Nannocetus
Extinct genus of mammals
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Nannocetus is an extinct baleen whale belonging to the family Cetotheriidae.[1][2]
| Nannocetus Temporal range: Miocene, | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Artiodactyla |
| Infraorder: | Cetacea |
| Family: | Cetotheriidae |
| Subfamily: | †Herpetocetinae |
| Genus: | †Nannocetus Kellogg, 1929 |
| Species | |
|
†N. eremus Kellogg, 1929 (type) | |
Description
Nannocetus is a diminutive mysticete measuring 13 feet (4.0 meters) long. It is characterized by the ventral orientation (in posterior view) of the postglenoid process; postglenoid process twisted medially (in ventral view) relative to the anteroposterior axis of the skull; equal projection of the ventral and dorsal lobes of the tympanic than the dorsal lobe; deeper notch separating the two lobes of the tympanic; reniform morphology of the tympanic in ventral view; lip of the tympanic slightly inflated; sub-rectilinear medial edge of the involucrum with a step in its anterior third; anterior process of the petrosal sub-triangular; thin crista transversa of the petrosal; and pars cochlearis hemispherical.[3]
Taxonomy and classification
The holotype is UCMP 26502 was collected from the Late Miocene (Messinian) Towsley Formation of Humphreys, Los Angeles County, California.[4] It has been traditionally assigned to Cetotheriidae since its description, a classification that still stands and has been supported by recent cladistic analyses of 'cetothere' relationships.[5][6]
