Prototaria
Extinct genus of pinniped
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Prototaria is an extinct genus of pinniped that lived approximately 15.97 to 13.65 mya[1] during the Middle Miocene in what is now Japan. It belonged to the family Odobenidae, the only extant species of which is the walrus. Members of the genus Prototaria are believed to be the most basal imagotariine pinnipeds.[2]
| Prototaria Temporal range: Middle Miocene, | |
|---|---|
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Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Carnivora |
| Parvorder: | Pinnipedia |
| Family: | Odobenidae |
| Genus: | †Prototaria Takeyama & Ozawa, 1984 |
| Type species | |
| †Prototaria primigena Takeyama & Ozawa, 1984 | |
| Other species | |
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Unlike their closest living relative, the walrus, members of Prototaria were primarily piscivorous carnivores.
Description
Prototaria were more similar in appearance to modern fur seals and sea lions than walruses. They did not have long tusks as walruses do, and were more slender.
Fossils ascribed to Prototaria exhibit some autapomorphies, including: a large antorbital process and orbit, and a relatively narrow intertemporal region of the skull.[2] P. planicephala has a wider rostrum than P. primigena as well as more specialized cheek teeth and a flatter tympanic bulla.[3]
