New beaked whales from the late Miocene of Peru and evidence for convergent evolution in stem and crown Ziphiidae (Cetacea, Odontoceti)

• Published in: PeerJ
• Main Authors: Bianucci, Giovanni, Di Celma, Claudio, Urbina, Mario, Lambert, Olivier
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: PeerJ Inc. 2016
• Subjects: Evolutionary Studies; Pacific; Pisco; Southern Ocean; North Atlantic
• Online Access: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5036081/; https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.2479

The Ziphiidae (beaked whales) represent a large group of open-ocean odontocetes (toothed cetaceans), whose elusive and deep diving behavior prevents direct observation in their natural habitat. Despite their generally large body size, broad geographical distribution, and high species number, ziphiid...