Xhosacetus is a

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 ...

ziphiid Beaked whales (systematic name Ziphiidae) are a family of cetaceans noted as being one of the least known groups of mammals because of their deep-sea habitat and apparent low abundance. Only three or four of the 24 species are reasonably well-kn ...

cetacea Cetacea (; , ) is an infraorder of aquatic mammals that includes whales, dolphins, and porpoises. Key characteristics are their fully aquatic lifestyle, streamlined body shape, often large size and exclusively carnivorous diet. They propel them ...

ns with a single species, ''Xhosacetus hendeysi''. It was classified from fossils found off the coast of the

Kerguelen islands The Kerguelen Islands ( or ; in French commonly ' but officially ', ), also known as the Desolation Islands (' in French), are a group of islands in the sub-Antarctic constituting one of the two exposed parts of the Kerguelen Plateau, a large ...

in 1,145 meter deep water.LAMBERT O., MUIZON C. de, DUHAMEL G. & VAN DER PLICHT J. 2018. — Neogene and Quaternary fossil remains of beaked whales (Cetacea, Odontoceti, Ziphiidae) from deep-sea deposits off Crozet and Kerguelen islands, Southern Ocean. Geodiversitas 40 (6): 135-160. https://doi.org/10.5252/geodiversitas2018v40a6

References

Miocene cetaceans Ziphiids Fossil taxa described in 2007 {{paleo-whale-stub