Fragilicetus
{{Short description|Extinct genus of whales}}
{{Italic title}}
{{speciesbox
| fossil_range= {{fossilrange|Early Pliocene}}
| genus = Fragilicetus
| parent_authority = Bisconti and Bosselaers, 2016
| authority = Bisconti and Bosselaers, 2016
| species = velponi
}}
Fragilicetus is an extinct genus of rorqual from Early Pliocene deposits in Belgium.
Description
Fragilicetus exhibits a combination of balaenopterid features (shape of the supraorbital process of the frontal and significant details of the temporal fossa) and those found in Cetotheriidae and Eschrichtiidae (squamosal bulge and posteriorly protruded exoccipital).{{cite journal|last1=Bisconti|first1=Michelangelo|last2=Bosselaers|first2=Mark|title=Fragilicetus velponi: a new mysticete genus and species and its implications for the origin of Balaenopteridae (Mammalia, Cetacea, Mysticeti)|journal=Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society|date=2016|volume=177|issue=2|pages=450–474|doi=10.1111/zoj.12370|doi-access=free}}
References
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Category:Monotypic prehistoric cetacean genera
Category:Fossil taxa described in 2016
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