''Peripolocetus'' is a genus of balaenid

baleen whale Baleen whales (), also known as whalebone whales, are marine mammals of the order (biology), parvorder Mysticeti in the infraorder Cetacea (whales, dolphins and porpoises), which use baleen plates (or "whalebone") in their mouths to sieve plankt ...

from the middle

Miocene The Miocene ( ) is the first epoch (geology), 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 mea ...

Kern County Kern County is a county (United States), county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 909,235. Its county seat is Bakersfield, California, Bakersfield. Kern County compris ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

.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 American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

zoologist

Remington Kellogg Arthur Remington Kellogg (5 October 1892 – 8 May 1969) was an American naturalist and a director of the United States National Museum. His work focused on marine mammals. Early life and career Kellogg was born in Davenport, Iowa, and quickly ...

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 ''Peripolocetus'' to Balaenoidea was further reinforced by a new specimen from the type locality at Sharktooth Hill Bonebed.Demere, T., and Pyenson, N. D., 2015. Filling the Miocene 'Balaenid Gap'-the previously enigmatic ''Peripolocetus vexillifer'' Kellogg, 1931 is a stem balaenid (Cetacea: Mysticeti) from the Middle Miocene (Langhian) of California, USA. ''Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology'' 35 (Supplement): 115A.

References

Baleen whales Miocene cetaceans Monotypic prehistoric cetacean genera Fossil taxa described in 1931 Fossils of the United States Taxa named by Remington Kellogg {{paleo-whale-stub