Africanacetus
{{short description|Extinct genus of beaked whale}}
{{Automatic taxobox
| fossil_range = Late Miocene-Early Pliocene
~{{fossil range|5.3|3.6}}
| taxon = Africanacetus
| authority = Bianucci et al. 2007
| subdivision_ranks = Species
| subdivision =
- †A. ceratopsis {{small|Bianucci et al. 2007 (type)}}
- †A. gracilis {{small|Ichishima et al. 2017}}
}}
Africanacetus is an extinct genus of ziphiid cetacean known from skulls found in seafloor sediments of Late Miocene to Early Pliocene age off the coasts of South Africa (Banzare Bank) and Brazil (São Paulo Ridge).[https://paleobiodb.org/classic/checkTaxonInfo?taxon_no=113824 Africanacetus] at Fossilworks.org
Systematics
Two species are known, A. ceratopsis and A. gracilis. Both are distinguished by their cranial proportions, with A. gracilis having a more slender skull than A. ceratopsis.G. Bianucci, O. Lambert, and K. Post. 2007. A high diversity in fossil beaked whales (Mammalia, Odontoceti, Ziphiidae) recovered by trawling from the sea floor off South Africa. Geodiversitas 29(4):561-618.Ichishima, H., A.H.Augustin, T. Toyofuku, and H. Kitazato. 2016. A new species of Africanacetus (Odontoceti: Ziphiidae) found on the deep ocean floor off the coast of Brazil. Deep Sea Research Part II: Topical Studies in Oceanography. Online Early.
References
{{Reflist}}
{{Odontoceti|C.}}
{{Geology of South Africa|paleontology}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q55221285}}
Category:Prehistoric cetacean genera
Category:Miocene mammals of Africa
Category:Pliocene mammals of South America
Category:Fossils of South Africa
Category:Fossil taxa described in 2007
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