A new specimen of Ziphiidae (Cetacea, Odontoceti) from the late Miocene of Denmark with morphological evidence for suction feeding behaviour.

ABSTRACT: A new fossil of Ziphiidae from the upper Miocene Gram Formation (ca 9.9-7.2 Ma) is described herein. Computed tomographic scanning of the specimen was performed to visualize the mandibles and to obtain a three-dimensional digital reconstruction. It possesses several characters of the derived ziphiids, such as the dorsoventral thickening of the anterior process of the periotic, the dorsoventral compression of the pars cochlearis and the short unfused symphysis. The specimen cannot be identified beyond the family level, because of the unusual nature of the preserved parts consisting of the mandibles, earbones and postcranial remains. It differs from other ziphiid species from the Gram Formation, Dagonodum mojnum, in its larger size and the more derived morphology of its mandibles and earbone

SUBMITTER: Ramassamy B 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6837206 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature