''Nanokogia'' is an extinct

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

of pygmy sperm whale that lived off the coast of

Panama Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Cos ...

during the

Late Miocene The Late Miocene (also known as Upper Miocene) is a sub-epoch of the Miocene epoch (geology), Epoch made up of two faunal stage, stages. The Tortonian and Messinian stages comprise the Late Miocene sub-epoch, which lasted from 11.63 Ma (million ye ...

Description

''Nanokogia'' is distinguished from other kogiids in lacking functional teeth in the upper jaw, antorbital notches forming a narrow slit, antorbital notches within the supracranial basin, and the left premaxilla excluded from the sagittal facial crest. The absence of functional teeth is also seen in modern pygmy sperm whales and the extinct genus ''

Scaphokogia ''Scaphokogia'' is an extinct genus of pygmy sperm whales that lived off the coasts of Mexico and Peru, South America during the Late Miocene to Late Pliocene. Only the type species ''S. cochlearis'' has been described. Fossils of ''Scaphokogia'' ...

''.J. Velez-Juarbe, A. R. Wood, C. Gracia and A. J. W. Hendy. 2015. Evolutionary patterns among living and fossil kogiid sperm whales: Evidence from the Neogene of Central America. PLoS One 10(4):e0123909

Biology

''Nanokogia'' relied on suction-feeding to capture squid and diel-migrating fishes, given the absence of functional teeth in the upper jaw.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q28751944 Sperm whales Miocene cetaceans Miocene mammals of North America Fossil taxa described in 2015