Post by Infinity Blade on Apr 7, 2015 3:15:43 GMT 5
Mammalodon colliveri
© @ Brian Choo
Temporal range: Late Oligocene (Chattian: ~24Ma)
Scientific classification:
Domain: Eukaryota
(unranked): Unikonta
(unranked): Opisthokonta
(unranked): Holozoa
(unranked): Filozoa
Kingdom: Animalia
Subkingdom: Eumetazoa
(unranked): Bilateria
Superphylum: Deuterostomia
Phylum: Chordata
Infraphylum: Gnathostomata
Clade: Eugnathostomata
Clade: Teleostomi
Superclass: Tetrapoda
Clade: Reptiliomorpha
Clade: Amniota
Clade: Synapsida
Clade: Eupelycosauria
Clade: Sphenacodontia
Clade: Sphenacodontoidea
Order: Therapsida
Suborder: Cynodontia
Clade: Prozostrodontia
Clade: Mammaliaformes
Class: Mammalia
Legion: Cladotheria
Sublegion: Zatheria
Infralegion: Tribosphenida
Subclass: Theria
Clade: Eutheria
Infraclass: Placentalia
Subcohort: Exafroplacentalia
Magnorder: Boreoeutheria
Superorder: Laurasiatheria
Clade: Ungulata
Clade: Paraxonia
(unranked): Cetartiodactyla
Suborder: Mysticeti
Family: †Mammalodontidae
Genus: †Mammalodon
Species: †M. colliveri
Mammalodon colliveri is a species of mammalodontid mysticete that lived in Australia during the Late Miocene. It was one of the smallest baleen whales ever. Although it was a baleen whale, it actually lacked baleen and possessed teeth. The skull was roughly triangular in shape from dorsal view and the rostrum was short. The tips of the teeth were worn to the extent that they were flat and inclined. Although the teeth were oriented on top of each other, this alone wasn't sufficient enough to cause the amount of wear on the teeth seen in Mammalodon. Given the extensive wear on the dentition, Fitzgerald (2009) proposed that Mammalodon was a suction feeder. When suction is created and sustenance goes into the mouth, a large quantity of sediment is also suctioned in and when performed repeatedly the dentition becomes worn. Mammalodon's short rostrum is also evidence for such a lifestyle; a shorter snout would facilitate in creating strong suction. Supposedly, the skulls of Mammalodon and other whales that are suction feeders (eg. belugas) have some resemblance. Lastly, the binocular vision of Mammalodon would allow it to monitor prey moving in sediment.[1]
References:
[1] scienceblogs.com/laelaps/2010/01/05/early-baleen-whale-was-a-mud-g/
Which in turn references the following:
"The morphology and systematics of (Cetacea: Mysticeti), a toothed mysticete from the Oligocene of Australia" (Fitzgerald, 2009).
© @ Brian Choo
Temporal range: Late Oligocene (Chattian: ~24Ma)
Scientific classification:
Domain: Eukaryota
(unranked): Unikonta
(unranked): Opisthokonta
(unranked): Holozoa
(unranked): Filozoa
Kingdom: Animalia
Subkingdom: Eumetazoa
(unranked): Bilateria
Superphylum: Deuterostomia
Phylum: Chordata
Infraphylum: Gnathostomata
Clade: Eugnathostomata
Clade: Teleostomi
Superclass: Tetrapoda
Clade: Reptiliomorpha
Clade: Amniota
Clade: Synapsida
Clade: Eupelycosauria
Clade: Sphenacodontia
Clade: Sphenacodontoidea
Order: Therapsida
Suborder: Cynodontia
Clade: Prozostrodontia
Clade: Mammaliaformes
Class: Mammalia
Legion: Cladotheria
Sublegion: Zatheria
Infralegion: Tribosphenida
Subclass: Theria
Clade: Eutheria
Infraclass: Placentalia
Subcohort: Exafroplacentalia
Magnorder: Boreoeutheria
Superorder: Laurasiatheria
Clade: Ungulata
Clade: Paraxonia
(unranked): Cetartiodactyla
Suborder: Mysticeti
Family: †Mammalodontidae
Genus: †Mammalodon
Species: †M. colliveri
Mammalodon colliveri is a species of mammalodontid mysticete that lived in Australia during the Late Miocene. It was one of the smallest baleen whales ever. Although it was a baleen whale, it actually lacked baleen and possessed teeth. The skull was roughly triangular in shape from dorsal view and the rostrum was short. The tips of the teeth were worn to the extent that they were flat and inclined. Although the teeth were oriented on top of each other, this alone wasn't sufficient enough to cause the amount of wear on the teeth seen in Mammalodon. Given the extensive wear on the dentition, Fitzgerald (2009) proposed that Mammalodon was a suction feeder. When suction is created and sustenance goes into the mouth, a large quantity of sediment is also suctioned in and when performed repeatedly the dentition becomes worn. Mammalodon's short rostrum is also evidence for such a lifestyle; a shorter snout would facilitate in creating strong suction. Supposedly, the skulls of Mammalodon and other whales that are suction feeders (eg. belugas) have some resemblance. Lastly, the binocular vision of Mammalodon would allow it to monitor prey moving in sediment.[1]
References:
[1] scienceblogs.com/laelaps/2010/01/05/early-baleen-whale-was-a-mud-g/
Which in turn references the following:
"The morphology and systematics of (Cetacea: Mysticeti), a toothed mysticete from the Oligocene of Australia" (Fitzgerald, 2009).
