Kekenodon

Kekenodon
Temporal range: Late Oligocene
Teeth of Kekenodon onamata
Scientific classification
Kingdom:Animalia
Phylum:Chordata
Class:Mammalia
Order:Artiodactyla
Infraorder:Cetacea
Family:†Kekenodontidae
Genus:†Kekenodon
Hector, 1881
Species
  • †K. onamata
    Hector, 1881

Kekenodon is an extinct kekenodontid early whale from Late Oligocene (Chattian) of New Zealand. Although at times classified as a basilosaurid, mysticete, or odontocete, recent work suggests that is represents a phylogenetic intermediate form between Basilosauridae and Neoceti.

Classification

Kekenodon was considered a member of the basilosaurid subfamily Dorudontinae in the classic monograph on Archaeoceti by Kellogg (1936).[1]

"Squalodon" gambierensis from Australia is a close relative of Kekenodon.[2]

References

  1. ↑ R. Kellogg. 1936. A Review of the Archaeoceti. Carnegie Institution of Washington 482:1-366
  2. ↑ R. E. Fordyce. 2006. A southern perspective on Cetacean Evolution and Zoogeoraphy. Evolution and Biogeography of Australasian Vertebrates 755-782
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.