Rhaphicetus
| Rhaphicetus Temporal range: Early Miocene
| |
|---|---|
| Reconstruction of the skull | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Artiodactyla |
| Suborder: | Whippomorpha |
| Infraorder: | Cetacea |
| Superfamily: | Physeteroidea |
| Family: | incertae sedis |
| Genus: | † Lambert et al., 2020 |
| Species: | †R. valenciae
|
| Binomial name | |
| †Rhaphicetus valenciae Lambert et al., 2020
| |
Rhaphicetus is an extinct genus of physeteroid whale that lived in Peru in the lower Miocene epoch around 19-18 million years ago. This genus contains one species, Raphicetus valenciae, representing one of the earliest branching stem physteroid.[1]
Description
This genus is medium sized with a estimated length of 4.7–5.7 metres (15–19 ft). It has a narrow and cylindrical rostrum that comprises nearly 75% of the condylobasal length. The upper jaw has at least 36 teeth per quadrant.[1]
References
- ^ a b Olivier Lambert; Christian de Muizon; Mario Urbina; Giovanni Bianucci (2020). "A new longirostrine sperm whale (Cetacea, Physeteroidea) from the lower Miocene of the Pisco Basin (southern coast of Peru)". Journal of Systematic Palaeontology. 18 (20): 1707–1742. Bibcode:2020JSPal..18.1707L. doi:10.1080/14772019.2020.1805520. S2CID 221838686.