''Italosiren'' is an extinct genus of early

dugong The dugong (; ''Dugong dugon'') is a marine mammal. It is one of four living species of the order Sirenia, which also includes three species of manatees. It is the only living representative of the once-diverse family Dugongidae; its closest ...

from the

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 ...

(

Aquitanian Aquitanian may refer to: *Aquitanian (stage), a geological age, the first stage of the Miocene Epoch *Aquitanian language, an ancient language spoken in the region later known as Gascony *Aquitani (or Aquitanians), were a people living in what is n ...

) Libano Formation in

Northern Italy Northern Italy (, , ) is a geographical and cultural region in the northern part of Italy. The Italian National Institute of Statistics defines the region as encompassing the four Northwest Italy, northwestern Regions of Italy, regions of Piedmo ...

Classification

It was originally classified as a species of ''

Halitherium ''Halitherium'' is an extinct dugongid sea cow that arose in the late Eocene, then became extinct during the early Oligocene. Its fossils are common in European shales. Inside its flippers were finger bones that did not stick out. ''Halitherium ...

'', ''H. bellunense'', but was eventually recognized as closer to the

than to ''Halitherium schinzii'', necessitating erection of the new generic name ''Italosiren''.

References

Dugongidae Miocene sirenians Prehistoric placental genera Aquitanian (stage) Miocene mammals of Europe Neogene Italy Fossils of Italy Fossil taxa described in 2017 {{Paleo-sirenian-stub

Classification

See also

References