Mammalodon
Mammalodon | |
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Skull | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Mammalia |
Order: | Artiodactyla |
Infraorder: | Cetacea |
Family: | †Mammalodontidae |
Genus: | †Mammalodon Pritchard, 1939 |
Species | |
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Mammalodon is an extinct genus of archaic baleen whale belonging to the family Mammalodontidae.
Taxonomy
Mammalodon within Mysticeti | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Mysticeti[1]
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The fossils of Mammalodon were found to be around 25.7–23.9 million years old, dating to the
Mammalodon was, at first, considered to be a member of
The name Mammalodon is said to be derived from English mammal and Ancient Greek odontos tooth, meaning "mammal tooth", as its molar teeth are similar to those found in terrestrial carnivores.[1] The Ancient Greek for "tooth" is, however, odous (ὀδούς).[5]
Description
Mammalodon, with a length of 3 metres (9.8 ft), was smaller and more primitive than modern baleen whales.
In the holotype of M. colliveri, only the second vertebra of the
Palaeobiology
As with the closely related genus Janjucetus, Mammalodon lacked baleen, instead possessing well-developed teeth. As such, it was not able to filter-feed in the same manner as extant baleen whales, making its diet and ecological niche a mystery.[7] As the teeth are widely spaced, they may have developed a method of filter-feeding unlike that of other whales. It may have been a bottom filter feeder, its blunt snout helping to suck up organisms from the sea floor.[1]
References
- ^ .
- .
- ^ Fordyce, R. E. 1991. A new look at the fossil vertebrate record of New Zealand; pp. 1191-1316 in P. V. Rich, J. M. Monaghan, R. F. Baird, and T. H. Rich (eds), Vertebrate palaeontology of Australasia. Pioneer Design Studio and Monash University, Melbourne.
- ^ Pritchard, B. G. (1939). "On the discovery of a fossil whale in the older Tertiaries of Torquay, Victoria". The Victorian Naturalist. 55 (9): 151–159.
- ^ Liddell, H.G. & Scott, R. (1940). A Greek-English Lexicon. Revised and augmented throughout by Sir Henry Stuart Jones. With the assistance of Roderick McKenzie. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
- ^ Israel, Brett (December 2009). "Early Mini-Whale Slurped up Mud to Find Hidden Prey". Discover Magazine. Retrieved 29 December 2009.
- ^ PMID 17015308.