Cetotherium
| Cetotherium | |
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| Restoration of Cetotherium furlongi | |
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| Suborder: | Whippomorpha
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| Genus: | †Cetotherium Brandt, 1843
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Cetotherium (meaning "whale beast") was a genus of baleen whale from the family Cetotheriidae.[1] It lived during the Miocene and Pliocene.
Description
Cetotherium riabini possibly followed a generalized feeding strategy combining continuous suction feeding with intermittent suction feeding.[2]
Taxonomy
The Cetotheriidae and this genus have been used as wastebasket taxa for all baleen whale types. This family was thought to have been long gone during the Pliocene, up until 2012, where scientists recovered the pygmy right whale (Caperea marginata) as the only survivor.
Formerly assigned species
This is a list of species that have probably got moved to another genus or removed from Cetotherium:
- Cetotherium furlongi
- Cetotherium gastaldii (now type species of the genus Eschrichtioides)
- Cetotherium klinderi
- Cetotherium maicopicum
- Cetotherium mayeri (reassigned to the genus Mithridatocetus, nomen dubium)
Evolution
During the Oligocene period, the cetotheres started to emerge. From an evolutionary perspective, they share some characteristics of the Balaenopteridae and Eschrichtiidae.[3]
Gallery
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C. riabinini skull
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Model of C. riabinini
References
- ↑ "Mysticetes, Evolution" (PDF). Encyclopedia of Marine Mammals.
- ↑ "The Anatomy of the Late Miocene Baleen Whale Cetotherium riabinini from Ukraine". Acta Palaeontologica Polonica.
- ↑ "A new cetothere (Cetacea: Mysticeti) from the early Miocene of Japan". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology.
Other websites
Media related to Cetotherium at Wikimedia Commons