''Fucaia'' is an extinct genus of primitive

baleen whale Baleen whales ( systematic name Mysticeti), also known as whalebone whales, are a parvorder of carnivorous marine mammals of the infraorder Cetacea ( whales, dolphins and porpoises) which use keratinaceous baleen plates (or "whalebone") in th ...

belonging to the

family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...

Aetiocetidae Aetiocetidae is an extinct family of toothed baleen whales known from the Oligocene. The whales are from the North Pacific Ocean and ranged in size from long. Many of the described specimens were discovered from the Upper Oligocene of the Ja ...

that is known from

Oligocene The Oligocene ( ) is a geologic epoch of the Paleogene Period and extends from about 33.9 million to 23 million years before the present ( to ). As with other older geologic periods, the rock beds that define the epoch are well identified but ...

marine deposits found in Vancouver Island,

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tota ...

and Olympic Island, Washington State.

Taxonomy

Two species, ''F. buelli'' and ''F. goedertorum'' (Barnes et al. 1995). ''F. buelli'' is of early Oligocene (

Rupelian The Rupelian is, in the geologic timescale, the older of two ages or the lower of two stages of the Oligocene Epoch/ Series. It spans the time between . It is preceded by the Priabonian Stage (part of the Eocene) and is followed by the Chattian ...

) age, while ''F. goedertorum'' is younger. The latter was originally described as a species of ''

Chonecetus ''Chonecetus'' is an extinct genus of primitive baleen whale of the family Aetiocetidae that lived in the Oligocene period. Its fossils have been found in Canada, in the northeast Pacific. It was first named by L.S. Russell in 1968, and co ...

'' before it was recognized as more closely related to ''buelli'' than to the ''Choncetus'' type species.L. G. Barnes, M. Kimura, H. Furusawa and H. Sawamura. 1995. Classification and distribution of Oligocene Aetiocetidae (Mammalia; Cetacea; Mysticeti) from western North America and Japan. The Island Arc 3(4):392-431

Biology

The tooth structure of ''Fucaia'' indicates that it was capable of both raptorial feeding and suction-feeding, like other aetiocetids.

Sister taxa

*''

Aetiocetus ''Aetiocetus'' is a genus of extinct basal mysticete, or baleen whale that lived , in the Oligocene in the North Pacific ocean, around Japan, Mexico, and Oregon, U.S. It was first described by Douglas Emlong in 1966 and currently contains know ...

'' *''

Ashorocetus ''Ashorocetus'' is a monotypic genus of an extinct primitive baleen whale of the family Aetiocetidae. It was named by , and contains one species, ''A. eguchii''. Fossils of this whale are found from the Chattian Morawan formation, near Ashor ...

'' *''

'' *'' Morawanocetus'' *'' Willungacetus''

References

Oligocene cetaceans Prehistoric mammals of North America Aetiocetidae Prehistoric cetacean genera Fossil taxa described in 2015 {{paleo-whale-stub