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

Agorophius pygmaeus

Osteichthyes - Cetacea - Agorophiidae

Taxonomy
Zeuglodon pygmaeus was named by Muller (1849). Its type specimen is MCZ 8761, a skull, and it is a 3D body fossil. Its type locality is Greer's Landing, which is in a Rupelian marine sandstone in the Ashley Formation of South Carolina.

It was recombined as Basilosaurus pygmaeus by Leidy (1854); it was recombined as Doryodon pygmaeus by Cope (1868); it was recombined as Squalodon pygmaeus by Leidy (1869); it was recombined as Squalodon pygmaeum by Dal Piaz (1916); it was recombined as Agorophius pygmaeus by Cope (1895), Trouessart (1898), Hay (1902), Trouessart (1904), Palmer (1904), Abel (1914), Allen (1926), Hay (1930), Harland et al. (1967), Keyes (1973), Fordyce (1981), Fordyce (1982), Dooley (2003), Uhen et al. (2008), Geisler et al. (2011), Velez-Juarbe et al. (2015), Godfrey et al. (2016).

Synonyms
  • Phocodon holmesii was named by Agassiz (1850) [The date 1850 is not certain. Agassiz named this species in a manuscript, and it is only first mentioned in Leidy 1869.].

    It was synonymized objectively with Squalodon pygmaeus by Leidy (1869); it was synonymized objectively with Agorophius pygmaeus by True (1907), Fordyce (1981).
Synonymy list
YearName and author
1849Zeuglodon pygmaeus Muller p. 28
1850Phocodon holmesii Agassiz
1853Zeuglodon pygmaeus Bronn p. 771
1854Basilosaurus pygmaeus Leidy p. 8
1868Doryodon pygmaeus Cope p. 155
1869Squalodon pygmaeus Leidy p. 420
1895Agorophius pygmaeus Cope p. 139
1898Agorophius pygmaeus Trouessart p. 1069
1902Agorophius pygmaeus Hay p. 589
1904Agorophius pygmaeus Palmer p. 84
1904Agorophius pygmaeus Trouessart p. 756
1914Agorophius pygmaeus Abel p. 220
1916Squalodon pygmaeum Dal Piaz p. 14
1926Agorophius pygmaeus Allen p. 400
1930Agorophius pygmaeus Hay p. 579
1967Agorophius pygmaeus Harland et al. p. 774
1973Agorophius pygmaeus Keyes
1981Agorophius pygmaeus Fordyce p. 1029
1982Agorophius pygmaeus Fordyce p. 423
2003Agorophius pygmaeus Dooley p. 4
2008Agorophius pygmaeus Uhen et al. p. 570
2011Agorophius pygmaeus Geisler et al. p. 5 figs. Table 1
2015Agorophius pygmaeus Velez-Juarbe et al. p. 15 figs. Fig. 10
2016Agorophius pygmaeus Godfrey et al. p. 156

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
RankNameAuthor
Cladotheria
Zatheria
subclassTribosphenida()
subclassTheria
Eutheria()
Placentalia
Boreoeutheria
Laurasiatheria
Scrotifera
Euungulata
Artiodactylamorpha
Artiodactyla()
Whippomorpha
orderCetacea
Pelagiceti
Neoceti
suborderOdontoceti
Amblyoccipita
Stegoceti
familyAgorophiidae
genusAgorophius
speciespygmaeus()

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.

Agorophius pygmaeus Muller 1849
show all | hide all
Invalid names: Phocodon holmesii Agassiz 1850 [objective synonym]
Diagnosis
ReferenceDiagnosis
S. Godfrey et al. 2016Cetacean with key odontocete synapomorphy of an ascending process of maxilla that is expanded posteriorly and laterally to overlap dorsal surface of supraorbital process of frontal (Barnes, 1990; Fordyce, 1994; Geisler and Sanders, 2003; Heyning, 1989; Messenger and McGuire, 1998; Miller, 1923; Uhen, 2010). Odontocete in which an intertemporal constriction is present. An intertemporal constriction is a con- dition in which the parietals and interparietal broadly separate the face from supraoccipital (Mead and Fordyce, 2009). This differentiates Ashleycetidae, Mirocetidae, Xenorophidae, Simocetidae, and Agorophiidae from the clade of odontocetes including Patriocetidae and more derived odontocetes, which all lack an intertemporal constriction.
Among the basal odontocetes that possess an intertemporal constriction, Agorophius pygmaeus has a premaxillary sac fossa that lies mostly anterior to its antorbital notch but approximately one quarter of its length does reach posterior to the level of the notch (premaxillary sac fossa anterior to antorbital notch in Xenorophidae and Simocetidae, mostly posterior to antorbital notch in Waipatiidae); premaxillary cleft is deeply imbedded in the body of the bone immediately anterior to sigmoid curve of the posteroexternal plate (no cleft in Xenorophidae, pre- maxillary cleft presents as a shallow groove in Simocetidae and Waipatiidae); sigmoid curve of the posteroexternal plate lies opposite the middle of the length of the orbit (level to posterior margin of orbit in Xenorophidae [if present at all], absent in Simocetidae, well posterior to orbit in Waipatiidae); external nares open approximately at the level of the antorbital notch (behind notch in Xenorophidae, ahead of notch in Simocetidae, well posterior notch in Waipatiidae); single posterior dorsal infraorbital foramen in each maxilla at about the midpoint in the length of the orbit (absent in Xenorophidae, two per maxilla present in Simocetidae at midpoint in orbit length, two present [i.e., maxillary foramina] posterior to orbit in Waipatiidae); posterior margin of maxilla extends posterior to premaxilla but not posterior to postorbital process of frontal (premaxilla extends further posterior in Xenorophidae, maxilla extends further posterior to both premaxilla and postorbital process of frontal in Simocetidae and Waipatiidae); multiple supraorbital foramina in frontals between posteromedial margins of premaxilla (no such foramina in Xenorophidae or Waipatiidae, present in Simocetidae); parietals contribute to the dorsal intertemporal region of the skull without the presence of a sagittal crest (i.e., between the posterior margin of the frontals and the anterior margin of the supraoccipital), (sagittal crest present in Xenorophidae, absent in Simocetidae, no possibility of a parietal crest in Waipatiidae because parietals excluded from skull roof); in dorsal view, supraoccipital thrust forward anterior to line running from the angle formed by the zygomatic process of the squamosal within the temporal fossa to the other (apex of supraoccipital behind level of zygomatic angle in Xenorophidae, Simocetidae, and Waipatiidae); in lateral view, skull presents a horizontal profile (tabular dorsally) between the nasofrontal suture and the anterior margin of the supraoccipital; width of the skull at the level of the temporal fossae nearly twice as wide as deep.

The single known buccal tooth (following the terminology of Rothausen (1968) can be used to differentiate Agorophius pygmaeus from almost all other Oligocene taxa for which teeth are known. Most Oligocene Odontoceti that have buccal teeth with two roots have crowns that are much lower than Agorophius (Cotylocara, Patriocetus, Prosqualodon, Simocetus, Squalodon, Waipatia, Xenorophus), have too few denticles (Cotylocara, Saurocetus, Prosqualodon), too many denticles (Squalodon, Metasqualodon), or some combination thereof. The one taxon that has quite similar cheek teeth is Squalodon (Microzeuglodon) wingei (Ravn, 1926), which also has very high-crowned teeth similar to those of Agorophius pygmaeus, suggesting that this taxon may also represent an agorophiid, which are otherwise unknown from Europe.
Measurements
No measurements are available
Composition: hydroxyapatitesubo
Form: roller-shapedo
Ontogeny: modification of partso
Environment: marine, freshwatersubo
Locomotion: actively mobileo
Life habit: aquatico
Depth habitat: surfaceo
Diet: carnivoresubo
Reproduction: viviparoussubo
Created: 2005-03-06 14:21:39
Modified: 2005-09-22 15:42:08
Source: subo = suborder, o = order
Reference: Uhen 2004

Age range: base of the Rupelian to the top of the Chattian or 33.90000 to 23.04000 Ma

Collections (3 total)


Time interval Ma Country or state Original ID and collection number
Rupelian33.9 - 27.3USA (South Carolina) Agorophius pygmaeus (91482) Zeuglodon sp. (type locality: 45761)
Chattian27.3 - 23.04USA (South Carolina) Agorophius pygmaeus (156031)