Fossil dolphin Otekaikea marplesi (latest Oligocene, New Zealand) expands the morphological and taxonomic diversity of Oligocene cetaceans.
The Oligocene Epoch was a time of major radiation of the Odontoceti (echolocating toothed whales, dolphins). Fossils reveal many odontocete lineages and considerable structural diversity, but whether the clades include some crown taxa or only archaic groups is contentious. The New Zealand fossil dol...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:ba39c747c855463787be24797cf2084d 2023-05-15T18:33:31+02:00 Fossil dolphin Otekaikea marplesi (latest Oligocene, New Zealand) expands the morphological and taxonomic diversity of Oligocene cetaceans. Yoshihiro Tanaka R Ewan Fordyce 2014-01-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0107972 https://doaj.org/article/ba39c747c855463787be24797cf2084d EN eng Public Library of Science (PLoS) https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0107972 https://doaj.org/toc/1932-6203 1932-6203 doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0107972 https://doaj.org/article/ba39c747c855463787be24797cf2084d PLoS ONE, Vol 9, Iss 9, p e107972 (2014) Medicine R Science Q article 2014 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0107972 2022-12-31T16:26:00Z The Oligocene Epoch was a time of major radiation of the Odontoceti (echolocating toothed whales, dolphins). Fossils reveal many odontocete lineages and considerable structural diversity, but whether the clades include some crown taxa or only archaic groups is contentious. The New Zealand fossil dolphin "Prosqualodon" marplesi (latest Oligocene, ≥23.9 Ma) is here identified as a crown odontocete that represents a new genus, Otekaikea, and adds to the generic diversity of Oligocene odontocetes. Otekaikea marplesi is known only from the holotype, which comprises a partial skeleton from the marine Otekaike Limestone of the Waitaki Valley. Otekaikea marplesi was about 2.5 m long; it had procumbent anterior teeth, and a broad dished face for the nasofacial muscles implicated in production of echolocation sounds. The prominent condyles and unfused cervical vertebrae suggest a flexible neck. A phylogenetic analysis based on morphological features places Otekaikea marplesi in the extinct group Waipatiidae, within the clade Platanistoidea. The phylogeny implies an Oligocene origin for the lineage now represented by the endangered Ganges River dolphin (Platanista gangetica), supporting an Oligocene history for the crown Odontoceti. Article in Journal/Newspaper toothed whales Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles New Zealand PLoS ONE 9 9 e107972 |
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Medicine R Science Q |
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Medicine R Science Q Yoshihiro Tanaka R Ewan Fordyce Fossil dolphin Otekaikea marplesi (latest Oligocene, New Zealand) expands the morphological and taxonomic diversity of Oligocene cetaceans. |
topic_facet |
Medicine R Science Q |
description |
The Oligocene Epoch was a time of major radiation of the Odontoceti (echolocating toothed whales, dolphins). Fossils reveal many odontocete lineages and considerable structural diversity, but whether the clades include some crown taxa or only archaic groups is contentious. The New Zealand fossil dolphin "Prosqualodon" marplesi (latest Oligocene, ≥23.9 Ma) is here identified as a crown odontocete that represents a new genus, Otekaikea, and adds to the generic diversity of Oligocene odontocetes. Otekaikea marplesi is known only from the holotype, which comprises a partial skeleton from the marine Otekaike Limestone of the Waitaki Valley. Otekaikea marplesi was about 2.5 m long; it had procumbent anterior teeth, and a broad dished face for the nasofacial muscles implicated in production of echolocation sounds. The prominent condyles and unfused cervical vertebrae suggest a flexible neck. A phylogenetic analysis based on morphological features places Otekaikea marplesi in the extinct group Waipatiidae, within the clade Platanistoidea. The phylogeny implies an Oligocene origin for the lineage now represented by the endangered Ganges River dolphin (Platanista gangetica), supporting an Oligocene history for the crown Odontoceti. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Yoshihiro Tanaka R Ewan Fordyce |
author_facet |
Yoshihiro Tanaka R Ewan Fordyce |
author_sort |
Yoshihiro Tanaka |
title |
Fossil dolphin Otekaikea marplesi (latest Oligocene, New Zealand) expands the morphological and taxonomic diversity of Oligocene cetaceans. |
title_short |
Fossil dolphin Otekaikea marplesi (latest Oligocene, New Zealand) expands the morphological and taxonomic diversity of Oligocene cetaceans. |
title_full |
Fossil dolphin Otekaikea marplesi (latest Oligocene, New Zealand) expands the morphological and taxonomic diversity of Oligocene cetaceans. |
title_fullStr |
Fossil dolphin Otekaikea marplesi (latest Oligocene, New Zealand) expands the morphological and taxonomic diversity of Oligocene cetaceans. |
title_full_unstemmed |
Fossil dolphin Otekaikea marplesi (latest Oligocene, New Zealand) expands the morphological and taxonomic diversity of Oligocene cetaceans. |
title_sort |
fossil dolphin otekaikea marplesi (latest oligocene, new zealand) expands the morphological and taxonomic diversity of oligocene cetaceans. |
publisher |
Public Library of Science (PLoS) |
publishDate |
2014 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0107972 https://doaj.org/article/ba39c747c855463787be24797cf2084d |
geographic |
New Zealand |
geographic_facet |
New Zealand |
genre |
toothed whales |
genre_facet |
toothed whales |
op_source |
PLoS ONE, Vol 9, Iss 9, p e107972 (2014) |
op_relation |
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0107972 https://doaj.org/toc/1932-6203 1932-6203 doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0107972 https://doaj.org/article/ba39c747c855463787be24797cf2084d |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0107972 |
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PLoS ONE |
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9 |
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9 |
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e107972 |
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