Basic info Taxonomic history Classification Included Taxa
Morphology Ecology and taphonomy External Literature Search Age range and collections

Icaphoca choristodon

Osteichthyes - Carnivora - Phocidae

Taxonomy
Icaphoca choristodon was named by Dewaele and de Muizon (2025) [urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:D62656C2-2C7D-4C7C-87F9-2F892F941620]. Its type specimen is MNHN.F.PPI270, a partial skeleton (subcomplete skull with associated left and right mandibles, atlas, axis, third, fourth, and fifth cervical vertebrae), and it is a 3D body fossil. Its type locality is Cerro la Bruja, which is in a Miocene offshore shelf siltstone in the Pisco Formation of Peru. It is the type species of Icaphoca.

Entered
by M. Uhen on 2026-05-14; modified by M. Uhen on 2026-05-14

Synonymy list
YearName and author
2025Icaphoca choristodon Dewaele and de Muizon p. 468 fig. 468

Is something missing? Join the Paleobiology Database and enter the data

RankNameAuthor
kingdomAnimalia()
Bilateria
EubilateriaAx 1987
Deuterostomia
phylumChordataHaeckel 1874
subphylumVertebrata
superclassGnathostomata
classOsteichthyes
subclassSarcopterygii()
subclassDipnotetrapodomorpha(Nelson 2006)
subclassTetrapodomorpha()
Tetrapoda
Reptiliomorpha
Anthracosauria
subclassAmphibiosauriaKuhn 1967
Cotylosauria()
Amniota
subclassSynapsida
Therapsida()
infraorderCynodontia()
Mammaliamorpha
Mammaliaformes
classMammalia
Cladotheria
RankNameAuthor
Zatheria
subclassTribosphenida()
subclassTheria
Eutheria()
Placentalia
Boreoeutheria
Laurasiatheria
Scrotifera
Ferae()
Pancarnivora
CarnivoramorphaWyss and Flynn 1993
CarnivoraformesFlynn et al.
orderCarnivora
suborderCaniformiaKretzoi 1943
infraorderCanoidea(Simpson 1931)
superfamilyArctoideaFlower 1869
Panpinnipedia
Pinnipedimorpha
Pinnipedia()
familyPhocidae()
subfamilyMonachinae
tribeLobodontiniGray 1869
genusIcaphoca
specieschoristodon

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.

Icaphoca choristodon Dewaele and de Muizon 2025
show all | hide all
Diagnosis
ReferenceDiagnosis
L. Dewaele and C. de Muizon 2025Small to medium-sized lobodontin monachine, having an elongated rostrum, similar to, but not to the same extent as Acrophoca longirostris. Icaphoca choristodon n. gen., n. sp. is a lobodontin, based on the following unambiguous synapomorphies, as detailed by the phylogenetic analysis, below: a parasagittal orientation of the medial margins of the tympanic bullae; the presence of a lip in the anteromedial region of the mastoid, abutting the posteromedial edge of the tympanic bulla; and the transverse foramen of the atlas is at least partially visible in dorsal view. Icaphoca choristodon n. gen., n. sp. differs from all other monachine except Acrophoca longirostris in the presence of well-developed diastemata between all post-canine teeth, the diastema between P4 and M1 being distinctly larger. Icaphoca also shares with Acrophoca the anterior end of the maxillary process of the jugal reaching above or dorsomedially to the infraorbital foramen. It differs from Acrophoca in having six upper incisors as in Magophoca brevirostris, and Noriphoca gaudini (a condition, absent in all other monachines), in having a moderately inflated ectotympanic, and an atlas in which the transverse foramen is
visible in posterior view only.
Measurements
No measurements are available
Composition: hydroxyapatiteuc
Ontogeny: modification of partsuc
Environment: marineuc
Locomotion: actively mobilec
Life habit: amphibiousuc
Diet: piscivoref
Diet 2: carnivoref
Reproduction: viviparousuc
Created: 2005-06-08 10:11:09
Modified: 2005-06-08 12:11:09
Source: f = family, c = class, uc = unranked clade
References: Nowak 1991, Gingerich 2003, Carreño and Cronin 1993, Hendy et al. 2009

Age range: Late/Upper Miocene or 11.63000 to 5.33300 Ma

Collections: one only


Time interval Ma Country or state Original ID and collection number
Late/Upper Miocene11.63 - 5.333Peru (Ica) Icaphoca choristodon (type locality: 45487)