Tiucetus

{{Short description|Extinct genus of whales}}

{{Automatic taxobox

| fossil_range = Tortonian
~{{fossil range|11|9}}

| image = Tiucetus holotype skull (lateral view).jpg

| image_caption = Holotype skull in lateral view

| taxon = Tiucetus

| authority = Marx, Lambert & De Muizon 2017

}}

Tiucetus is an extinct genus of cetotheriid baleen whale known from the Late Miocene Pisco Formation of Peru.

Description

Tiucetus is distinct from other cetotheriids in having a squamosal cleft; from eomysticetids in having comparatively short nasals, a more anteriorly projected supraoccipital and parietal, and a tympanic bulla that is rotated so that the inner posterior prominence faces dorsally.Marx, F., Lambert, O., de Muizon, C. 2017. [https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28989761 A new Miocene baleen whale from Peru deciphers the dawn of cetotheriids.] Royal Society Open Science. doi: 10.1098/rsos.170560

Classification

Tiucetus falls basally in Cetotheriidae, less derived than Joumocetus and Cephalotropis.

Palaeogeography

Other marine mammals found in the Pisco Formation include another cetotheriid, Piscobalaena, the odd dolphin Odobenocetops, the killer sperm whale Acrophyseter, the long-necked seal Acrophoca, and aquatic sloth Thalassocnus.

References

{{Portal|Cetaceans|Paleontology|Peru|Prehistoric mammals}}

{{Reflist}}

{{Cetacea}}

{{Mysticeti Genera|M.|state=collapsed}}

{{Taxonbar|from=Q48842174}}

Category:Baleen whales

Category:Monotypic prehistoric cetacean genera

Category:Miocene mammals of South America

Category:Neogene Peru

Category:Fossils of Peru

Category:Fossil taxa described in 2017

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