From Problem Taxa to Problem Solver: A New Miocene Family, Tranatocetidae, Brings Perspective on Baleen Whale Evolution.
Miocene baleen whales were highly diverse and included tens of genera. However, their taxonomy and phylogeny, as well as relationships with living whales, are still a subject of controversy. Here, "Mesocetus" argillarius, a poorly known specimen from Denmark, is redescribed with a focus on...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:1eaf5d213be649cc92997bba216e5ccd 2023-05-15T15:36:58+02:00 From Problem Taxa to Problem Solver: A New Miocene Family, Tranatocetidae, Brings Perspective on Baleen Whale Evolution. Pavel Gol'din Mette Elstrup Steeman 2015-01-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0135500 https://doaj.org/article/1eaf5d213be649cc92997bba216e5ccd EN eng Public Library of Science (PLoS) http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC4558012?pdf=render https://doaj.org/toc/1932-6203 1932-6203 doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0135500 https://doaj.org/article/1eaf5d213be649cc92997bba216e5ccd PLoS ONE, Vol 10, Iss 9, p e0135500 (2015) Medicine R Science Q article 2015 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0135500 2022-12-31T06:04:13Z Miocene baleen whales were highly diverse and included tens of genera. However, their taxonomy and phylogeny, as well as relationships with living whales, are still a subject of controversy. Here, "Mesocetus" argillarius, a poorly known specimen from Denmark, is redescribed with a focus on the cranial anatomy. It was found to represent not only a new genus, Tranatocetus gen. nov., but also a new family; Tranatocetidae. The whales of this family have the rostral bones either overriding or dividing the frontals; the rostral bones are contacting the parietals and nasals dividing the maxillae on the vertex; the occipital shield is dorsoventrally bent. The tympanic bulla is particularly characteristic of this family featuring a short, narrow anterior portion with a rounded or squared anterior end and a wider and higher posterior portion that is swollen in the posteroventral area. A phylogenetic analysis including 51 taxa supports a monophyletic group comprising most Neogene and modern whales, with Tranatocetidae being possibly closer related to Balaenopteridae (rorquals) than to Cetotheriidae. Tranatocetidae exhibit a charahteristic bulla shape. In fact, all Neogene and modern mysticete families examined have a unique shape of the tympanic bulla that is diagnostic at family-level. Inclusion of problematic taxa like Tranatocetus argillarius in phylogenies brings new understanding of the distribution and diagnostic value of character traits. This underlines the need for re-examination of earlier described specimens in the light of the wealth of new information published in later years. Article in Journal/Newspaper baleen whale baleen whales Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles PLOS ONE 10 9 e0135500 |
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Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
Medicine R Science Q |
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Medicine R Science Q Pavel Gol'din Mette Elstrup Steeman From Problem Taxa to Problem Solver: A New Miocene Family, Tranatocetidae, Brings Perspective on Baleen Whale Evolution. |
topic_facet |
Medicine R Science Q |
description |
Miocene baleen whales were highly diverse and included tens of genera. However, their taxonomy and phylogeny, as well as relationships with living whales, are still a subject of controversy. Here, "Mesocetus" argillarius, a poorly known specimen from Denmark, is redescribed with a focus on the cranial anatomy. It was found to represent not only a new genus, Tranatocetus gen. nov., but also a new family; Tranatocetidae. The whales of this family have the rostral bones either overriding or dividing the frontals; the rostral bones are contacting the parietals and nasals dividing the maxillae on the vertex; the occipital shield is dorsoventrally bent. The tympanic bulla is particularly characteristic of this family featuring a short, narrow anterior portion with a rounded or squared anterior end and a wider and higher posterior portion that is swollen in the posteroventral area. A phylogenetic analysis including 51 taxa supports a monophyletic group comprising most Neogene and modern whales, with Tranatocetidae being possibly closer related to Balaenopteridae (rorquals) than to Cetotheriidae. Tranatocetidae exhibit a charahteristic bulla shape. In fact, all Neogene and modern mysticete families examined have a unique shape of the tympanic bulla that is diagnostic at family-level. Inclusion of problematic taxa like Tranatocetus argillarius in phylogenies brings new understanding of the distribution and diagnostic value of character traits. This underlines the need for re-examination of earlier described specimens in the light of the wealth of new information published in later years. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Pavel Gol'din Mette Elstrup Steeman |
author_facet |
Pavel Gol'din Mette Elstrup Steeman |
author_sort |
Pavel Gol'din |
title |
From Problem Taxa to Problem Solver: A New Miocene Family, Tranatocetidae, Brings Perspective on Baleen Whale Evolution. |
title_short |
From Problem Taxa to Problem Solver: A New Miocene Family, Tranatocetidae, Brings Perspective on Baleen Whale Evolution. |
title_full |
From Problem Taxa to Problem Solver: A New Miocene Family, Tranatocetidae, Brings Perspective on Baleen Whale Evolution. |
title_fullStr |
From Problem Taxa to Problem Solver: A New Miocene Family, Tranatocetidae, Brings Perspective on Baleen Whale Evolution. |
title_full_unstemmed |
From Problem Taxa to Problem Solver: A New Miocene Family, Tranatocetidae, Brings Perspective on Baleen Whale Evolution. |
title_sort |
from problem taxa to problem solver: a new miocene family, tranatocetidae, brings perspective on baleen whale evolution. |
publisher |
Public Library of Science (PLoS) |
publishDate |
2015 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0135500 https://doaj.org/article/1eaf5d213be649cc92997bba216e5ccd |
genre |
baleen whale baleen whales |
genre_facet |
baleen whale baleen whales |
op_source |
PLoS ONE, Vol 10, Iss 9, p e0135500 (2015) |
op_relation |
http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC4558012?pdf=render https://doaj.org/toc/1932-6203 1932-6203 doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0135500 https://doaj.org/article/1eaf5d213be649cc92997bba216e5ccd |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0135500 |
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PLOS ONE |
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10 |
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e0135500 |
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