</i> Extinct genus of cetaceans

Cetotheriopsis is a genus of extinct cetaceans of the family Cetotheriopsidae.

Nannocetus is an extinct baleen whale belonging to the family Cetotheriidae.

Isocetus is an extinct genus of baleen whale belonging to the clade Thalassotherii. Remains have been found in middle Miocene marine deposits in Belgium.

Eudelphis is an extinct genus of sperm whale belonging to Physeteroidea that lived in the ancient North Sea basin about 16-11 million years ago, during the middle Miocene (Langhian).

<i>Atlanticetus</i> Extinct genus of whales

Atlanticetus is a genus of extinct mysticete known from the Early Miocene of Italy and the US Eastern Seaboard. As of February 2021, the genus was not accepted by the Paleobiology Database.

References

  1. R. Lydekker. 1894. Cetacean skulls from Patagonia. Anales del Museo de la Plata II:1-13
  2. P. J. Van Beneden. 1859. Rapport de M. Van Beneden. Bulletins de L'Academie Royale des Sciences, des Lettres et des Beaux-Arts de Belgique 8:123-146
  3. P. J. Van Beneden. 1880. Les mysticetes a courts fanons des sables des environs d'anvers. Bulletins de L'Academie Royale des Sciences, des Lettres et des Beaux-Arts de Belgique 1880:11-27
  4. R. Kellogg. 1934. The Patagonian Fossil Whalebone Whale, Cetotherium moreni (Lydekker). Carnegie Institution of Washington 447:64-81
  5. R. Kellogg. 1968. A sharp-nosed cetothere from the Miocene Calvert. Proceedings of the United States National Museum 247(7):163-173
  6. M. Bisconti, O. Lambert, and M. Bosselaers. 2013. Taxonomic revision of Isocetus depauwi (Mammalia, Cetacea, Mysticeti) and the phylogenetic relationships of archaic 'cetothere' mysticetes. Palaeontology 56(1):95-127
  7. Bisconti, M., Damarco, P., Mao, S., Pavia, M. and Carnevale, G. (2020). The earliest baleen whale from the Mediterranean: large‐scale implications of an early Miocene thalassotherian mysticete from Piedmont, Italy. Papers in Palaeontology doi:10.1002/spp2.1336
  8. Aglaocetus at Fossilworks.org