''Whakakai'' is a genus of
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 ...
from the Late Oligocene (
Chattian
The Chattian is, in the geologic timescale, the younger of two ages or upper of two stages of the Oligocene Epoch/Series. It spans the time between . The Chattian is preceded by the Rupelian and is followed by the Aquitanian (the lowest stage ...
)
Kokoamu Greensand
The Kokoamu Greensand is a geological formation found in New Zealand. It is a fossil-bearing, late Oligocene, greensand rock unit of the eastern South Island, especially the Waitaki District of North Otago and the southern Canterbury region. The ...
of
New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
.
Classification
Phylogenetic analysis recovers ''Whakakai'' outside crown Mysticeti as the sister taxon of ''Horopeta''.
[Tsai, C.H., Fordyce R.E., 2016. Archaic baleen whale from the Kokoamu Greensand: earbones distinguish a new late Oligocene mysticete (Cetacea: Mysticeti) from New Zealand. Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand. doi:10.1080/03036758.2016.1156552]
Paleobiology
''Whakakai'' has been recovered in the same deposits that have also yielded the primitive odontocetes ''
Awamokoa'', ''
Austrosqualodon'', ''
Otekaikea'', and ''
Waipatia
''Waipatia'' is an extinct genus of whale from the late Oligocene (Chattian) of New Zealand.
Taxonomy
The type species, ''Waipatia maerewhenua'' is known from a single skull found near 45° South in Otago . The second species, ''W. hectori ...
'', the
eomysticetids ''
Matapanui'', ''
Tohoraata'', ''
Tokarahia'', and ''
Waharoa
Waharoa is a rural community in the Waikato
Waikato () is a local government region of the upper North Island of New Zealand. It covers the Waikato District, Waipa District, Matamata-Piako District, South Waikato District and Hami ...
'', and the balaenomorphs ''
Mauicetus'' and ''
Horopeta
''Horopeta'' is a genus of baleen whale from the Late Oligocene (Chattian) Kokoamu Greensand of New Zealand.
Description
''Horopeta'' can be distinguished from other balaenomorphs in the following characters: base of frontal sloping moderately f ...
''.
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q48773706
Oligocene mammals of Oceania
Oligocene cetaceans
Extinct animals of New Zealand
Prehistoric cetacean genera