Atzcalli Ehécatl Hernández-Cisneros, T. Schwennicke, Heriberto Rochín-Bañaga, Cheng‐Hsiu Tsai
{"title":"Echericetus novellus n. gen. n. sp. (Cetacea, Mysticeti, Eomysticetidae), an Oligocene baleen whale from Baja California Sur, Mexico","authors":"Atzcalli Ehécatl Hernández-Cisneros, T. Schwennicke, Heriberto Rochín-Bañaga, Cheng‐Hsiu Tsai","doi":"10.1017/jpa.2023.80","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"\n Among the several evolutionary lineages of the baleen whales (Mysticeti), the eomysticetids are an ancient successful family that retain possibly nonfunctional teeth and functional baleen, a transitional stage between toothed and baleen-assisted filter-feeding mysticetes. The patchy fossil record leaves gaps in eomysticetid paleobiology interpretations, but their diversity and widespread geographical distribution can be a relevant proxy to understanding the evolution of crown Mysticeti. Here we describe a new baleen whale, Echericetus novellus n. gen. n. sp., from the Oligocene of Mexico (slightly older than 27.95 million years ago). This new taxon has morphological features that show its affinity to Eomysticetidae, such as the intertemporal region longer than wide, the elongate and oval temporal fossa, and a well-developed and lobate coronoid process of the mandible. Similarly, our cladistic analyses confirm the inclusion of Echericetus in the Eomysticetidae. Echericetus reinforces our notion of the eomysticetid diversity and disparity. Geographically, the existence of Echericetus from Mexico also indicates that eomysticetid inhabited subtropical regions in the Northern Hemisphere. Last, our discovery of a new eomysticetid from the Oligocene of Mexico provides new insights into the distribution patterns and habitat use of Eomysticetidae, essential to further explain the demise of this transitional lineage between toothed and baleen-bearing whales.\n UUID: http://zoobank.org/00cfc802-e2da-465c-9bb6-59347be00164","PeriodicalId":50098,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Paleontology","volume":"16 11","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.3000,"publicationDate":"2024-01-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Journal of Paleontology","FirstCategoryId":"89","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1017/jpa.2023.80","RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q3","JCRName":"PALEONTOLOGY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Among the several evolutionary lineages of the baleen whales (Mysticeti), the eomysticetids are an ancient successful family that retain possibly nonfunctional teeth and functional baleen, a transitional stage between toothed and baleen-assisted filter-feeding mysticetes. The patchy fossil record leaves gaps in eomysticetid paleobiology interpretations, but their diversity and widespread geographical distribution can be a relevant proxy to understanding the evolution of crown Mysticeti. Here we describe a new baleen whale, Echericetus novellus n. gen. n. sp., from the Oligocene of Mexico (slightly older than 27.95 million years ago). This new taxon has morphological features that show its affinity to Eomysticetidae, such as the intertemporal region longer than wide, the elongate and oval temporal fossa, and a well-developed and lobate coronoid process of the mandible. Similarly, our cladistic analyses confirm the inclusion of Echericetus in the Eomysticetidae. Echericetus reinforces our notion of the eomysticetid diversity and disparity. Geographically, the existence of Echericetus from Mexico also indicates that eomysticetid inhabited subtropical regions in the Northern Hemisphere. Last, our discovery of a new eomysticetid from the Oligocene of Mexico provides new insights into the distribution patterns and habitat use of Eomysticetidae, essential to further explain the demise of this transitional lineage between toothed and baleen-bearing whales.
UUID: http://zoobank.org/00cfc802-e2da-465c-9bb6-59347be00164
期刊介绍:
The Journal of Paleontology publishes original articles and notes on the systematics, phylogeny, paleoecology, paleogeography, and evolution of fossil organisms. It emphasizes specimen-based research and features high quality illustrations. All taxonomic groups are treated, including invertebrates, microfossils, plants, vertebrates, and ichnofossils.