Matapanui
| Matapanui Temporal range: Late Oligocene, | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Artiodactyla |
| Infraorder: | Cetacea |
| Family: | †Eomysticetidae |
| Genus: | †Matapanui Boessenecker and Fordyce, 2016 |
| Species: | †M. waihao |
| Binomial name | |
| †Matapanui waihao Boessenecker and Fordyce, 2016 | |
| Synonyms | |
|
Matapa Boessenecker and Fordyce, 2016 | |
Matapanui is a genus of eomysticetid baleen whale from the Late Oligocene (early Chattian) Kokoamu Greensand of New Zealand.
Taxonomy
Matapanui was originally named Matapa, but that name was already in use for a genus of butterfly, necessitating the name change.
Paleobiology
Based on the enlarged temporal fossae and enlarged mandibular canal, Matapanui was probably incapable of lunge-feeding, although it remains unclear whether it could skim-feed or filter prey in the benthic zone. Waharoa shared its habitat with the odontocetes Awamokoa, Austrosqualodon, Otekaikea, and Waipatia, and the mysticetes Horopeta, Mauicetus, Tohoraata, Tokarahia, Waharoa, and Whakakai.
