A new dolphin with tusk-like teeth from the late Oligocene of New Zealand indicates evolution of novel feeding strategies
All extant toothed whales (Cetacea, Odontoceti) are aquatic mammals with homodont dentitions. Fossil evidence from the late Oligocene suggests a greater diversity of tooth forms among odontocetes, including heterodont species with a variety of tooth shapes and orientations. A new fossil dolphin from...
Published in: | Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences |
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Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2023.0873 https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/pdf/10.1098/rspb.2023.0873 https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/full-xml/10.1098/rspb.2023.0873 |
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crroyalsociety:10.1098/rspb.2023.0873 2024-09-15T18:39:12+00:00 A new dolphin with tusk-like teeth from the late Oligocene of New Zealand indicates evolution of novel feeding strategies Coste, Ambre Fordyce, R. Ewan Loch, Carolina University of Otago Royal Society Te Apārangi National Geographic Society 2023 http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2023.0873 https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/pdf/10.1098/rspb.2023.0873 https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/full-xml/10.1098/rspb.2023.0873 en eng The Royal Society https://royalsociety.org/journals/ethics-policies/data-sharing-mining/ Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences volume 290, issue 2000 ISSN 0962-8452 1471-2954 journal-article 2023 crroyalsociety https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2023.0873 2024-08-26T04:21:01Z All extant toothed whales (Cetacea, Odontoceti) are aquatic mammals with homodont dentitions. Fossil evidence from the late Oligocene suggests a greater diversity of tooth forms among odontocetes, including heterodont species with a variety of tooth shapes and orientations. A new fossil dolphin from the late Oligocene of New Zealand, Nihohae matakoi gen. et sp. nov., consisting of a near complete skull, earbones, dentition and some postcranial material, represents this diverse dentition. Several preserved teeth are horizontally procumbent, including all incisors and canines. These tusk-like teeth suggest adaptive advantages for horizontally procumbent teeth in basal dolphins. Phylogenetic analysis places Nihohae among the poorly constrained basal waipatiid group, many with similarly procumbent teeth. Features of N. matakoi such as its dorsoventrally flattened and long rostrum, long mandibular symphysis, unfused cervical vertebrae, lack of attritional or occlusal wear on the teeth and thin enamel cover suggest the rostrum and horizontally procumbent teeth were used to injure and stun prey though swift lateral head movements, a feeding mode that did not persist in extant odontocetes. Article in Journal/Newspaper toothed whales The Royal Society Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 290 2000 |
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Open Polar |
collection |
The Royal Society |
op_collection_id |
crroyalsociety |
language |
English |
description |
All extant toothed whales (Cetacea, Odontoceti) are aquatic mammals with homodont dentitions. Fossil evidence from the late Oligocene suggests a greater diversity of tooth forms among odontocetes, including heterodont species with a variety of tooth shapes and orientations. A new fossil dolphin from the late Oligocene of New Zealand, Nihohae matakoi gen. et sp. nov., consisting of a near complete skull, earbones, dentition and some postcranial material, represents this diverse dentition. Several preserved teeth are horizontally procumbent, including all incisors and canines. These tusk-like teeth suggest adaptive advantages for horizontally procumbent teeth in basal dolphins. Phylogenetic analysis places Nihohae among the poorly constrained basal waipatiid group, many with similarly procumbent teeth. Features of N. matakoi such as its dorsoventrally flattened and long rostrum, long mandibular symphysis, unfused cervical vertebrae, lack of attritional or occlusal wear on the teeth and thin enamel cover suggest the rostrum and horizontally procumbent teeth were used to injure and stun prey though swift lateral head movements, a feeding mode that did not persist in extant odontocetes. |
author2 |
University of Otago Royal Society Te Apārangi National Geographic Society |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Coste, Ambre Fordyce, R. Ewan Loch, Carolina |
spellingShingle |
Coste, Ambre Fordyce, R. Ewan Loch, Carolina A new dolphin with tusk-like teeth from the late Oligocene of New Zealand indicates evolution of novel feeding strategies |
author_facet |
Coste, Ambre Fordyce, R. Ewan Loch, Carolina |
author_sort |
Coste, Ambre |
title |
A new dolphin with tusk-like teeth from the late Oligocene of New Zealand indicates evolution of novel feeding strategies |
title_short |
A new dolphin with tusk-like teeth from the late Oligocene of New Zealand indicates evolution of novel feeding strategies |
title_full |
A new dolphin with tusk-like teeth from the late Oligocene of New Zealand indicates evolution of novel feeding strategies |
title_fullStr |
A new dolphin with tusk-like teeth from the late Oligocene of New Zealand indicates evolution of novel feeding strategies |
title_full_unstemmed |
A new dolphin with tusk-like teeth from the late Oligocene of New Zealand indicates evolution of novel feeding strategies |
title_sort |
new dolphin with tusk-like teeth from the late oligocene of new zealand indicates evolution of novel feeding strategies |
publisher |
The Royal Society |
publishDate |
2023 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2023.0873 https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/pdf/10.1098/rspb.2023.0873 https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/full-xml/10.1098/rspb.2023.0873 |
genre |
toothed whales |
genre_facet |
toothed whales |
op_source |
Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences volume 290, issue 2000 ISSN 0962-8452 1471-2954 |
op_rights |
https://royalsociety.org/journals/ethics-policies/data-sharing-mining/ |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2023.0873 |
container_title |
Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences |
container_volume |
290 |
container_issue |
2000 |
_version_ |
1810483603371458560 |