Echericetus novellus n. gen. n. sp. (Cetacea, Mysticeti, Eomysticetidae), an Oligocene baleen whale from Baja California Sur, Mexico
Among the several evolutionary lineages of the baleen whales (Mysticeti), the eomysticetids are an ancient successful family that retain possibly nonfunctional teeth and functional baleen, a transitional stage between toothed and baleen-assisted filter-feeding mysticetes. The patchy fossil record le...
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ftbioone:10.1017/jpa.2023.80 2024-06-02T08:04:01+00:00 Echericetus novellus n. gen. n. sp. (Cetacea, Mysticeti, Eomysticetidae), an Oligocene baleen whale from Baja California Sur, Mexico Atzcalli Ehécatl Hernández-Cisneros Tobias Schwennicke Heriberto Rochín-Bañaga Cheng-Hsiu Tsai Atzcalli Ehécatl Hernández-Cisneros Tobias Schwennicke Heriberto Rochín-Bañaga Cheng-Hsiu Tsai world 2024-03-29 text/HTML https://doi.org/10.1017/jpa.2023.80 en eng The Paleontological Society doi:10.1017/jpa.2023.80 All rights reserved. https://doi.org/10.1017/jpa.2023.80 Text 2024 ftbioone https://doi.org/10.1017/jpa.2023.80 2024-05-07T00:48:07Z Among the several evolutionary lineages of the baleen whales (Mysticeti), the eomysticetids are an ancient successful family that retain possibly nonfunctional teeth and functional baleen, a transitional stage between toothed and baleen-assisted filter-feeding mysticetes. The patchy fossil record leaves gaps in eomysticetid paleobiology interpretations, but their diversity and widespread geographical distribution can be a relevant proxy to understanding the evolution of crown Mysticeti. Here we describe a new baleen whale, Echericetus novellus n. gen. n. sp., from the Oligocene of Mexico (slightly older than 27.95 million years ago). This new taxon has morphological features that show its affinity to Eomysticetidae, such as the intertemporal region longer than wide, the elongate and oval temporal fossa, and a well-developed and lobate coronoid process of the mandible. Similarly, our cladistic analyses confirm the inclusion of Echericetus in the Eomysticetidae. Echericetus reinforces our notion of the eomysticetid diversity and disparity. Geographically, the existence of Echericetus from Mexico also indicates that eomysticetid inhabited subtropical regions in the Northern Hemisphere. Last, our discovery of a new eomysticetid from the Oligocene of Mexico provides new insights into the distribution patterns and habitat use of Eomysticetidae, essential to further explain the demise of this transitional lineage between toothed and baleen-bearing whales. Text baleen whale baleen whales BioOne Online Journals Baja Fossa ENVELOPE(9.795,9.795,62.990,62.990) Journal of Paleontology 97 6 1309 1328 |
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Open Polar |
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BioOne Online Journals |
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ftbioone |
language |
English |
description |
Among the several evolutionary lineages of the baleen whales (Mysticeti), the eomysticetids are an ancient successful family that retain possibly nonfunctional teeth and functional baleen, a transitional stage between toothed and baleen-assisted filter-feeding mysticetes. The patchy fossil record leaves gaps in eomysticetid paleobiology interpretations, but their diversity and widespread geographical distribution can be a relevant proxy to understanding the evolution of crown Mysticeti. Here we describe a new baleen whale, Echericetus novellus n. gen. n. sp., from the Oligocene of Mexico (slightly older than 27.95 million years ago). This new taxon has morphological features that show its affinity to Eomysticetidae, such as the intertemporal region longer than wide, the elongate and oval temporal fossa, and a well-developed and lobate coronoid process of the mandible. Similarly, our cladistic analyses confirm the inclusion of Echericetus in the Eomysticetidae. Echericetus reinforces our notion of the eomysticetid diversity and disparity. Geographically, the existence of Echericetus from Mexico also indicates that eomysticetid inhabited subtropical regions in the Northern Hemisphere. Last, our discovery of a new eomysticetid from the Oligocene of Mexico provides new insights into the distribution patterns and habitat use of Eomysticetidae, essential to further explain the demise of this transitional lineage between toothed and baleen-bearing whales. |
author2 |
Atzcalli Ehécatl Hernández-Cisneros Tobias Schwennicke Heriberto Rochín-Bañaga Cheng-Hsiu Tsai |
format |
Text |
author |
Atzcalli Ehécatl Hernández-Cisneros Tobias Schwennicke Heriberto Rochín-Bañaga Cheng-Hsiu Tsai |
spellingShingle |
Atzcalli Ehécatl Hernández-Cisneros Tobias Schwennicke Heriberto Rochín-Bañaga Cheng-Hsiu Tsai Echericetus novellus n. gen. n. sp. (Cetacea, Mysticeti, Eomysticetidae), an Oligocene baleen whale from Baja California Sur, Mexico |
author_facet |
Atzcalli Ehécatl Hernández-Cisneros Tobias Schwennicke Heriberto Rochín-Bañaga Cheng-Hsiu Tsai |
author_sort |
Atzcalli Ehécatl Hernández-Cisneros |
title |
Echericetus novellus n. gen. n. sp. (Cetacea, Mysticeti, Eomysticetidae), an Oligocene baleen whale from Baja California Sur, Mexico |
title_short |
Echericetus novellus n. gen. n. sp. (Cetacea, Mysticeti, Eomysticetidae), an Oligocene baleen whale from Baja California Sur, Mexico |
title_full |
Echericetus novellus n. gen. n. sp. (Cetacea, Mysticeti, Eomysticetidae), an Oligocene baleen whale from Baja California Sur, Mexico |
title_fullStr |
Echericetus novellus n. gen. n. sp. (Cetacea, Mysticeti, Eomysticetidae), an Oligocene baleen whale from Baja California Sur, Mexico |
title_full_unstemmed |
Echericetus novellus n. gen. n. sp. (Cetacea, Mysticeti, Eomysticetidae), an Oligocene baleen whale from Baja California Sur, Mexico |
title_sort |
echericetus novellus n. gen. n. sp. (cetacea, mysticeti, eomysticetidae), an oligocene baleen whale from baja california sur, mexico |
publisher |
The Paleontological Society |
publishDate |
2024 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1017/jpa.2023.80 |
op_coverage |
world |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(9.795,9.795,62.990,62.990) |
geographic |
Baja Fossa |
geographic_facet |
Baja Fossa |
genre |
baleen whale baleen whales |
genre_facet |
baleen whale baleen whales |
op_source |
https://doi.org/10.1017/jpa.2023.80 |
op_relation |
doi:10.1017/jpa.2023.80 |
op_rights |
All rights reserved. |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1017/jpa.2023.80 |
container_title |
Journal of Paleontology |
container_volume |
97 |
container_issue |
6 |
container_start_page |
1309 |
op_container_end_page |
1328 |
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1800748631170482176 |