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Eomysticetid
Eomysticetidae is a family of extinct mysticetes belonging to Chaeomysticeti (toothless mysticetes). It is one of two families in the basal chaeomysticete clade Eomysticetoidea (the other being Cetotheriopsidae). Description Eomysticetids are united by the following combination of primitive and derived characters relative to more advanced chaeomysticetes (Balaenomorpha): zygomatic process without a supramastoid crest; reduction of the superior process of the periotic into a low ridge with anterior and posterior apices in medial or lateral view; blowholes situated ahead of the eyes; an elongated intertemporal region with long parietal and frontal exposures on the cranial vertex; elongated nasals; large coronoid processes of the mandibles; flat rostrum; laterally bowed mandibles; absence of functional teeth; and large mandibular foramina. Taxonomy There are seven genera of Eomysticetidae: ''Eomysticetus'', ''Matapanui'', ''Micromysticetus'', ''Tohoraata'', ''Tokarahia'', ''Wa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eomysticetus
''Eomysticetus'' is an extinct genus of baleen whale from the late Oligocene (Chattian) Chandler Bridge Formation of South Carolina. (148Mb) Taxonomy ''Eomysticetus'' is a member of the family Eomysticetidae, which also includes '' Micromysticetus'', '' Tohoraata'', '' Tokarahia'', and '' Yamatocetus''. There are two species of ''Eomysticetus'', ''E. whitmorei'' and ''E. carolinensis'', both from the Chandler Bridge Formation of South Carolina. Physical characteristics The skull was around in length. Like more evolved baleen whales, its jaws had baleen instead of teeth, meaning that it could filter plankton with its baleen plates. However, primitive baleen whales may have retained enamel coated teeth embedded in the gums, similar to modern sperm whales. Baleen whales, as a group, may be sensitive to low-frequency sounds. Unlike modern baleen whales, ''Eomysticetus'' had a blowhole that was positioned ahead of the eyes, and the characteristics of its vertebrae and flipper bon ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Baleen Whales
Baleen whales (systematic name Mysticeti), also known as whalebone whales, are a parvorder of carnivorous marine mammals of the infraorder Cetacea (whales, dolphins and porpoises) which use keratinaceous baleen plates (or "whalebone") in their mouths to sieve planktonic creatures from the water. Mysticeti comprises the families Balaenidae (right and bowhead whales), Balaenopteridae (rorquals and the gray whale), and Cetotheriidae (the pygmy right whale). There are currently 16 species of baleen whales. While cetaceans were historically thought to have descended from mesonychids, molecular evidence instead supports them as a clade of even-toed ungulates (Artiodactyla). Baleen whales split from toothed whales (Odontoceti) around 34 million years ago. Baleen whales range in size from the and pygmy right whale to the and blue whale, the largest known animal to have ever existed. They are sexually dimorphic. Baleen whales can have streamlined or large bodies, depending on ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tohoraata
''Tohoraata'' is a genus of eomysticetid baleen whale from the Late Oligocene (Chattian) of New Zealand. There are two recognized species, ''T. raekohao'' and ''T. waitakiensis''.Robert W. Boessenecker and R. Ewan Fordyce (2014). "A new Eomysticetid (Mammalia: Cetacea) from the Late Oligocene of New Zealand and a re-evaluation of ‘Mauicetus’ waitakiensis". Papers in Palaeontology. in press. doi:10.1002/spp2.1005. Classification ''Tohoraata'' is a member of the family Eomysticetidae, a family of primitive baleen-bearing mysticetes (chaeomysticetes). The type species, ''T. raekohao'', is based on OU 22178, a partial skull associated with a thoracic vertebra and five ribs, collected from the Maerewhenua Member of the Otekaike Limestone. On the other hand, ''T. waitakiensis'', is known from OMC GL 402, a partial skull and five neck vertebrae collected in the Kokoamu Greensand. It was originally described as a species of ''Mauicetus'', but was eventually recognized as more primi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Waharoa (whale)
''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. Description Boessenecker and Fordyce (2015) characterize the species as follows: "''Waharoa ruwhenua'' shares ''Tohoraata'' and ''Tokarahia'' dorsoventrally shallow and wide occipital condyles, a triangular anterior process and well-developed incisural flange of the periotic; with ''Tohoraata'' and ''Tokarahia'' a concave anterodorsal margin of the anterior process of the periotic and a smooth and transversely convex posterior bullar facet; with ''Tohoraata'' a distinct lateral tubercle on the anterior process; and with ''Eomysticetus'' and ''Micromysticetus'' a short posterior process".Boessenecker RW, Fordyce RE. (2015) Anatomy, feeding ecology, and ontogeny of a transitional baleen whale: a new genus an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Matapanui
''Matapanui'' is a genus of eomysticetid baleen whale from the Late Oligocene (early Chattian) Kokoamu Greensand of New Zealand. Taxonomy ''Matapanui'' was originally named ''Matapa'', but that name was already in use for a genus of butterfly, necessitating the name change.Robert W. Boessenecker; R. Ewan Fordyce (2016). "Matapanui, a replacement name for Matapa Boessenecker & Fordyce, 2016". Journal of Systematic Palaeontology. Online edition. doi:10.1080/14772019.2016.1210070. Paleobiology Based on the enlarged temporal fossae and enlarged mandibular canal, ''Matapanui'' was probably incapable of lunge-feeding, although it remains unclear whether it could skim-feed or filter prey in the benthic zone. ''Waharoa'' shared its habitat with the odontocetes '' Awamokoa'', '' Austrosqualodon'', '' Otekaikea'', and ''Waipatia'', and the mysticetes ''Horopeta'', '' Mauicetus'', '' Tohoraata'', '' Tokarahia'', ''Waharoa'', and ''Whakakai ''Whakakai'' is a genus of baleen whale from ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Yamatocetus
''Yamatocetus canaliculatus'' is an extinct species of eomysticetid baleen whale from the Late Oligocene of Japan. Taxonomy The holotype specimen, a partial skeleton, was discovered by curator Toshiyuki Kamei in October 1981 in the Ashiya Group of the Jinnobaru Formation on the island of Kyushu, and stored in the Kitakyushu Museum of Natural History and Human History. The genus name honors the old name of Japan, Yamato, and Latin ''cetus'', "whale." The species name translates to "with groove" in reference to the grooves in its mouth which indicate functional baleen. It was placed into the family Eomysticetidae, a primitive group of baleen whales. Description As in other baleen whales, the skull is wide and flat. The skull, along the sides, has several narrow, straight grooves–eight in total–and there are several foramina in the skull used as passage for blood vesselsthough not as many as modern baleen whales–which indicate it had baleen in its mouth. The skull cont ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Oligocene
The Oligocene ( ) is a geologic epoch of the Paleogene Period and extends from about 33.9 million to 23 million years before the present ( to ). As with other older geologic periods, the rock beds that define the epoch are well identified but the exact dates of the start and end of the epoch are slightly uncertain. The name Oligocene was coined in 1854 by the German paleontologist Heinrich Ernst Beyrich from his studies of marine beds in Belgium and Germany. The name comes from the Ancient Greek (''olígos'', "few") and (''kainós'', "new"), and refers to the sparsity of extant forms of molluscs. The Oligocene is preceded by the Eocene Epoch and is followed by the Miocene Epoch. The Oligocene is the third and final epoch of the Paleogene Period. The Oligocene is often considered an important time of transition, a link between the archaic world of the tropical Eocene and the more modern ecosystems of the Miocene. Major changes during the Oligocene included a global expansion o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cetotheriidae
Cetotheriidae is a family of baleen whales (parvorder Mysticeti). The family is known to have existed from the Late Oligocene to the Early Pleistocene before going extinct. Although some phylogenetic studies conducted by 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. Taxonomy After its description by Brant in 1872, Cetotheriidae was used as a wastebasket taxon for baleen whales which were not assignable to extant whale families. Comparing the cranial and mandibular morphology of 23 taxa (including late archaeocetes and both fossil and extant mysticetes), found Cetotheriidae in this traditional sense to be polyphyletic. Based on ten cranial characters, they also concluded that of the twelve included fossil baleen-bearing mysticetes, six formed a monophyletic group, Cetotheriidae ''sensu stricto' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Aquitanian Extinctions
Aquitanian could refer to: *Aquitanian (stage), a geological age, the first stage of the Miocene Epoch *Aquitanian language, an ancient language spoken in the region later known as Gascony *Aquitani (or Aquitanians), were a people living in what is now Nouvelle-Aquitaine and southwestern Midi-Pyrenees, France * Anything originating from Aquitaine Aquitaine ( , , ; oc, Aquitània ; eu, Akitania; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''Aguiéne''), archaic Guyenne or Guienne ( oc, Guiana), is a historical region of southwestern France and a former administrative region of the country. Since 1 January ..., a region of France {{Disambig Language and nationality disambiguation pages ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Miocene Cetaceans
The Miocene ( ) is the first geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about (Ma). The Miocene was named by Scottish geologist Charles Lyell; the name comes from the Greek words (', "less") and (', "new") and means "less recent" because it has 18% fewer modern marine invertebrates than the Pliocene has. The Miocene is preceded by the Oligocene and is followed by the Pliocene. As Earth went from the Oligocene through the Miocene and into the Pliocene, the climate slowly cooled towards a series of ice ages. The Miocene boundaries are not marked by a single distinct global event but consist rather of regionally defined boundaries between the warmer Oligocene and the cooler Pliocene Epoch. During the Early Miocene, the Arabian Peninsula collided with Eurasia, severing the connection between the Mediterranean and Indian Ocean, and allowing a faunal interchange to occur between Eurasia and Africa, including the dispersal of proboscideans into Eurasia. During the late ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Oligocene Cetaceans
The Oligocene ( ) is a geologic epoch of the Paleogene Period and extends from about 33.9 million to 23 million years before the present ( to ). As with other older geologic periods, the rock beds that define the epoch are well identified but the exact dates of the start and end of the epoch are slightly uncertain. The name Oligocene was coined in 1854 by the German paleontologist Heinrich Ernst Beyrich from his studies of marine beds in Belgium and Germany. The name comes from the Ancient Greek (''olígos'', "few") and (''kainós'', "new"), and refers to the sparsity of extant forms of molluscs. The Oligocene is preceded by the Eocene Epoch and is followed by the Miocene Epoch. The Oligocene is the third and final epoch of the Paleogene Period. The Oligocene is often considered an important time of transition, a link between the archaic world of the tropical Eocene and the more modern ecosystems of the Miocene. Major changes during the Oligocene included a global expansion ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
