Borealodon osedax, a new stem mysticete (Mammalia, Cetacea) from the Oligocene of Washington State and its implications for fossil whale-fall communities
Baleen whales (mysticetes) lack teeth as adults and instead filter feed using keratinous baleen plates. They do not echolocate with ultrasonic frequencies like toothed whales but are instead known for infrasonic acoustics. Both baleen and infrasonic hearing are separately considered key innovations...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:c7fa3afb276d46b6b3ac190afbd20525 2023-05-15T15:37:10+02:00 Borealodon osedax, a new stem mysticete (Mammalia, Cetacea) from the Oligocene of Washington State and its implications for fossil whale-fall communities B. K. Shipps Carlos Mauricio Peredo Nicholas D. Pyenson 2019-07-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.182168 https://doaj.org/article/c7fa3afb276d46b6b3ac190afbd20525 EN eng The Royal Society https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/pdf/10.1098/rsos.182168 https://doaj.org/toc/2054-5703 2054-5703 doi:10.1098/rsos.182168 https://doaj.org/article/c7fa3afb276d46b6b3ac190afbd20525 Royal Society Open Science, Vol 6, Iss 7 (2019) baleen cetacea mysticeti oligocene pysht formation Science Q article 2019 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.182168 2023-01-08T01:27:09Z Baleen whales (mysticetes) lack teeth as adults and instead filter feed using keratinous baleen plates. They do not echolocate with ultrasonic frequencies like toothed whales but are instead known for infrasonic acoustics. Both baleen and infrasonic hearing are separately considered key innovations linked to their gigantism, evolutionary success and ecological diversity. The earliest mysticetes had teeth, and the phylogenetic position of many so-called toothed mysticetes remains debated, including those belonging to the nominal taxonomic groups Llanocetidae, Mammalodontidae and Aetiocetidae. Here, we report a new stem mysticete, Borealodon osedax gen. et sp. nov., from the Oligocene of Washington State, USA. Borealodon preserves multi-cusped teeth with apical wear; microCT scans of the inner ear indicate that the minimum frequency hearing limit of Borealodon was similar to mammalodontids. Borealodon is not recovered within a monophyletic Mammalodontidae nor a monophyletic Aetiocetidae; instead, it represents an unnamed lineage of stem Mysticeti, adding to the diversity of stem mysticetes, especially across the Rupelian–Chattian boundary. Furthermore, the presence of a putative chemosynthetic bivalve along with Osedax, a bone-boring annelid, found in association with the type specimen of Borealodon, offer more insights into the evolution of deep-sea whale-fall communities. Article in Journal/Newspaper baleen whales toothed whales Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Royal Society Open Science 6 7 182168 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
baleen cetacea mysticeti oligocene pysht formation Science Q |
spellingShingle |
baleen cetacea mysticeti oligocene pysht formation Science Q B. K. Shipps Carlos Mauricio Peredo Nicholas D. Pyenson Borealodon osedax, a new stem mysticete (Mammalia, Cetacea) from the Oligocene of Washington State and its implications for fossil whale-fall communities |
topic_facet |
baleen cetacea mysticeti oligocene pysht formation Science Q |
description |
Baleen whales (mysticetes) lack teeth as adults and instead filter feed using keratinous baleen plates. They do not echolocate with ultrasonic frequencies like toothed whales but are instead known for infrasonic acoustics. Both baleen and infrasonic hearing are separately considered key innovations linked to their gigantism, evolutionary success and ecological diversity. The earliest mysticetes had teeth, and the phylogenetic position of many so-called toothed mysticetes remains debated, including those belonging to the nominal taxonomic groups Llanocetidae, Mammalodontidae and Aetiocetidae. Here, we report a new stem mysticete, Borealodon osedax gen. et sp. nov., from the Oligocene of Washington State, USA. Borealodon preserves multi-cusped teeth with apical wear; microCT scans of the inner ear indicate that the minimum frequency hearing limit of Borealodon was similar to mammalodontids. Borealodon is not recovered within a monophyletic Mammalodontidae nor a monophyletic Aetiocetidae; instead, it represents an unnamed lineage of stem Mysticeti, adding to the diversity of stem mysticetes, especially across the Rupelian–Chattian boundary. Furthermore, the presence of a putative chemosynthetic bivalve along with Osedax, a bone-boring annelid, found in association with the type specimen of Borealodon, offer more insights into the evolution of deep-sea whale-fall communities. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
B. K. Shipps Carlos Mauricio Peredo Nicholas D. Pyenson |
author_facet |
B. K. Shipps Carlos Mauricio Peredo Nicholas D. Pyenson |
author_sort |
B. K. Shipps |
title |
Borealodon osedax, a new stem mysticete (Mammalia, Cetacea) from the Oligocene of Washington State and its implications for fossil whale-fall communities |
title_short |
Borealodon osedax, a new stem mysticete (Mammalia, Cetacea) from the Oligocene of Washington State and its implications for fossil whale-fall communities |
title_full |
Borealodon osedax, a new stem mysticete (Mammalia, Cetacea) from the Oligocene of Washington State and its implications for fossil whale-fall communities |
title_fullStr |
Borealodon osedax, a new stem mysticete (Mammalia, Cetacea) from the Oligocene of Washington State and its implications for fossil whale-fall communities |
title_full_unstemmed |
Borealodon osedax, a new stem mysticete (Mammalia, Cetacea) from the Oligocene of Washington State and its implications for fossil whale-fall communities |
title_sort |
borealodon osedax, a new stem mysticete (mammalia, cetacea) from the oligocene of washington state and its implications for fossil whale-fall communities |
publisher |
The Royal Society |
publishDate |
2019 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.182168 https://doaj.org/article/c7fa3afb276d46b6b3ac190afbd20525 |
genre |
baleen whales toothed whales |
genre_facet |
baleen whales toothed whales |
op_source |
Royal Society Open Science, Vol 6, Iss 7 (2019) |
op_relation |
https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/pdf/10.1098/rsos.182168 https://doaj.org/toc/2054-5703 2054-5703 doi:10.1098/rsos.182168 https://doaj.org/article/c7fa3afb276d46b6b3ac190afbd20525 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.182168 |
container_title |
Royal Society Open Science |
container_volume |
6 |
container_issue |
7 |
container_start_page |
182168 |
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1766367635106168832 |