''Brachydelphis'' is a genus of
pontoporiid known from the Late Miocene
Pisco Formation
The Pisco Formation is a geologic formation located in Peru, on the southern coastal desert of Ica, Peru, Ica and Arequipa. The approximately thick formation was deposited in the Pisco Basin, spanning an age from the Miocene, Late Miocene up to t ...
of Peru and the
Bahía Inglesa Formation
The Bahía Inglesa Formation (alternatively misspelled "Bahia") is a littoral, sedimentary, and highly fossiliferous geological formation that outcrops across the nearby coastal zones of Caldera, Chile. The unit is part of the greater Caldera Basi ...
of Chile.
Taxonomy
Two species are recognized, ''B. jahuayensis'' and ''B. mazeasi''. ''B. mazeasi'' has a shortened rostrum that gives ''Brachydelphis'' its name,
[C. de Muizon. 1988. Les vertebres fossiles de la Formation Pisco (Perou). Troisieme partie: Les Odontocetes (Cetacea, Mammalia) du Miocene. ''Editions Recherche sur les Civilisations'' (78)1-244.] ''B. jahuayensis'' differs from the type species in having a longer snout and higher tooth count.
[O. Lambert and C. de Muizon. 2013. A new long-snouted species of the Miocene pontoporiid dolphin Brachydelphis and a review of the Mio-Pliocene marine mammal levels in the Sacaco Basin, Peru. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 33(3):709-721]
Biology
''Brachydelphis mazeasi'' was capable of suction-feeding judging from its short rostrum, but the longer rostrum of ''B. jahauyensis'' allowed it to capture small prey items.
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See also
* Evolution of cetaceans
The evolution of cetaceans is thought to have begun in the Indian subcontinent from even-toed ungulates (Artiodactyla) 50 million years ago (mya) and to have proceeded over a period of at least 15 million years. Cetaceans are fully aquatic mam ...
* List of cetaceans
Cetacea is an infraorder that comprises the 94 species of whales, dolphins, and porpoises. It is divided into toothed whales (Odontoceti) and baleen whales (Mysticeti), which diverged from each other in the Eocene some 50 mya (unit), million years ...
* List of extinct cetaceans
The list of extinct cetaceans features the extinct genera and species of the order Cetacea. The cetaceans (whales, dolphins and porpoises) are descendants of land-living mammals, the even-toed ungulates. The earliest cetaceans were still hoofed ma ...
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q46725307
Pontoporiidae
Prehistoric cetacean genera
Miocene mammals of South America
Neogene Chile
Fossils of Chile
Neogene Peru
Fossils of Peru
Pisco Formation
Fossil taxa described in 1988