Isocetus
{{Short description|Extinct genus of whales}}
{{Automatic taxobox
| fossil_range = {{fossilrange|Langhian|Serravallian}}
| image =
| image_caption =
| taxon = Isocetus
| authority = van Beneden, 1880
| display_parents = 2
| subdivision_ranks = Species
| subdivision =
- I. depauwi van Beneden, 1880 (type)
}}
Isocetus is an extinct genus of baleen whale belonging to the clade Thalassotherii. Remains have been found in middle Miocene marine deposits in Belgium.
Description
Isocetus was considered a nomen dubium by Steeman (2010) but was treated as a distinct species by Bisconti et al. (2013) based on characters of the mandibular condyle and dentary. A complete thalassothere specimen from Belgium previously assigned to Isocetus depauwi by Abel (1938) is now the holotype of the species Parietobalaena campiniana.O. Abel. 1938. Vorlaeufige mitteilungen ueber die revision der fossilen mystacoceten aus dem Tertiaer Belgiens. Bulletin du Musee royal d'Histoire naturelle de Belgique 14(1):1-34M. Steeman. 2010. The extinct baleen whale fauna from the Miocene-Pliocene of Belgium and the diagnostic cetacean ear bones. Journal of Systematic Palaeontology 8(1):63-80M. Bisconti, O. Lambert, and M. Bosselaers. 2013. Taxonomic revision of Isocetus depauwi (Mammalia, Cetacea, Mysticeti) and the phylogenetic relationships of archaic 'cetothere' mysticetes. Palaeontology 56(1):95-127
References
{{Reflist}}
{{Mysticeti Genera|M.|state=collapsed}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q48970194}}
Category:Monotypic prehistoric cetacean genera
Category:Fossil taxa described in 1880
Category:Neogene mammals of Europe
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