''Zygiocetus'' is an extinct
genus
Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...
of
cetotheriid mysticete in the subfamily Cetotheriinae. The type and only species is ''Zygiocetus nartorum'', known from the Late Miocene (
Messinian) of
Adygea in the Russian Caucasus.
''Zygiocetus nartorum'' is distinguished from other cetotheriines in having slightly arched lambdoid crests, and it is distinct from ''
Cetotherium'' and ''
Kurdalagonus'' in having a wide supraoccipital that is shaped like an extended isosceles triangle with arched lateral sides.
[K. K. Tarasenko. 2014. New Genera of Baleen Whales (Cetacea, Mammalia) from the Miocene of the Northern Caucasus and Ciscaucasia: 3. Zygiocetus gen. nov. (Middle Sarmatian, Adygea). Paleontological Journal 48(5):551-562.]
References
Cetotheriidae
Miocene cetaceans
Monotypic prehistoric cetacean genera
Fossil taxa described in 2014
Miocene mammals of Europe
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