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Morenocetus
''Morenocetus'' is an extinct genus of primitive balaenid from the Early Miocene (Burdigalian and Colhuehuapian in the SALMA classification) Gaiman Formation of Patagonia, Argentina. Description ''Morenocetus'' is distinguished from more derived balaenids in the narrow exposure of the squamosal lateral to the exoccipital, a short supraorbital process of the frontal, straight lateral edges of the supraoccipital, and a postorbital process of the frontal oriented posteriorly. It can be distinguished from the only other Miocene balaenid, '' Peripolocetus'' in having a dorsoventrally expanded zygomatic process of the squamosal. The body length of ''Morenocetus'' is estimated at , and the rostrum is moderately arched dorsoventrally in contrast to crown Balaenidae. Classification ''Morenocetus'' is the oldest named extinct balaenid so far, although a chaeomysticete specimen from late Oligocene marine deposits in New Zealand was reported as a stem-balaenid in an SVP 2002 abstract ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gaiman Formation
The Gaiman Formation (), in older literature also referred to as Patagonian Marine Formation (, ''Patagoniense''), is a list of fossiliferous stratigraphic units in Argentina, fossiliferous geologic Formation (geology), formation of the Peninsula Valdés Basin in the eastern Chubut Province of northwestern Patagonia, eastern Argentina. The thick formation overlies the Sarmiento Formation and is overlain by the Puerto Madryn Formation and comprises grey and white tuffaceous mudstones and sandstones, deposited in a shallow marine depositional environment, environment. The Gaiman Formation has provided fossils of many extinct penguins, among which five species in the genus ''Palaeospheniscus'', as well as whales and dolphins, most notably ''Aondelphis, Aondelphis talen'', ''Prosqualodon, Prosqualodon australis'', ''Idiorophus, Idiorophus patagonicus'' and ''Argyrocetus, Argyrocetus patagonicus'', indeterminate seal and turtle fossils, shark and other fossils. The richness of the for ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Colhuehuapian
The Colhuehuapian age is a period of geologic time (21.0–17.5 Ma) within the Early Miocene epoch of the Neogene, used more specifically within the SALMA classification in South America. It follows the Deseadan and precedes the Santacrucian age. Etymology The age is named after the Colhué Huapí Member of the Sarmiento Formation in the Golfo San Jorge Basin, Patagonia, Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt .... Formations Fossils References Bibliography ;Colhué Huapí Member * * ;Abanico Formation * * * * * * ;Biblián Formation * ;Castillo Formation * * * * * ;Cerro Bandera Formation * * ;Chichinales Formation * * ;Chilcatay Formation * * * * * * * * * * ;Cura-Mallín Group * * * ;Gaiman Formati ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Balaenidae
Balaenidae () is a Family (biology), family of whales of the parvorder Mysticeti (baleen whales) that contains mostly fossil taxa and two living genera: the right whale (genus ''Eubalaena''), and the closely related bowhead whale (genus ''Balaena''). Taxonomy *Family Balaenidae **Genus ''Balaena'' ***Bowhead whale, ''Balaena mysticetus'' **Genus ''Eubalaena'' ***North Atlantic right whale, ''Eubalaena glacialis'' ***North Pacific right whale, ''Eubalaena japonica'' ***Southern right whale, ''Eubalaena australis'' Until recently, all right whales of the genus ''Eubalaena'' were considered a single species—''E. glacialis''. In 2000, genetic studies of right whales from the different ocean basins led scientists to conclude that the populations in the North Atlantic, North Pacific and Southern Hemisphere constitute three distinct species. Further genetic analysis in 2005 using mitochondrial DNA and nuclear DNA has supported the conclusion that the three populations should be tr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Early Miocene
The Early Miocene (also known as Lower Miocene) is a sub-epoch of the Miocene epoch (geology), Epoch made up of two faunal stage, stages: the Aquitanian age, Aquitanian and Burdigalian stages. The sub-epoch lasted from 23.03 ± 0.05 annum, Ma to 15.97 ± 0.05 Ma (million years ago). It was preceded by the Oligocene epoch. As the climate started to get cooler, the landscape started to change. New mammals evolved to replace the extinct animals of the Oligocene epoch. The first members of the hyena and weasel family started to evolve to replace the extinct ''Hyaenodon'', entelodonts and bear-dogs. The chalicotheres survived the Oligocene epoch. A new genus of entelodont called ''Daeodon'' evolved in order to adapt to the new habitats and hunt the new prey animals of the Early Miocene epoch; it quickly became the top predator of North America. But it became extinct due to competition from ''Amphicyon'', a newcomer from Eurasia. ''Amphicyon'' bested ''Daeodon'' because the bear-dog's la ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Neogene Argentina
The Neogene ( ,) is a geologic period and system that spans 20.45 million years from the end of the Paleogene Period million years ago ( Mya) to the beginning of the present Quaternary Period million years ago. It is the second period of the Cenozoic and the eleventh period of the Phanerozoic. The Neogene is sub-divided into two epochs, the earlier Miocene and the later Pliocene. Some geologists assert that the Neogene cannot be clearly delineated from the modern geological period, the Quaternary. The term "Neogene" was coined in 1853 by the Austrian palaeontologist Moritz Hörnes (1815–1868). The earlier term Tertiary Period was used to define the span of time now covered by Paleogene and Neogene and, despite no longer being recognized as a formal stratigraphic term, "Tertiary" still sometimes remains in informal use. During this period, mammals and birds continued to evolve into modern forms, while other groups of life remained relatively unchanged. The first humans ('' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Miocene Mammals Of South America
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 followed the Oligocene and preceded 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 distinct global events but by regionally defined transitions from the warmer Oligocene to the cooler Pliocene Epoch. During the Early Miocene, Afro-Arabia collided with Eurasia, severing the connection between the Mediterranean and Indian Oceans, and allowing the interchange of fauna between Eurasia and Africa, including the dispersal of proboscideans and hominoids into Eurasia. During the late Miocene, the connections between the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Monotypic Prehistoric Cetacean Genera
In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unispecific" or "monospecific" is sometimes preferred. In botanical nomenclature, a monotypic genus is a genus in the special case where a genus and a single species are simultaneously described. Theoretical implications Monotypic taxa present several important theoretical challenges in biological classification. One key issue is known as "Gregg's Paradox": if a single species is the only member of multiple hierarchical levels (for example, being the only species in its genus, which is the only genus in its family), then each level needs a distinct definition to maintain logical structure. Otherwise, the different taxonomic ranks become effectively identical, which creates problems for organizing biological diversity in a hierarchical system. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ewan Fordyce
Robert Ewan Fordyce (14 July 1953 – 10 November 2023) was a New Zealand palaeontologist. He specialised in the evolution of whales, dolphins, and early penguins. Life and career Fordyce joined the Department of Geology at the University of Otago in 1982 and retired in 2021. During his career, he was involved in the discovery and description of many fossil species, including the giant penguin '' Kairuku'' and the ancient whale ''Llanocetus''. He also had a new species of giant penguin named for him, '' Kumimanu fordycei'', which was described in 2023. In 2012, Fordyce was awarded the Hutton Medal for "his seminal contributions in New Zealand vertebrate paleontology, notably in relation to the occurrence, taxonomy and display of fossil marine mammals such as whales and dolphins and of penguins". In 2019, he won the McKay Hammer Award for a 2016 paper he co-authored with Robert W. Boessenecker reviewing early baleen whales (Eomysticetidae Eomysticetidae is a family of extin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Argentina
Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourth-largest country in the Americas, and the List of countries and dependencies by area, eighth-largest country in the world. Argentina shares the bulk of the Southern Cone with Chile to the west, and is also bordered by Bolivia and Paraguay to the north, Brazil to the northeast, Uruguay and the South Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Drake Passage to the south. Argentina is a Federation, federal state subdivided into twenty-three Provinces of Argentina, provinces, and one autonomous city, which is the federal capital and List of cities in Argentina by population, largest city of the nation, Buenos Aires. The provinces and the capital have their own constitutions, but exist under a Federalism, federal system. Argentina claims sovereignty ov ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Peripolocetus
''Peripolocetus'' is a genus of balaenid baleen whale from the middle Miocene of Kern County, California.M. D. Uhen, R. E. Fordyce, and L. G. Barnes. 2008. Mysticeti. In C. M. Janis, K. M. Scott, and L. L. Jacobs (eds.), Evolution of Tertiary Mammals of North America II:607-628 Classification Like other non-balaenopteroid thalassotheres, ''Peripolocetus'' was classified as a cetotheriid in the past. When named by American zoologist Remington Kellogg in 1931, it was assigned to Cetotheriidae, an opinion followed by subsequent authors. However, it was assigned to Mysticeti incertae sedis or is a term used for a taxonomy (biology), taxonomic group where its broader relationships are unknown or undefined. Alternatively, such groups are frequently referred to as "enigmatic taxa". In the system of open nomenclature, uncertainty ... by one source, and a cladistic analysis of '' Herpetocetus morrowi'' recovered ''Peripolocetus'' as a member of Balaenoidea. The assignment of ' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
