Rhaphicetus

Rhaphicetus; Temporal range: Early Miocene 19–18 Ma PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N ↓
	Reconstruction of the skull
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Artiodactyla
Suborder:	Whippomorpha
Infraorder:	Cetacea
Superfamily:	Physeteroidea
Family:	incertae sedis
Genus:	† Rhaphicetus ; Lambert et al., 2020
Species:	†R. valenciae
Binomial name
	†Rhaphicetus valenciae; Lambert et al., 2020

Last updated July 03, 2025

Rhaphicetus is an extinct genus of physeteroid whale that lived in Peru in the lower Miocene epoch around 19-18 million years ago. This genus contains one species, Raphicetus valenciae, representing one of the earliest branching stem physteroid.^[1]

Description

This genus is medium sized with a estimated length of 4.7–5.7 metres (15–19 ft). It has a narrow and cylindrical rostrum that comprises nearly 75% of the condylobasal length. The upper jaw has at least 36 teeth per quadrant.^[1]

References

1 2 Olivier Lambert; Christian de Muizon; Mario Urbina; Giovanni Bianucci (2020). "A new longirostrine sperm whale (Cetacea, Physeteroidea) from the lower Miocene of the Pisco Basin (southern coast of Peru)". Journal of Systematic Palaeontology. 18 (20): 1707–1742. Bibcode:2020JSPal..18.1707L. doi:10.1080/14772019.2020.1805520. S2CID 221838686.

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[Rhaphicetus-1] 1 2 Olivier Lambert; Christian de Muizon; Mario Urbina; Giovanni Bianucci (2020). "A new longirostrine sperm whale (Cetacea, Physeteroidea) from the lower Miocene of the Pisco Basin (southern coast of Peru)". Journal of Systematic Palaeontology. 18 (20): 1707–1742. Bibcode:2020JSPal..18.1707L. doi:10.1080/14772019.2020.1805520. S2CID 221838686.

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