Miocaperea
Extinct genus of mammals
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Miocaperea is an extinct genus of pygmy right whale from the Late Miocene Pisco Formation of Peru.[1] Its type species is Miocaperea pulchra.[2]
| Miocaperea Temporal range: Late Miocene ~ | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Artiodactyla |
| Infraorder: | Cetacea |
| Family: | Cetotheriidae |
| Subfamily: | Neobalaeninae |
| Genus: | †Miocaperea Bisconti, 2012 |
| Species | |
|
†M. pulchra Bisconti, 2012 (type) | |
Evolution and significance
The discovery of Miocaperea is significant, because neobalaenines were previously unknown in the fossil record, except for an isolated petrosal (ear bone) from late Miocene-aged deposits in Australia.[3] A previous study placed the divergence date of Neobalaeninae from other mysticetes at about 23 million years,[4] and the age of Miocaperea lends credence to the notion of an origin for Neobalaeninae deep in the early Miocene.
