Description of the skeleton of the fossil beaked whale Messapicetus gregarius: searching potential proxies for deep-diving abilities

• Published in: Fossil Record
• Main Authors: Ramassamy, Benjamin, Lambert, Olivier, Collareta, Alberto, Urbina, Mario, Bianucci, Giovanni
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Copernicus Publications 2018
• Subjects: article; Verlagsveröffentlichung; Fossa; toothed whales
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.5194/fr-21-11-2018; https://noa.gwlb.de/receive/cop_mods_00007557; https://noa.gwlb.de/servlets/MCRFileNodeServlet/cop_derivate_00007514/fr-21-11-2018.pdf; https://fr.copernicus.org/articles/21/11/2018/fr-21-11-2018.pdf

Ziphiidae (beaked whales) are a successful family of medium- to large-sized toothed whales. Their extant members perform regular deep dives beyond the photic zone to forage for cephalopods and fish. Conversely, extinct long-snouted stem ziphiids are interpreted as epipelagic predators. However, some...