A NEW RECORD OF PHYSETEROIDEA FROM THE UPPER MIOCENE OF THE PIETRA LECCESE (SOUTHERN ITALY): SYSTEMATICS, PALEOECOLOGY AND TAPHONOMY OF A FOSSIL MACRORAPTORIAL SPERM WHALE ...
We report on a partial skeleton of sperm whale (Cetacea, Odontoceti, Physeteroidea) from the Pietra leccese, a Miocene limestone widely exposed in the Salento Peninsula (southern Italy). This specimen was found in Tortonian strata cropping out at the Cisterna quarry, not far from the holotype of the...
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| Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
| Language: | English |
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RIVISTA ITALIANA DI PALEONTOLOGIA E STRATIGRAFIA
2020
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| Online Access: | https://dx.doi.org/10.13130/2039-4942/14284 https://riviste.unimi.it/index.php/RIPS/article/view/14284 |
| Summary: | We report on a partial skeleton of sperm whale (Cetacea, Odontoceti, Physeteroidea) from the Pietra leccese, a Miocene limestone widely exposed in the Salento Peninsula (southern Italy). This specimen was found in Tortonian strata cropping out at the Cisterna quarry, not far from the holotype of the stem physeteroid Zygophyster varolai. The presence of a deep and rectilinear groove medial to the tympanosquamosal recess of the squamosal, the bowed mandibles, and some dental features suggest that this specimen belongs to a still undescribed new genus and species of macroraptorial sperm whale that displays some affinities with the late Miocene Acrophyseter from Peru. Nevertheless, due to the incompleteness and poor preservation state of the skull, we abstain from creating a new taxon. The teeth exhibit both apical wear and deep occlusal facets, and three teeth even lost their crowns. These dental modifications suggest that the studied specimen used a raptorial feeding strategy for preying upon food items such ... : RIVISTA ITALIANA DI PALEONTOLOGIA E STRATIGRAFIA , V. 126 N. 3 (2020) ... |
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