Saurocetes
Extinct iniid dolphin
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Saurocetes is an extinct genus of probable iniid river dolphins from South America. Two species have been described: S. argentinus and S. gigas. It has been suggested that Saurocetes is a synonym of the possible platanistid Ischyrorhynchus.[4][5]
| Saurocetes | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Artiodactyla |
| Infraorder: | Cetacea |
| Family: | Iniidae |
| Genus: | †Saurocetes Burmeister, 1871[2] |
| Species | |
| Synonyms | |
Description
Saurocetes remains are fragmentary, consisting of isolated teeth, rostral fragments and mandibular fragments.[5]
Taxonomy
Typically, Saurocetes is regarded as a member of the Iniidae, a family represented by one extant genus, Inia.[6][7] However, it was noted as far back as 1926 that the taxonomy of Saurocetes is highly unstable, even at a family level.[5][8] Several specimens referred to the possible platanistid genus Ischyrorhynchus closely resemble Saurocetes in many respects, and it is possible that the two genera are synonymous.[4][5]
