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Cetothere
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] |
Cetotherium
''Cetotherium'' ("whale beast") is an extinct genus of baleen whales from the family Cetotheriidae. Taxonomy The family Cetotheriidae and the genus ''Cetotherium'' (sensu lato) have been used as wastebaskets for all kinds of baleen whales, most notably by , Spassky (1954) and . Based on more recent phylogenetic studies and revisions of many 19th century genera, much smaller monophyletic Cetotheriidae and ''Cetotherium'' sensu stricto is limited to a single or only a few species. For example, included only ''C. rathkii'' and ''C. riabinini'' in the genus and only ten genera in the family. Cetotheriidae were thought to have gone extinct during the Pliocene until 2012, when it was hypothesized that the pygmy right whale was the sole surviving species of this family. Formerly assigned to ''Cetotherium'' The following species were originally described as nominal species of ''Cetotherium'' but have been either reassigned to other genera or removed from ''Cetotherium'': * ''Cetot ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Neobalaenidae
Neobalaenidae is a family of baleen whales (suborder Mysticeti) including the extant pygmy right whale. Although traditionally considered related to balaenids, a recent phylogenetic study by Fordyce and Marx (2013) recovered the living pygmy right whale as a member of Cetotheriidae, making it the only extant cetotheriid, but not all authors agree with this argument. Taxonomy The family Neobalaenidae was long restricted to the pygmy right whale from the Southern Hemisphere due to the unusual skeletal form of the species relative to other extant mysticetes. Until the early 2010s Neobalaenidae was unknown from the fossil record despite a study by Sasaki et al. (2005) placing the divergence date of Neobalaenidae from other living baleen whales at 23 mya. Fordyce and Marx found that the pygmy right whale formed a well-supported clade with Eschrichtiidae and Balaenopteridae based on molecular data, and that, within 'cetotheres', it was most closely related to the herpetocetines ('' H ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nannocetus
''Nannocetus'' is an extinct baleen whale belonging to the family Cetotheriidae. Description ''Nannocetus'' is a diminutive mysticete measuring 13 feet (4 meters) long. It is characterized by the ventral orientation (in posterior view) of the postglenoid process; postglenoid process twisted medially (in ventral view) relative to the anteroposterior axis of the skull; equal projection of the ventral and dorsal lobes of the tympanic than the dorsal lobe; deeper notch separating the two lobes of the tympanic; reniform morphology of the tympanic in ventral view; lip of the tympanic slightly inflated; sub-rectilinear medial edge of the involucrum with a step in its anterior third; anterior process of the petrosal sub-triangular; thin crista transversa of the petrosal; and pars cochlearis hemispherical. Taxonomy and classification The holotype is UCMP 26502. It was collected from the Late Miocene ( Messinian) Towsley Formation of Humphreys, Los Angeles County, California Cali ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pygmy Right Whale
The pygmy right whale (''Caperea marginata'') is a species of baleen whale. It may be a member of the cetotheres, a family of baleen whales which until 2012 were thought to be extinct; ''C. marginata'' has otherwise been considered the monotypic taxon sole member of the family Neobalaenidae and is the only member of the genus ''Caperea''. First described by John Edward Gray in 1846, it is the smallest of the baleen whales, ranging between in length and in mass. Despite its name, the pygmy right whale may have more in common with the gray whale and rorquals than the bowhead and right whales. The pygmy right whale is found in temperate waters of the Southern Hemisphere, and feeds on copepods and euphausiids. Little is known about its population or social habits. Unlike most other baleen whales, it has rarely been subject to exploitation. Taxonomy During the 1839-43 voyage of James Clark Ross, naturalists found bones and baleen plates resembling a smaller version of the rig ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Baleen Whale
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 th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mysticeti
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 th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mithridatocetus
''Mithridatocetus'' is a genus of cetotheriid mysticete in the subfamily Cetotheriinae. Known specimens have been found in marine deposits in Crimea, Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ..., and the Russian Caucasus.P. Goldin and D. Startsev. 2016. "A systematic review of cetothere baleen whales (Cetacea, Cetotheriidae) from the Late Miocene of Crimea and Caucasus, with a new genus". ''Papers in Paleontology''. References Baleen whales Prehistoric cetacean genera Miocene cetaceans Miocene mammals of Europe Fossils of Russia Fossil taxa described in 2016 {{paleo-whale-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eucetotherium
''Eucetotherium'' is a genus of cetotheriid mysticete from Miocene (Tortonian The Tortonian is in the geologic time scale an age or stage of the late Miocene that spans the time between 11.608 ± 0.005 Ma and 7.246 ± 0.005 Ma (million years ago). It follows the Serravallian and is followed by the Messinian. The Torto ...) marine deposits in the Russian Caucasus. References Baleen whales Miocene cetaceans Prehistoric cetacean genera Fossil taxa described in 1873 Miocene mammals of Europe {{Paleo-whale-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ciuciulea Davidi
''Ciuciulea'' is a genus of cetotheriid mysticete found in middle Miocene marine deposits in Moldova. Description ''Ciuciulea'' is a dwarf cetotheriid 3–4 meters in length. It comes from the Badenian deposits (13.8-12.7 Ma) of the Central Paratethys, and this is the earliest world record of the family Cetotheriidae. It differs from the other Cetotheriidae in the presence of a narrow occipital shield, which is as long as wide, and a pars cochlearis of the periotic bone bulging out ventral to fenestra rotunda. Primitive characters include the premaxillae forming a transverse line with the posterior ends of nasals and maxillae rather than constricted or overridden by ascending processes of maxillae.Gol'din P. (2018) New Paratethyan dwarf baleen whales mark the origin of cetotheres. PeerJ 6:e5800 https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.5800 Biology ''Ciuciulea'' lived in shallow marine waters in present-day Moldova, earlier than true seals '' Pontophoca'', '' Sarmatonectes'', '' Histriopho ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cephalotropis
''Cephalotropis'' is a genus of baleen whale belonging to the extinct family Cetotheriidae. Its type species is ''Cephalotropis coronatus''. Description ''Cephalotropis'' is diagnosed by the following features: a long sagittal crest, a more anteriorly produced angle of the supraoccipital angle, among other features. There is insufficient information to determine how big ''Cephalotropis'' was, but it probably grew to about 16–20 feet long. Taxonomy ''Cephalotropis coronatus'' was originally described from the Late Miocene ( Tortonian) St. Mary's Formation of St. Mary's Formation, Maryland, based on the holotype USNM 9352. A second species of the genus, ''C. nectus'', was named for a specimen from a Tortonian-aged formation in Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kurdalagonus
''Kurdalagonus'' is a genus of cetotheriid mysticete in the subfamily Cetotheriinae from the Miocene of the Russian Caucasus. ''"Kurdalagonus" adygeicus'' has been reassigned to ''Mithridatocetus'', while the referral of ''"Cetotherium ''Cetotherium'' ("whale beast") is an extinct genus of baleen whales from the family Cetotheriidae. Taxonomy The family Cetotheriidae and the genus ''Cetotherium'' (sensu lato) have been used as wastebaskets for all kinds of baleen whales, mo ..." maicopicum'' to ''Kurdalagonus'' has been questioned.P. Goldin and D. Startsev. 2016. "A systematic review of cetothere baleen whales (Cetacea, Cetotheriidae) from the Late Miocene of Crimea and Caucasus, with a new genus". ''Papers in Paleontology''. References {{Taxonbar, from=Q28432433 Baleen whales Miocene cetaceans Prehistoric cetacean genera Fossil taxa described in 2012 Miocene mammals of Europe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
