| Waipatiids Temporal range: Oligocene | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Reconstructed skull of the waipatiid Otekaikea marplesi | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Artiodactyla |
| Infraorder: | Cetacea |
| Parvorder: | Odontoceti |
| Family: | † Waipatiidae Fordyce, 1994 |
| Genera | |
Waipatiidae is an extinct family of odontocetes currently known from the Oligocene of the Pacific Ocean and possibly Europe and the Caucasus.
Waipatiidae was coined by Fordyce (1994) to include his new taxon Waipatia , and he also considered the genera Microcetus , Sachalinocetus , and Sulakocetus to be possible waipatiids. [1] The taxon "Prosqualodon" marplesi was recognized in the 2010s as a being a member of Waipatiidae and given its own genus, Otekaikea . [2] [3] [4]
South Asian river dolphins are toothed whales in the genus Platanista, which inhabit the waterways of the Indian subcontinent. They were historically considered to be one species with the Ganges river dolphin and the Indus river dolphin being subspecies. Genetic and morphological evidence led to their being described as separate species in 2021. The Ganges and Indus river dolphins are estimated to have diverged 550,000 years ago. They are the only living members of the family Platanistidae and the superfamily Platanistoidea. Fossils of ancient relatives date to the late Oligocene.
Prosqualodon is an extinct genus of Early to Middle Miocene cetacean from Argentina, Australia, New Zealand and Venezuela.
Waipatia is an extinct genus of dolphin from the late Oligocene (Chattian) of New Zealand.
Kairuku is an extinct genus of penguin. It contains three species, K. grebneffi, K. waitaki and K. waewaeroa. This taxon is known from bones from 27 MYA, from the Kokoamu Greensand Formation of New Zealand. It was historically referred to as Palaeeudyptes.
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.
Eomysticetus is an extinct genus of baleen whale from the late Oligocene (Chattian) Chandler Bridge Formation of South Carolina.
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.
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.
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.
Matapanui is a genus of eomysticetid baleen whale from the Late Oligocene Kokoamu Greensand of New Zealand.
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.
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.
Urkudelphis is an extinct genus of cetacean. The type species, Urkudelphis chawpipacha, was described in 2017 based on fossils found in the Dos Bocas Formation of Ecuador. It was a type of river dolphin.
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.
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