''Beneziphius'' is an extinct genus of

ziphiid Beaked whales ( systematic name Ziphiidae) are a family of cetaceans noted as being one of the least known groups of mammals because of their deep-sea habitat and apparent low abundance. Only three or four of the 24 species are reasonably well- ...

cetacean known from late Miocene to Pliocene marine deposits in Belgium and fishing grounds off Spain. The genus name honors Pierre-Joseph van Beneden, who pioneered the study of Neogene marine mammals from Belgium.

Taxonomy

Two species are known, ''B. brevirostris'' and ''B. cetariensis''. ''Beneziphius'' differs from other primitive beaked whales ("''Messapicetus'' clade" ''sensu'' Bianucci et al. 2016) in having ankylosed thickened premaxillae dorsally roofing the mesorostral groove for most of its length. The two species of ''Beneziphius'' differ from each other in their size, rostral length, premaxillary length, and features of the premaxillary sac fossa.Miján, I., Louwye, S., and Lambert, O. 2017. A new Beneziphius beaked whale from the ocean floor off Galicia, Spain and biostratigraphic reassessment of the type species. ''Acta Palaeontologica Polonica'' 62 (1): 211–220.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q48809117 Ziphiids Prehistoric cetacean genera Fossil taxa described in 2005 Miocene cetaceans Fossils of Spain Pliocene cetaceans