Orycterocetus
{{Short description|Extinct genus of mammals}}
{{Automatic taxobox
| fossil_range = Miocene
| image = Brygmophyseter2.jpg
| image_caption =
| taxon = Orycterocetus
| authority = Leidy, 1853
| subdivision_ranks = Species
| subdivision =
- O. quadratidens Leidy, 1853 (type species)
- O. crocodilinus Cope, 1868
- O. cornutidens Leidy, 1856
}}
Orycteocetus is an extinct genus of sperm whale from the Miocene of the northern Atlantic Ocean.
Classification
Orycterocetus is a member of Physeteroidea closely related to crown-group sperm whales. The type species, O. quadratidens, was first named by Joseph Leidy on the basis of two teeth, two partial mandibular rami, and a rib from Neogene deposits of Virginia.J. Leidy. 1853. [Observations on extinct Cetacea]. Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences 6:377-378 Two more species were subsequently described, O. cornutidens Leidy 1856J. Leidy. 1856. Notice of remains of extinct vertebrated animals discovered by Professor E. Emmons. Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia 8:255-257 and O. crocodilinus Cope, 1868,E. D. Cope. 1867. An addition to the vertebrate fauna of the Miocene period, with a synopsis of the extinct Cetacea of the United States. Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia 19(4):138-157 the latter from the middle Miocene Calvert Formation.
References
{{Reflist}}
Sources
- Cenozoic Seas: The View From Eastern North America by Edward J. Petuch
- Marine Mammals: Evolutionary Biology by Annalisa Berta and James L. Sumich
{{Portal|Paleontology}}
{{Odontoceti|C.}}
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Category:Prehistoric toothed whales
Category:Prehistoric cetacean genera
Category:Extinct mammals of North America
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