''Notocetus'' is an

extinct Extinction is the termination of a kind of organism or of a group of kinds (taxon), usually a species. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of the species, although the capacity to breed and ...

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 ...

river dolphin River dolphins are a polyphyletic group of fully aquatic mammals that reside exclusively in freshwater or brackish water. They are an informal grouping of dolphins, which itself is a paraphyletic group within the infraorder Cetacea. Extant riv ...

belonging to

Squalodelphinidae Squalodelphinidae is a family of primitive platanistoid river dolphins found in marine deposits in the eastern Pacific, western Atlantic, and Europe. Description Distinguishing features of Squalodelphinidae include a moderately elongated and ta ...

. Known specimens have been found in

Early Miocene The Early Miocene (also known as Lower Miocene) is a sub-epoch of the Miocene Epoch made up of two stages: the Aquitanian and Burdigalian stages. The sub-epoch lasted from 23.03 ± 0.05 Ma to 15.97 ± 0.05 Ma (million years ago). It was prece ...

marine deposits from

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

and

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal , national_motto = "Fi ...

Taxonomy

''Notocetus'' was unnecessarily given the replacement name ''Diochoticus'' by Ameghino (1894) on the false assumption that ''Notocetus'' was preoccupied by '' Notiocetus''. Lydekker (1894), meanwhile erected ''Argyrodelphis'' for the same specimen. The type species of '' Otekaikea'' was once considered a species of ''Notocetus'' before being recognized as belonging to Waipatiidae.Y. Tanaka and R. E. Fordyce. 2014. Fossil dolphin Otekaikea marplesi (Latest Oligocene, New Zealand) expands the morphological and taxonomic diversity of Oligocene cetaceans. PLoS One 9(9):e107972

Distribution

Fossils of ''Notocetus'' have been found in:''Notocetus''
at

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 ...

.org *

Monte León Formation Monte may refer to: Places Argentina * Argentine Monte, an ecoregion * Monte Desert * Monte Partido, a ''partido'' in Buenos Aires Province Italy * Monte Bregagno * Monte Cassino * Montecorvino (disambiguation) * Montefalcione Portugal * Monte ...

* Pietra Leccese Formation,

* Chilcatay Formation,

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q43079828 Prehistoric cetacean genera Miocene cetaceans Miocene mammals of Europe Fossils of Italy Miocene mammals of South America Colhuehuapian Santacrucian Neogene Argentina Fossils of Argentina Neogene Peru Fossils of Peru Fossil taxa described in 1892