Albicetus

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Albicetus
Temporal range:
Ma
↓
Reconstruction of skull
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Artiodactyla
Infraorder: Cetacea
Genus: †Albicetus
Boersma & Pyenson, 2015[2]
Species:
†A. oxymycterus
Binomial name
†Albicetus oxymycterus
(Kellogg, 1925)[1]
Synonyms

Albicetus is a

sperm whales that lived during the Miocene Epoch, around 15 million years ago, and was discovered in Santa Barbara, California in 1909. It was categorized for decades as belonging to a group of extinct walruses erroneously thought to be sperm whales. It was named Albicetus, meaning "white whale", is a reference to the leviathan in Herman Melville's classic 1851 novel Moby-Dick.[2][3]

Taxonomy

type specimen

Etymology

The genus Albicetus derives from the

holotype specimen (the fossils themselves possess a light hue).[2]

The species name oxymycterus is derived from the Ancient Greek ὀξύς oxy "sharp" and μυκτήρ mycter "nose".[2][1]

Taxonomic history

The holotype was recovered from an unspecified location in the sea cliffs near the original Santa Barbara Lighthouse in 1909, which is believed to most likely be part of the Monterey Formation. The whale was originally placed in the genus Ontocetus in 1925 by American naturalist Remington Kellogg as O. oxymycterus.[1][4][5] This genus was originally thought to represent a sperm whale, however, in 2008, the type species, Ontocetus emmonsi, was discovered to actually be a walrus. The whale was then moved to the wastebasket taxon Scaldicetus,[6] which consists of various other (more-or-less unrelated) primitive sperm whales with enamel coated teeth. In 2015, the whale was moved to the newly erected genus Albicetus.[2]

Phylogeny

Albicetus, unlike the modern sperm whale (Physeter macrocephalus), possessed functional and enamel-coated teeth in both jaws. This suggests that it is related to the group of macroraptorial sperm whales which includes Acrophyseter, Brygmophyseter, Livyatan, and Zygophyseter. However, Albicetus is most similar in general shape and characteristics with Aulophyseter morricei, except for the dentition in which the latter possesses only small, vestigial upper teeth lacking enamel. The closest known relative to Albicetus is currently Livyatan.[2]

Albicetus contains only one species A. oxymycterus.

Physeteroidea
Relationships between Albicetus and other physeteroids, macroraptorials are in bold[2][7][8]

Description

Restoration

The

occipital condyle length with antorbital notch (slits in the skull right before the snout) width of other primitive sperm whale, the total body length is estimated to be between 5.9–6.3 m (19–21 ft). The preserved length of the beak is 81.9 cm (2.69 ft).[2]

The whale had a maximum of 18 teeth in either jaw, deeply rooted in exceedingly large

tooth sockets
.

Paleoecology

For macroraptorial sperm whales, the presence of large body size along with large tooth size suggests that body size was an adaptation to hunting bigger prey, notably other

niche partitioning to avoid directly competing for food.[2]

References

  1. ^
    doi:10.5479/si.00963801.66-2564.1
    .
  2. ^
    PMID 26651027
    .
  3. ^ "Call me Albicetus: Scientists find the real great white whale". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 9 December 2015.
  4. Carnegie Institution of Washington
    . pp. 1–1074.
  5. JSTOR 2412508
    .
  6. ^ Kohno, N.; Ray, C. E. (2008). Pliocene walruses from the Yorktown Formation of Virginia and North Carolina, and a systematic revision of the North Atlantic Pliocene walruses. Virginia Museum of Natural History Special Publication. Vol. 14. Virginia Museum of Natural History. pp. 39–80.
  7. ISBN 978-1-4214-2326-5
    .
  8. hdl:11568/814760
    .

External links
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Albicetus&oldid=1216860337"