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Ontocetus posti
Taxonomy
Ontocetus posti was named by Boisville et al. (2024). Its type specimen is NWHCM 1996.1, a mandible (a complete pair of mandibles of an adult female individual), and it is a 3D body fossil. Its type locality is Easton Bavents, which is in a Pleistocene marine sandstone in the Norwich Crag Formation of the United Kingdom.
Synonymy list
| Year | Name and author |
|---|---|
| 2024 | Ontocetus posti Boisville et al. |
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If no rank is listed, the taxon is considered an unranked clade in modern classifications. Ranks may be repeated or presented in the wrong order because authors working on different parts of the classification may disagree about how to rank taxa.
†Ontocetus posti Boisville et al. 2024
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Diagnosis
| Reference | Diagnosis | |
|---|---|---|
| M. Boisville et al. 2024 | A species of Ontocetus that exhibits mosaic characters including some shared traits with the genus Odobenus. These diagnostic features of Ontocetus comprise a lower canine markedly larger (at least 20% larger than cheekteeth) from the cheek toothrow, presence of the lower first premolar (p1), specifically at least four lower postcanine teeth that are consisted of p1–p4, a broad and short edentulous mandibular terminus exhibiting two lower incisors (i2, i3), an elevated and slanted anterior margin, the relative size of the mandible (reaching almost 30 cm in horizontal length), a high, thin, and posterolaterally projected coronoid process, as well as a short distance between the dorsal margin and coronoid process (less than 8% of the total length of the mandible).
This species also shares certain characteristics with Odobenus, such as the fusion of the mandibular symphysis, a mandibular symphysis oval in shape and shorter in proportion to the total length of the mandible (less than 50%), a horizontal ramus with a well-curved lateral occlusal outline (also occurs in the referred mandible of Dusignathus seftoni) that accounts for the shortening of the rostrum. Additionally, a shorter space between the canine and the cheek teeth can be observed (less than 10% of the total length of the dental row), as well as between the thin cheek tooth alveoli themselves. Other shared traits encompass an underdeveloped angular process, and a flat, less developed mandibular condyle. |
Measurements
No measurements are available
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| Source: f = family, c = class, uc = unranked clade | |||||
| References: Carreño and Cronin 1993, Kohno et al. 1995, Hendy et al. 2009 | |||||
Age range: base of the Tortonian to the top of the Pleistocene or 11.62000 to 0.01170 Ma
Collections (3 total)
| Time interval | Ma | Country or state | Original ID and collection number |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tortonian | Belgium (Antwerpen) | Trichecodon koninckii (66960) | |
| Pleistocene | United Kingdom (England) | Ontocetus posti (type locality: 236024) | |
| Pleistocene | Netherlands | Ontocetus posti (236025) |