A new Monodontidae (Cetacea, Delphinoidea) from the lower Pliocene of Italy supports a warm-water origin for narwhals and white whales

• Published in: Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology
• Main Authors: Bianucci G., Pesci F., Collareta A., Tinelli C.
• Other Authors: Bianucci, G., Pesci, F., Collareta, A., Tinelli, C.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: 2019
• Subjects: MARINE; ODONTOCETI; TUSCANY; PLIOCENE; EVOLUTION; MONODONTID; SKULL; Nares; narwhal*
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/11568/1022436; https://doi.org/10.1080/02724634.2019.1645148; https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/02724634.2019.1645148

A new taxon of monodontid cetacean, Casatia thermophila, gen. et sp. nov., is here described on the basis of a partial skull from lower Pliocene (5.1–4.5 Ma) marginal-marine deposits of Tuscany (central Italy). This new taxon belongs to Monodontidae based on the presence of a medial exposure of the...