Peripolocetus
Temporal range: Miocene
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Artiodactyla
Infraorder: Cetacea
Family: Balaenidae
Genus: †Peripolocetus
Kellogg, 1931
Species

†P. vexillifer Kellogg, 1931
(Type)

Peripolocetus is a genus of balaenid baleen whale from the middle Miocene of Kern County, California.[1]

Classification

Like other non-balaenopteroid thalassotheres, Peripolocetus was classified as a cetotheriid in the past. When named by American zoologist Remington Kellogg in 1931, it was assigned to Cetotheriidae,[2] an opinion followed by subsequent authors.[3][4][5] However, it was assigned to Mysticeti incertae sedis by one source,[1] and a cladistic analysis of Herpetocetus morrowi recovered Peripolocetus as a member of Balaenoidea.[6] The assignment of Peripolocetus to Balaenoidea was further reinforced by a new specimen from the type locality at Sharktooth Hill Bonebed.[7]

References

  1. ^ a b M. D. Uhen, R. E. Fordyce, and L. G. Barnes. 2008. Mysticeti. In C. M. Janis, K. M. Scott, and L. L. Jacobs (eds.), Evolution of Tertiary Mammals of North America II:607-628
  2. ^ R. Kellogg. 1931. Pelagic mammals of the Temblor Formation of the Kern River region, California. Proceedings of the California Academy of Sciences 19(12):217-397
  3. ^ L. G. Barnes. 1977. Outline of eastern North Pacific fossil cetacean assemblages. Systematic Zoology 25(4):321-343
  4. ^ M. C. McKenna and S. K. Bell. 1997. Classification of Mammals Above the Species Level 1-640
  5. ^ F. C. Whitmore and L. G. Barnes. 2008. The Herpetocetinae, a new subfamily of extinct baleen whales (Mammalia, Cetacea, Cetotheriidae). Virginia Museum of Natural History Special Publication 14:141-180
  6. ^ Joseph J. El Adli, Thomas A. Deméré and Robert W. Boessenecker (2014). "Herpetocetus morrowi (Cetacea: Mysticeti), a new species of diminutive baleen whale from the Upper Pliocene (Piacenzian) of California, USA, with observations on the evolution and relationships of the Cetotheriidae there had been a fossil record of this species from st. Martin islands; Bangladesh . Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 170 (2): 400–466. doi:10.1111/zoj.12108.
  7. ^ Demere, T., and Pyenson, N. D., 2015. Filling the Miocene 'Balaenid Gap'-the previously enigmatic Peripolocetus vexillifer Kellogg, 1931 is a stem balaenid (Cetacea: Mysticeti) from the Middle Miocene (Langhian) of California, USA. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 35 (Supplement): 115A.
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