| Orycterocetus Temporal range: Miocene
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Scientific classification 
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| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Infraclass: | Placentalia |
| Order: | Artiodactyla |
| Infraorder: | Cetacea |
| Family: | Physeteridae |
| Genus: | †Orycterocetus Leidy, 1853 |
| Species | |
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Orycterocetus is an extinct genus of sperm whale from the Miocene of the northern Atlantic Ocean. It is thought to have been similar in size to Acrophyseter.1
Classification
Orycterocetus is a member of Physeteroidea closely related to crown-group sperm whales. The type species, O. quadratidens, was first named by Joseph Leidy on the basis of two teeth, two partial mandibular rami, and a rib from Neogene deposits of Virginia.2 Two more species were subsequently described, O. cornutidens Leidy 18563 and O. crocodilinus Cope, 1868,4 the latter from the middle Miocene Calvert Formation.
References
References
- Lambert, O.; Bianucci, G.; de Muizon, C. (2017). "Macroraptorial Sperm Whales (Cetacea, Odontoceti, Physeteroidea) from the Miocene of Peru". Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. 179: 404–474. doi:10.1111/zoj.12456. hdl:11568/814760. Archived from the original on 22 July 2018.
- J. Leidy. 1853. [Observations on extinct Cetacea]. Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences 6:377-378
- J. Leidy. 1856. Notice of remains of extinct vertebrated animals discovered by Professor E. Emmons. Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia 8:255-257
- E. D. Cope. 1867. An addition to the vertebrate fauna of the Miocene period, with a synopsis of the extinct Cetacea of the United States. Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia 19(4):138-157
Sources
Sources
- Cenozoic Seas: The View From Eastern North America by Edward J. Petuch
- Marine Mammals: Evolutionary Biology by Annalisa Berta and James L. Sumich