''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.''Chilcacetus''
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Fossilworks Fossilworks is a portal which provides query, download, and analysis tools to facilitate access to the Paleobiology Database The Paleobiology Database is an online resource for information on the distribution and classification of fossil animals ...

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Classification

''Chilcacetus'' is recovered along it with the putative eurhinodelphinids '' Argyrocetus'' and ''

Macrodelphinus ''Macrodelphinus'' is an extinct genus of primitive odontocete known from Late Oligocene (Chattian) marine deposits in California. Biology ''Macrodelphinus'' was an orca-sized odontocete similar to members of Eurhinodelphinidae in having a sword ...

'' in a clade basal to '' Eoplatanista'' and

Eurhinodelphinidae Eurhinodelphinidae is an extinct Family (biology), family of toothed whales which lived from the Oligocene to the Miocene. Members of the family possessed an elongated jaw similar in appearance to a swordfish. Taxonomy *Family Eurhinodelphinid ...

. The authors stressed that updated osteological descriptions of ''Argyrocetus'' and ''Macrodelphinus'' are necessary to provide more cladistic analysis support for this grouping.O. Lambert, C. de Muizon, and G. Bianucci. 2015. A new archaic homodont toothed cetacean (Mammalia, Cetacea, Odontoceti) from the early Miocene of Peru. Geodiversitas 37(1):79-108

Description

The teeth of ''Chilcacetus'' are homodont in nature, and the rostrum is long. The presence of a cavity between nasals and mesethmoid on the posterior wall of the bony nares that distinguishes this taxon from other archaic odontocetes, hence the species name ''cavirhinus''. The dorsal surface of the nasal rising anterodorsally, extended edentulous anterior premaxillary portion of the rostrum, and a cranium distinctly shorter than wide unite ''Chilcacetus'' with ''Argyrocetus'' and ''Macrodelphinus'' to the exclusion of all other homodont odontocetes, including eurhinodelphinids.

References

Prehistoric toothed whales Miocene cetaceans Prehistoric cetacean genera Miocene mammals of South America Deseadan Neogene Peru Fossils of Peru Fossil taxa described in 2015 {{paleo-whale-stub