Piscobalaena
Piscobalaena | |
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Piscobalaena nana skull | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Mammalia |
Order: | Artiodactyla |
Infraorder: | Cetacea |
Family: | Cetotheriidae G. Pilleri and H. J. Siber, 1989 |
Genus: | †Piscobalaena G. Pilleri and H. J. Siber, 1989 |
Piscobalaena is an extinct
Description
This animal looked much like
Classification
Described for the first time in 1989 by Pilleri and Siber,[4] Piscobalaena is known from fossils found in the Pisco Formation in Peru. Piscobalaena is considered a representative of Cetotheriidae a group of baleen whales with primitive characteristics similar to that of Balaenoptera, fossil species of which have been found mainly in the northern hemisphere. The closest relative of Piscobalaena appears to have been Herpetocetus, from the Mio-Pliocene of the northern hemisphere.
Palaeogeography
Other fragmentary remains attributed to Piscobalaena are also from Peru, but date a little older (late Miocene, about 10 million years ago). So it seems that this kind of whales were located in the Pacific coast of South America and evolved for at least five million years. Other fossils attributed with some doubt to Piscobalaena come from the Miocene
References
- ^ Piscobalaena at Fossilworks.org
- ^ V. Bouetel and C. Muizon. 2006. The anatomy and relationships of Piscobalaena nana (Cetacea, Mysticeti), a Cetotheriidae s.s. from the early Pliocene of Peru
- hdl:10281/151854.
- ^ Pilleri, G. and Siber, H.J. 1989. Neuer Spättertiärer cetotherid (Cetacea, Mysticeti) aus der Pisco-Formation Perus. In: G. Pilleri (ed.), Beiträge zur Paläontologie der Cetaceen Perus, 109–115. Hirnanatomisches Institut, Ostermundigen, Bern.