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Lophocetus
''Lophocetus'' ("crested whale") is an extinct genus of dolphin belonging to the clade Delphinida that is known from late Miocene (Tortonian) marine deposits in California and Maryland. Although usually placed in Kentriodontidae, recent studies have found it only distantly related to ''Kentriodon''. Discovery and taxonomy ''Lophocetus'' was the first fossil odontocete to be described from North America. The type species, ''L. calvertensis'', was originally described as ''Delphinus calvertensis'' by the American naturalist Richard Harlan in 1842 on the basis of USNM 16314, a skull from the St. Marys Formation of Maryland. Edward Drinker Cope subsequently recognized it as distinct from extant oceanic dolphins and considered it congeneric with the franciscana (as ''Pontoporia calvertensis''), before renaming it as a distinct genus, ''Lophocetus''. In 1955, Remington Kellogg described a new species of ''Lophocetus'', ''L. pappus'', on the basis of the skull USNM 15985 from the Lang ...
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Liolithax
''Liolithax'' is an extinct genus of dolphin from the Middle Miocene (Serravallian) Temblor Formation of California. Taxonomy ''Liolithax kernensis'', described by Remington Kellogg on the basis of the periotic CAS 4370 in 1931, was considered the only species of the genus until Barnes (1978) reassigned ''" Lophocetus" pappus'' to ''Liolithax'' based on similarities between the holotype periotic of ''L. kernensis'' and the periotic of ''L. pappus''. ''Liolithax'' was grouped in Kampholophinae with '' Kampholophos'' by Barnes (1978, 1985). The discovery of a skull from middle Miocene deposits in Baja California, Mexico cast doubt on the congenericity of ''"Lophocetus" pappus'' with the ''Liolithax'' type species by including a petrosal more similar to ''L. kernensis'' than to the petrosals included in the skulls of ''pappus''. In a 2008 SVPCA abstract, Lawrence Barnes and colleagues noted that the Baja California skull differed from ''"Lophocetus" pappus'' in having a smaller too ...
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Kentriodontidae
Kentriodontidae is an extinct family of odontocete whales related to modern dolphins. The Kentriodontidae lived from the Oligocene to the Pliocene before going extinct. Taxonomy Kentriodontids have been variously divided into three or four subfamilies: Kampholophinae, Kentriodontinae, Lophocetinae, and Pithanodelphinae. However, recent cladistic studies have recovered Kentriodontidae as paraphyletic.Pyenson ND Vélez-Juarbe J Gutstein CS Little H Vigil D O’Dea A . 2015. Isthminia panamensis, a new fossil inioid (Mammalia, Cetacea) from the Chagres Formation of Panama and the evolution of ‘river dolphins’ in the Americas. PeerJ 3: e1227.O. Lambert, G. Bianucci, M. Urbina and J. H. Geisler. 2017. A new inioid (Cetacea, Odontoceti, Delphinida) from the Miocene of Peru and the origin of modern dolphin and porpoise families. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 179:919-946. For instance, ''"Lophocetus" pappus'' may be a close relative of Lipotidae, '' "Delphinodon" divi ...
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Lipotidae
Lipotidae is a family of river dolphins containing the possibly extinct baiji of China and the fossil genus ''Parapontoporia'' from the Late Miocene and Pliocene of the Pacific coast of North America. The genus '' Prolipotes'', which is based on a mandible fragment from Neogene coastal deposits in Guangxi, China, has been classified as an extinct relative of the baiji, but is dubious. The putative kentriodontid '' "Lophocetus" pappus'' is a possible relative of Lipotidae.Olivier Lambert, Giovanni Bianucci, Mario Urbina, Jonathan H. Geisler; A new inioid (Cetacea, Odontoceti, Delphinida) from the Miocene of Peru and the origin of modern dolphin and porpoise families. Zool J Linn Soc 2017; 179 (4): 919-946. doi: 10.1111/zoj.12479. https://academic.oup.com/zoolinnean/article/179/4/919/3076080/A-new-inioid-Cetacea-Odontoceti-Delphinida-from?guestAccessKey=3b956b95-d215-488a-8d90-1cff59554290#63703008 Genera and Species * †(?) '' Lipotes'' ** †(?) ''Lipotes vexillifer'' * ''Para ...
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Late Miocene
The Late Miocene (also known as Upper Miocene) is a sub-epoch of the Miocene Epoch made up of two stages. The Tortonian and Messinian stages comprise the Late Miocene sub-epoch, which lasted from 11.63 Ma (million years ago) to 5.333 Ma. The evolution of life The gibbons (family Hylobatidae) and orangutans (genus ''Pongo'') are the first groups to split from the line leading to the hominins, including humans, then gorillas (genus ''Gorilla''), and finally, chimpanzees and bonobo The bonobo (; ''Pan paniscus''), also historically called the pygmy chimpanzee and less often the dwarf chimpanzee or gracile chimpanzee, is an endangered great ape and one of the two species making up the genus '' Pan,'' the other being the co ...s (genus '' Pan''). The splitting date between hominin and chimpanzee lineages is placed by some between 4 to 8 million years ago, that is, during the Late Miocene. References External links GeoWhen Database - Late Miocene .03 03 * * ...
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Tagicetus
''Tagicetus'' is an extinct genus of dolphin belonging to the polyphyletic family Kentriodontidae. Although classified in the subfamily Kentriodontinae by Lambert et al. (2005), recent cladistic analysis places it as closer to extant delphinoids than to ''Kentriodon ''Kentriodon'' is an extinct genus of toothed whale related to modern-day dolphins. Fossils have been found in North America, Europe and Japan. Several species have been described. Description ''Kentriodon'' was the most diverse of all the ...''.Post K, Louwye S, Lambert O. (2017) Scaldiporia vandokkumi, a new pontoporiid (Mammalia, Cetacea, Odontoceti) from the Late Miocene to earliest Pliocene of the Westerschelde estuary (The Netherlands) PeerJ 5:e3991 https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.3991 References Prehistoric toothed whales Prehistoric cetacean genera Fossil taxa described in 2005 {{paleo-whale-stub ...
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Miocene Cetaceans
The Miocene ( ) is the first geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about (Ma). The Miocene was named by Scottish geologist Charles Lyell; the name comes from the Greek words (', "less") and (', "new") and means "less recent" because it has 18% fewer modern marine invertebrates than the Pliocene has. The Miocene is preceded by the Oligocene and is followed by the Pliocene. As Earth went from the Oligocene through the Miocene and into the Pliocene, the climate slowly cooled towards a series of ice ages. The Miocene boundaries are not marked by a single distinct global event but consist rather of regionally defined boundaries between the warmer Oligocene and the cooler Pliocene Epoch. During the Early Miocene, the Arabian Peninsula collided with Eurasia, severing the connection between the Mediterranean and Indian Ocean, and allowing a faunal interchange to occur between Eurasia and Africa, including the dispersal of proboscideans into Eurasia. During the late ...
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Squaloziphius
''Squaloziphius'' is an extinct genus of odontocete cetacean from the Early Miocene ( Aquitanian) aged marine deposits in Washington state Washington (), officially the State of Washington, is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. Named for George Washington—the first U.S. president—the state was formed from the western part of the Washington .... Systematics It was originally classified as the most primitive beaked whale, being placed in a separate subfamily, Squaloziphiinae, (followed by Fordyce and Muizon 2001) but later authors have placed it outside Ziphiidae as either Odontoceti ''incertae sedis'' or closely related to Ziphiidae. The description of the archaic odontocete ''Yaquinacetus'' demonstrated that ''Squaloziphius'' was by no means part of Ziphiidae and that these two taxa are more primitive than crown Odontoceti, necessitating elevation of Squaloziphiinae to full familial status, as Squaloziphiidae. Olivier Lambert, Steph ...
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Parapontoporia
''Parapontoporia'' is an extinct genus of dolphin that lived off the Californian coast from the Late Miocene until the genus' extinction during the Pliocene. It is related to the baiji The baiji (; IPA: ; ''Lipotes vexillifer'', ''Lipotes'' meaning "left behind" and ''vexillifer'' "flag bearer") is a possibly extinct species of freshwater dolphin native to the Yangtze river system in China. It is thought to be the first dolph .... References SDNHM Fossil Mysteries Field Guide: Long-snouted Dolphin Prehistoric toothed whales Miocene cetaceans Pliocene cetaceans Pliocene extinctions Dolphins Prehistoric cetacean genera Fossil taxa described in 1984 {{paleo-whale-stub ...
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Baiji
The baiji (; IPA: ; ''Lipotes vexillifer'', ''Lipotes'' meaning "left behind" and ''vexillifer'' "flag bearer") is a possibly extinct species of freshwater dolphin native to the Yangtze river system in China. It is thought to be the first dolphin species driven to extinction due to the impact of humans. This dolphin is listed as “critically endangered: possibly extinct” by the IUCN, has not been seen in 20 years, and several surveys of the Yangtze have failed to find it. In China, the species is also called the Chinese river dolphin, Yangtze river dolphin, Yangtze dolphin and whitefin dolphin. Nicknamed the "Goddess of the Yangtze" (), it was regarded as the goddess of protection by local fishermen and boatmen. It is not to be confused with the Chinese white dolphin (''Sousa chinensis'') or the finless porpoise (''Neophocaena phocaenoides''). The baiji population declined drastically in decades as China industrialized and made heavy use of the river for fishing, transportati ...
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Santa Margarita Formation
The Santa Margarita Formation is a Neogene Period geologic formation in the San Joaquin Valley of central California. It preserves fossils dating back to the Miocene epoch. See also * List of fossiliferous stratigraphic units in California * Paleontology in California Paleontology in California refers to paleontologist research occurring within or conducted by people from the U.S. state of California. California contains rocks of almost every age from the Precambrian to the Recent. Precambrian fossils are pres ... Fossils of Los Angeles References External links * * Geologic formations of California Miocene California Phosphorite formations Geography of the San Joaquin Valley Geology of Kern County, California {{California-geologic-formation-stub ...
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