| Microcetus Temporal range: | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Artiodactyla |
| Infraorder: | Cetacea |
| Family: | † Waipatiidae (?) |
| Genus: | † Microcetus Kellogg, 1923 |
| Species | |
| |
Microcetus is a genus of extinct odontocete from the late Oligocene (Chattian) of Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany.
The type species of Microcetus, M. ambiguus, was originally described as a new species of Phoca on the basis of teeth from late Oligocene deposits in northwestern Germany. [1] The odontocete nature of the teeth was eventually recognized, and it was eventually assigned to Squalodon , [2] [3] before being made the type species of a new genus, Microcetus. [4]
Squalodon is an extinct genus of whales of the Oligocene and Miocene epochs, belonging to the family Squalodontidae. Named by Jean-Pierre Sylvestre de Grateloup in 1840, it was originally believed to be an iguanodontid dinosaur but has since been reclassified. The name Squalodon comes from Squalus, a genus of shark. As a result, its name means "shark tooth". Its closest modern relative is the South Asian river dolphin.
Prosqualodon is an extinct genus of Early to Middle Miocene cetacean from Argentina, Australia, New Zealand and Venezuela.
Waipatia is an extinct genus of odontocetes from the late Oligocene (Chattian) of New Zealand.
Waipatiidae is an extinct family of odontocetes currently known from the Oligocene of the Pacific Ocean and possibly Europe and the Caucasus.
The Kokoamu Greensand is a geological formation found in New Zealand. It is a fossil-bearing, late Oligocene, greensand rock unit of the eastern South Island, especially the Waitaki District of North Otago and the southern Canterbury region. The formation was named by geologist Maxwell Gage in the 1950s. In North Otago it underlies the thicker and harder Otekaike Limestone. The formation gets its green colour from the mineral glauconite which forms slowly on the ocean floor.
Squalodontidae or the shark-toothed dolphins is an extinct family of large toothed whales who had long narrow jaws. Squalodontids are known from all continents except Antarctica, from the Oligocene to the Neogene, but they had a maximal diversity and global distribution during the Late Oligocene and Early to Middle Miocene.
Otekaikea is an extinct genus of toothed whale closely related to Waipatia. It is known from the late Oligocene (Chattian) of New Zealand.
Mauicetus is a genus of extinct baleen whale from the Late Oligocene of New Zealand.
Zarhinocetus is an extinct genus of whale from the Early to Middle Miocene of the eastern North Pacific.
Horopeta is a genus of baleen whale from the Late Oligocene (Chattian) Kokoamu Greensand of New Zealand.
Whakakai is a genus of baleen whale from the Late Oligocene (Chattian) Kokoamu Greensand of New Zealand.
Notocetus is an extinct genus of river dolphin belonging to Squalodelphinidae. Known specimens have been found in Early Miocene marine deposits from Argentina, Italy and Peru.
Agorophius is an extinct genus of toothed whale that lived during the Oligocene period, approximately 32 million years ago, in the waters off what is now South Carolina.
Xenorophus is a genus of primitive odontocete from late Oligocene (Chattian) marine deposits in South Carolina. It belongs to the Xenorophidae.
Arktocara is an extinct genus of river dolphin from the Oligocene epoch of Alaska, containing one species, A. yakataga. Having been discovered in 25-million-year-old strata near the 60th parallel north, it is perhaps the oldest-known crown toothed whale and the northmost river dolphin discovered. It was a member of the now-extinct family Allodelphinidae, along with the genera Allodelphis, Goedertius, Ninjadelphis, and Zarhinocetus. It measured approximately 2.26 or 2.28 meters, comparable to its closest living relative, the South Asian river dolphin, which measures 2.4 meters (7.9 ft). However, the animal probably had an elongated beak and neck, so it may have been longer. The animal is known only from a partially preserved skull. Its ecology may have been similar to the modern-day Dall's porpoise, and it may have competed with contemporaneous delphinoids. Its remains were found in the Poul Creek Formation, which has also yielded several mollusk species.
Phoberodon is a genus of archaic odontocete cetacean from the Early Miocene (Burdigalian) of Patagonia, Argentina.
Tangaroasaurus is an extinct genus of squalodontid whale from the Miocene of New Zealand. It contains a single species, Tangaroasaurus kakanuiensis. Similar to Basilosaurus and its close relative Squalodon, it was originally thought to be a species of marine reptile. Parts of the Holotype are presumably lost. Its name comes from Tangaroa, the Maori god of the sea, while the suffix -saurus comes from the Latin word for reptile, the group that Tangaroasaurus was originally placed in.
Nihohae is an extinct genus of waipatiid dolphin that was native to the waters surrounding New Zealand during the Oligocene. It possessed long, tusk-like teeth unlike those of any extant cetacean, which were likely used like the “saw” of a sawfish to stun and injure prey. The genus contains a single species, N. matakoi, known from a partial skull and skeleton.
Nihoroa is an extinct genus of waipatiid odontocete cetacean from the glauconitic Otekaike Limestone in North Otago; New Zealand. The type species is N. reimaea, known from only the holotype which comprises various skull elements.