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: 2018
• Subjects: Paleontology; Cetacea; Ziphiiidae; Messapicetus; Miocene; Peru; Fossa; toothed whales
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/11568/956055; https://doi.org/10.5194/fr-21-11-2018; https://www.foss-rec.net/21/11/2018/

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...