| Otekaikea Temporal range: Late Oligocene. | |
|---|---|
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| Partial holotype skull of O. marplesi shown form above | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Artiodactyla |
| Infraorder: | Cetacea |
| Parvorder: | Odontoceti |
| Family: | † Waipatiidae |
| Genus: | † Otekaikea Tanaka and Fordyce, 2014 |
| Species | |
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Otekaikea is an extinct genus of toothed whale closely related to Waipatia . It is known from the late Oligocene (Chattian) of New Zealand.
Otekaikea is a medium-sized odontocete similar to Waipatia in the following characters: maxilla and occipital partly separated by parietal; flat dorsal surface of periotic; long posterior process of the periotic; and poorly developed ventromedial keel of the bulla. Differences from other archaic odontocetes include: broad dished face; elevated nodular subrhomboidal nasals and elevated frontals; smooth-surfaced premaxillary sac fossae without prominent premaxillary sulci developed posteriorly; premaxillae strongly bifurcated posteriorly, associated with bilateral posterior accessory foramina and elevated crests on the maxillae; periotic with long slender parallel-sided posterior process, and sharp apex of anterior process. [1]
Otekaikea was originally described as a species of Prosqualodon , P. marplesi. [2] In 1994, it was referred to the genus Notocetus in the original description of Waipatia. [3] Preparation of the holotype, however, established its affinities with Waipatia, and Prosqualodon marplesi was given its own genus, Otekaikea, after the Otekaike Limestone in New Zealand where it was first discovered. [1]
A second species, Otekaikea huata, differs from the type species in having single-rooted posterior cheek teeth and a reduced ascending process of the premaxilla. [4]
Platanistidae is a family of river dolphins containing the extant Ganges river dolphin and Indus river dolphin but also extinct relatives from freshwater and marine deposits in the Neogene.
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.
Eomysticetidae is a family of extinct mysticetes belonging to Chaeomysticeti. It is one of two families in the basal chaeomysticete clade Eomysticetoidea.
Microcetus is a genus of extinct odontocete from the late Oligocene (Chattian) of Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany.
Tokarahia is a genus of eomysticetid baleen whale from the Late Oligocene (Chattian) of New Zealand. There are two recognized species, T. kauaeroa and T. lophocephalus.
Waharoa is a genus of eomysticetid baleen whale from the Late Oligocene (Chattian) of New Zealand. It was identified with the discovery of Waharoa ruwhenua by Boessenecker and Fordyce (2015), which added a new genus and species to a monophyletic family Eomysticetidae.
Horopeta 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.
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.
Inticetus is an extinct genus of Early Miocene odontocete from the Chilcatay Formation, Pisco Basin, Peru.
Toipahautea is a genus of baleen whale from the Late Oligocene (Chattian) Kokoamu Greensand of New Zealand.
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.
