Mammalodon
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Mammalodon
| Mammalodon Temporal range: Late Oligocene |
|
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Cetacea |
| Suborder: | Mysticeti |
| Family: | Mammalodontidae |
| Genus: | Mammalodon |
| Binomial name | |
| Mammalodon colliveri Pritchard, 1939 |
|
Mammalodon is an extinct genus of whale that was discovered in 1932. It is an early baleen whale which still had teeth, as opposed to baleen plates.[1] It is one of two genera in the family Mammalodontidae.
Modern whales have numerous plates with frayed edges called whalebones (or baleen). The whale ingests a mouthful of water then filters prey (such as krill) through the baleen.
Description
Mammalodon, with a length of 2.5m, was smaller and more basal than modern baleen whales.[2] It had a short face, a delicate Premaxilla with only one or two incisors and the lateral rim of the internal auditory meatus was lengthened towards the brain case which formed a longitudinal ridge. Unlike modern baleen whales, Mammalodon was endowed with well-developed teeth.
Palaeobiology
As with the closely related genus Janjucetus, Mammalodon lacked baleen, instead possessing well-developed teeth.[1] As such, it was not able to filter-feed in the same manner as extant baleen whales, making its diet and ecological niche a mystery.[1] As the teeth are widely spaced, it has been suggested that they may have developed a method of filter-feeding unlike that of other whales.[3] It is hypothosised that it was a bottom filter feeder, its blunt snout helping to suck up organisms from the sea floor.[4]
References
- ^ a b c Fitzgerald EMG. 2006. A bizarre new toothed mysticete (Cetacea) from Australia and the early evolution of baleen whales. Proceedings of the Royal Society B 273: 2955-2963.
- ^ http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/80beats/2009/12/28/early-mini-whale-slurped-up-mud-to-find-hidden-prey/
- ^ Evolution of Aquatic Tetrapods
- ^ Fitzgerald, E. M. G. (2010). "The morphology and systematics of Mammalodon colliveri (Cetacea: Mysticeti), a toothed mysticete from the Oligocene of Australia". Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 158 (2): 367–476. doi:10.1111/j.1096-3642.2009.00572.x.
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