| Crenatosiren Temporal range: Late Oligocene | |
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Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Sirenia |
| Family: | Dugongidae |
| Genus: | † Crenatosiren Domning, 1991 |
| Species: | †C. olseni |
| Binomial name | |
| †Crenatosiren olseni (Olsen, 1976) | |
Crenatosiren is an extinct genus of dugongid sirenian known from the late Oligocene (Chattian) of Florida, North Carolina, and South Carolina. The type and only known species is Crenatosiren olseni. [1]
Crenatosiren was originally named "Halitherium" olseni by Rinehart (1976), who described the species from marine deposits of the late Oligocene (Arikareean NALMA) Parachucla Formation in the Suwannee River in Hamilton County, Florida. Domning (1991) eventually recognized the taxon as more derived than the Halitherium type species and assigned it to the new genus Crenatosiren, classifying it as a relative of the dugongid Rytiodus . [2] [3] The genus name is derived from the Latin words crenatus (meaning 'notched') and siren . [3] More specimens of C. olseni were later found in the Ashley and Chandler Bridge formations of South Carolina. [1]
C. olseni primarily ate seagrasses. Dioplotherium manigaulti and Metaxytherium sp. coexisted with C. olseni in its habitat and also fed on seagrasses, suggesting that some sort of niche partitioning existed between the three taxa. [4]
Dugongidae is a family in the order of Sirenia. The family has one surviving species, the dugong, one recently extinct species, Steller's sea cow, and a number of extinct genera known from fossil records.
The Desmostylia are an extinct order of aquatic mammals native to the North Pacific from the early Oligocene (Rupelian) to the late Miocene (Tortonian). Desmostylians are the only known extinct order of marine mammals.
Paleoparadoxia is a genus of large, herbivorous aquatic mammals that inhabited the northern Pacific coastal region during the Miocene epoch. It ranged from the waters of Japan, to Alaska in the north, and down to Baja California, Mexico.
Thylacoleonidae is a family of extinct carnivorous diprotodontian marsupials from Australia, referred to as marsupial lions. The best known is Thylacoleo carnifex, also called the marsupial lion. The clade ranged from the Late Oligocene to the Late Pleistocene, with some earlier species the size of a possum, while the youngest members of the family belonging to the genus Thylacoleo reached sizes comparable to living big cats.
Halitherium is an extinct dugongid sea cow that arose in the late Eocene, then became extinct during the early Oligocene. Its fossils are common in European shales. Inside its flippers were finger bones that did not stick out. Halitherium also had the remnants of back legs, which did not show externally. However, it did have a basic femur, joined to a reduced pelvis. Halitherium also had elongated ribs, presumably to increase lung capacity to provide fine control of buoyancy. A 2014 review presented the opinion that the genus is dubious.
Cormohipparion is an extinct genus of horse belonging to the tribe Hipparionini that lived in North America during the late Miocene to Pliocene. They grew up to 3 feet long.
Eotheroides is an extinct genus of Eocene sirenian. It is an early member of the family Dugongidae, which includes the extant dugong. Fossils have been found from Egypt, India, and Madagascar. Eotheroides was first described by Richard Owen in 1875 under the name Eotherium, which was replaced by the current name in 1899.
Metaxytherium is an extinct genus of dugong that lived from the Oligocene until the end of the Pliocene. Fossil remains have been found in Africa, Europe, North America and South America. Generally marine seagrass specialists, they inhabited the warm and shallow waters of the Paratethys, Mediterranean, Caribbean Sea and Pacific coastline. American species of Metaxytherium are considered to be ancestral to the North Pacific family Hydrodamalinae, which includes the giant Steller's sea cow.
Nanosiren garciae is an extinct sirenian dugong that lived in warm shallow seas in what is now Venezuela, approximately 11.610—3.6 Ma during the Miocene and Pliocene. The species is listed in the Paleobiology Database, funded by the Australian Research Council.
The Ashley Formation is a geologic formation in South Carolina. It preserves fossils dating back to the Paleogene period.
The Chandler Bridge Formation is a geologic formation in South Carolina. It preserves fossils dating back to the Chattian of the Paleogene period, corresponding to the Arikareean in the NALMA classification. The formation overlies the Ashley Formation and is overlain by the Edisto Formation.
The Parachucla Formation is a geologic formation in the southeastern United States. It preserves fossils from the Aquitanian stage of the early Miocene period. The formation is included in the Hawthorn Group. An exposure at the northern end of the formation has produced fossils estimated to be 19.4 to 20.5 Million years ago (Ma). Another exposure at the southern end of the formation has produced fossils estimated to be 23.9 to 24.7 Ma.
The Lares Limestone is a geologic formation in Puerto Rico. It preserves fossils dating back to the Late Oligocene to Early Miocene period.
Lentiarenium was an early sea cow from the Late Oligocene (Chattian) Linz-Melk Formation of Austria. Known since the mid 19th century, Lentiarenium was long considered to be a species of Halitherium until a 2016 analysis showed it to be distinct.
Italosiren is an extinct genus of early dugong from the Early Miocene (Aquitanian) Libano Formation in Northern Italy.
Priscosiren is an extinct genus of mammal which existed in the west Atlantic and Puerto Rico during the early Oligocene (Chattian).
Dioplotherium is an extinct genus of mammal known from Neogene deposits in the Southeastern United States.
Bairdemys is an extinct genus of side-necked turtles in the family Podocnemididae. The genus existed from the Late Oligocene to Late Miocene and its fossils have been found in South Carolina, Puerto Rico, Panama and Venezuela. The genus was described in 2002 by Gaffney & Wood and the type species is B. hartsteini.
Stegosiren was an early sea cow from the Middle Oligocene of South Carolina, US. It shows a stage of halitheriine evolution more derived than that of the Old World early Oligocene Eosiren imenti and Halitherium schinzii.
Sunil Bajpai is the Chair Professor of Vertebrate Paleontology in the Department of Earth Sciences, Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee. He is in service as a professor at IIT Roorkee since 1st January 1996 till 30 September 2026. He also served as the director of the Birbal Sahni Institute of Palaeosciences from January 2013 to July 2018.
Sirenian genera | ||
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