Rhaphicetus

Rhaphicetus; Temporal range: Early Miocene 19–18 Ma PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N
	Reconstruction of the skull
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Artiodactyla
Infraorder:	Cetacea
Superfamily:	Physeteroidea
Family:	†Incertae sedis
Genus:	†Rhaphicetus; 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.

Description

This genus is medium sized with an 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.

References

1 2 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.

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[Rhaphicetus-1] 1 2 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.