A toothless dwarf dolphin (Odontoceti: Xenorophidae) points to explosive feeding diversification of modern whales (Neoceti).

ABSTRACT: Toothed whales (Odontoceti) are adapted for catching prey underwater and possess some of the most derived feeding specializations of all mammals, including the loss of milk teeth (monophyodonty), high tooth count (polydonty), and the loss of discrete tooth classes (homodonty). Many extant odontocetes possess some combination of short, broad rostra, reduced tooth counts, fleshy lips, and enlarged hyoid bones-all adaptations for suction feeding upon fishes and squid. We report a new fossil odontocete from the Oligocene (approx. 30 Ma) of South Carolina (Inermorostrum xenops, gen. et sp. nov.) that possesses adaptations for suction feeding: toothlessness and a shortened rostrum (brevirostry). Enlarged foramina on the rostrum suggest the presence of enlarged lips or perhaps vibrissae. Phylogen

SUBMITTER: Boessenecker RW 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5577471 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature