| Squaloziphius Temporal range: Early Miocene, | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Artiodactyla |
| Infraorder: | Cetacea |
| Family: | † Squaloziphiidae |
| Genus: | † Squaloziphius Muizon, 1991 |
| Species: | †S. emlongi |
| Binomial name | |
| †Squaloziphius emlongi Muizon, 1991 | |
Squaloziphius is an extinct genus of odontocete cetacean from the Early Miocene (Aquitanian)-aged Clallam Formation of Washington state.
It was originally classified as the most primitive beaked whale, being placed in a separate subfamily, Squaloziphiinae, [1] (followed by Fordyce and Muizon 2001 [2] ) but later authors have placed it outside Ziphiidae as either Odontoceti incertae sedis or closely related to Ziphiidae. [3] [4] The description of the archaic odontocete Yaquinacetus demonstrated that Squaloziphius was by no means part of Ziphiidae and that these two taxa are more primitive than crown Odontoceti, necessitating elevation of Squaloziphiinae to full familial status, as Squaloziphiidae. [5]
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.
Macrodelphinus is an extinct genus of primitive odontocete known from Early Miocene marine deposits in California.
Zygophyseter varolai is an extinct sperm whale that lived during the Tortonian age of the Late Miocene 11.2 to 7.6 million years ago. It is known from a single specimen from the Pietra Leccese Formation in Italy. It was a member of a stem group of fossil macroraptorial sperm whales also including Brygmophyseter, Acrophyseter, and Livyatan. It probably grew to be around 6.5 to 7 meters in length and shared some characteristics with other raptorials, such as large teeth with tooth enamel that were functional in both the upper and lower jaws which the modern sperm whale lacks. It also had a beak, the ability to echolocate prey, and could have probably swum faster than the modern-day sperm whale which can reach 4 kilometers per hour (2.5 mph). These were probably used in the capture of large prey, such as large fish, seals, and whales. In fact, its common name, the killer sperm whale, refers to its feeding habits that would have had a resemblance to the modern-day killer whale.
Australodelphis mirus is an extinct Pliocene dolphin. A. mirus is known from fossils found in the Sørsdal Formation, Mule Peninsula, Vestfold Hills, East Antarctica. The genus has been described as an example of convergent evolution with beaked whales.
Kentriodontidae is an extinct family of odontocete whales related to modern dolphins. The Kentriodontidae lived from the Oligocene to the Pliocene before going extinct.
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.
Choneziphius is an extinct genus of ziphiidae cetaceans, with two species known from the Miocene: C. planirostris and C. leidyi. Known from the shore of Belgium, Portugal and Spain.
The Pisco Formation is a geologic formation located in Peru, on the southern coastal desert of Ica and Arequipa. The approximately 640 metres (2,100 ft) thick formation was deposited in the Pisco Basin, spanning an age from the Late Miocene up to the Early Pliocene, roughly from 9.6 to 4.5 Ma. The tuffaceous sandstones, diatomaceous siltstones, conglomerates and dolomites were deposited in a lagoonal to near-shore environment, in bays similar to other Pacific South American formations as the Bahía Inglesa and Coquimbo Formations of Chile.
Atocetus is an extinct genus of pontoporiid dolphin found in Miocene-age marine deposits in Peru and California.
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.
Phoberodon is a genus of archaic odontocete cetacean from the Early Miocene (Burdigalian) of Patagonia, Argentina.
Beneziphius is an extinct genus of ziphiid cetacean known from late Miocene to Pliocene marine deposits in Belgium and fishing grounds off Spain. The genus name honors Pierre-Joseph van Beneden, who pioneered the study of Neogene marine mammals from Belgium.
Chilcacetus is an extinct genus of primitive odontocete known from Early Miocene (Aquitanian) of Peru. Fossils were found in and named after the Chilcatay Formation of the Pisco Basin.
Khoikhoicetus is an extinct genus of ziphiid cetacean known from skulls found on seafloor sediments of probable Miocene age off the coast of South Africa and the Kerguelen Islands.
Inticetus is an extinct genus of Early Miocene odontocete from the Chilcatay Formation, Pisco Basin, Peru.
Pisco Basin is a sedimentary basin extending over 300 kilometres (190 mi) in southwestern Peru. The basin has a 2 kilometres (6,600 ft) thick sedimentary fill, which is about half the thickness of more northern foreland basins in Peru.
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 Māori god of the sea, while the suffix -saurus comes from the Latin word for reptile, the group that Tangaroasaurus was originally placed in.
Xhosacetus is a genus of ziphiid cetaceans with a single species, Xhosacetus hendeysi. It was classified from fossils found off the coast of the Kerguelen islands in 1,145 meter deep water.
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