Open AccessFragilicetus velponi : a new mysticete genus and species and its implications for the origin of B alaenopteridae ( M ammalia, C etacea, M ysticeti)
Author(s) -
Bisconti Michelangelo,
Bosselaers Mark
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
zoological journal of the linnean society
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.148
H-Index - 83
eISSN - 1096-3642
pISSN - 0024-4082
DOI - 10.1111/zoj.12370
Subject(s) - biology , cetacea , baleen , skull , genus , fossa , human echolocation , zoology , anatomy , whale , paleontology , evolutionary biology , ecology , neuroscience
A new extinct genus, Fragilicetus gen. nov. , is described here based on a partial skull of a baleen‐bearing whale from the E arly P liocene of the N orth S ea. Its type species is Fragilicetus velponi sp. nov. This new whale shows a mix of morphological characters that is intermediate between those of E schrichtiidae and those of B alaenopteridae. A phylogenetic analysis supported this view and provided insights into some of the morphological transformations that occurred in the process leading to the origin of Balaenopteridae. Balaenopterid whales show specialized feeding behaviour that allows them to catch enormous amounts of prey. This behaviour is possible because of the presence of specialized anatomical features in the supraorbital process of the frontal, temporal fossa, glenoid fossa of the squamosal, and dentary. Fragilicetus velponi gen. et sp. nov. shares the shape of the supraorbital process of the frontal and significant details of the temporal fossa with Balaenopteridae but maintains an eschrichtiid‐ and cetotheriid‐like squamosal bulge and posteriorly protruded exoccipital. The character combination exhibited by this cetacean provides important information about the assembly of the specialized morphological features responsible for the highly efficient prey capture mechanics of Balaenopteridae. © 2015 The Linnean Society of London