Herpetocetus

Herpetocetus
Temporal range: late Miocene–early Pleistocene
Herpetocetus bramblei
Scientific classification
Domain:
Eukaryota
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Chordata
Class:
Mammalia
Order:
Artiodactyla
Infraorder:
Cetacea
Parvorder:
Mysticeti
Family:
Cetotheriidae
Subfamily:
†Herpetocetinae
Genus:
†Herpetocetus

van Beneden, 1872

Herpetocetus was a genus of cetotheriid whales. It was smaller than modern baleen whales, measured just 3 to 4 meters, and due to its jaw structure, it couldn’t open its mouth as wide as them, which meant it was incapable of doing lunge feeding.

Description

Fossil Half Moon Bay creatures, including Herpetocetus

Herpetocetus morrowi had an elongated snout and a roughly quadrate skull, and also probably did a feeding strategy very similar to that of the gray whale (Eschrichtius robustus). Also, Herpetocetus had a unique shape, making it resemble a dolphin rather than a whale as seen by its elongated and a bit slender body.

One young specimen discovered in Hokkaido, Japan includes a partial skull, mandible, vertebrae, and a scapula, and this specimen also exhibits a postglenoid process of the squamosal more transversely compressed than in the genus Nannocetus.

Species

Herpetocetus has four recognized species:

References

  1. ↑ Boessnecker, R.W. (2013). "Pleistocene survival of an archaic dwarf baleen whale (Mysticeti: Cetotheriidae)". Naturwissenschaften.
  2. ↑ Anderson, Natali (18 Jun 2014). "Herpetocetus morrowi: New Fossil Species of Dwarf Baleen Whale Discovered". Sci.News.
  3. ↑ "A geologically old and ontogenetically young Herpetocetus sp. from the late Miocene of Hokkaido, Japan". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology.