On Prophoca and Leptophoca (Pinnipedia, Phocidae) from the Miocene of the North Atlantic realm: redescription, phylogenetic affinities and paleobiogeographic implications

• Published in: PeerJ
• Main Authors: Leonard Dewaele, Olivier Lambert, Stephen Louwye
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: PeerJ Inc. 2017
• Subjects: Phocidae; Prophoca; Leptophoca; Miocene; North Atlantic; Redescription; Medicine; R; Biology (General); QH301-705.5; Beneden; Van Beneden
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.3024; https://doaj.org/article/1b94e25810194e4e92c76c61ae047035

Background Prophoca and Leptophoca represent the oldest known genera of phocine seals, dating from the latest early to middle Miocene. Originally, Prophoca rousseaui and Prophoca proxima were described based on fragmentary remains from the Miocene of Belgium. However, several researchers contested t...