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Squalodon
Taxonomy
Squalodon was named by Grateloup (1840) [Sepkoski's age data: T Ol-u T Plio Sepkoski's reference number: 1066]. It is the type genus of Squalodontinae. It was considered monophyletic by Muizon (1987), Uhen et al. (2008), Geisler et al. (2011).
It was synonymized subjectively with Basilosaurus by Gibbes (1847).
It was assigned to Reptilia by Grateloup (1840); to Zeuglodontae by Bronn (1853); to Zeuglodontes by Pictet (1853); to Cynorcidae by Cope (1867), Gill (1871), Gill (1872); to Gymnorhinidae by Brandt (1874), Brandt (1874); to Zeuglodontidae by Scott (1873), McCoy (1875), Davis (1888); to Odontoceti by Depéret (1893); to Squalodontinae by Rothausen (1968); to Cetacea by Sepkoski (2002); and to Squalodontidae by Lydekker (1887), Cope (1890), Newton (1891), Zittel (1894), Paquier (1894), Flores (1895), Trouessart (1898), Hay (1902), Rhoads (1903), Trouessart (1904), Palmer (1904), Case (1904), Abel (1905), True (1907), Abel (1919), Winge (1921), Miller (1923), Zittel (1925), Dal Piaz (1929), Hay (1930), Kellogg (1931), Simpson (1945), Siryk and Dubrovo (1970), Ginsburg and Janvier (1971), Keyes (1973), Ginsburg and Janvier (1975), Whitmore and Sanders (1977), Fordyce (1982), Whitmore (1984), Pilleri (1987), Muizon (1987), Carroll (1988), Muizon (1990), Benton (1993), Muizon (1994), Gottfried et al. (1994), McKenna and Bell (1997), Fordyce and de Muizon (2001), Bianucci and Landini (2002), Geisler and Sanders (2003), Cahuzac et al. (2005), Uhen (2008), Uhen et al. (2008), Geisler et al. (2011), Fornasiero and Del Vavero (2014), Di Patti (2014), Carone and Marra (2014), Bianucci and Varola (2014), Tanaka and Fordyce (2014), Marx et al. (2016), Berta (2017), Collareta et al. (2020), Godfrey and Lambert (2023), Nelson et al. (2025), Nelson et al. (2025).
It was synonymized subjectively with Basilosaurus by Gibbes (1847).
It was assigned to Reptilia by Grateloup (1840); to Zeuglodontae by Bronn (1853); to Zeuglodontes by Pictet (1853); to Cynorcidae by Cope (1867), Gill (1871), Gill (1872); to Gymnorhinidae by Brandt (1874), Brandt (1874); to Zeuglodontidae by Scott (1873), McCoy (1875), Davis (1888); to Odontoceti by Depéret (1893); to Squalodontinae by Rothausen (1968); to Cetacea by Sepkoski (2002); and to Squalodontidae by Lydekker (1887), Cope (1890), Newton (1891), Zittel (1894), Paquier (1894), Flores (1895), Trouessart (1898), Hay (1902), Rhoads (1903), Trouessart (1904), Palmer (1904), Case (1904), Abel (1905), True (1907), Abel (1919), Winge (1921), Miller (1923), Zittel (1925), Dal Piaz (1929), Hay (1930), Kellogg (1931), Simpson (1945), Siryk and Dubrovo (1970), Ginsburg and Janvier (1971), Keyes (1973), Ginsburg and Janvier (1975), Whitmore and Sanders (1977), Fordyce (1982), Whitmore (1984), Pilleri (1987), Muizon (1987), Carroll (1988), Muizon (1990), Benton (1993), Muizon (1994), Gottfried et al. (1994), McKenna and Bell (1997), Fordyce and de Muizon (2001), Bianucci and Landini (2002), Geisler and Sanders (2003), Cahuzac et al. (2005), Uhen (2008), Uhen et al. (2008), Geisler et al. (2011), Fornasiero and Del Vavero (2014), Di Patti (2014), Carone and Marra (2014), Bianucci and Varola (2014), Tanaka and Fordyce (2014), Marx et al. (2016), Berta (2017), Collareta et al. (2020), Godfrey and Lambert (2023), Nelson et al. (2025), Nelson et al. (2025).
Species
Phoca pedronii, Priscodelphinus validus, Rhytisodon tuberculatus, S. antverpiensis, S. barbarus, S. bellunensis, S. calvertensis, S. grateloupii (syn. Delphinoides gratelupi, S. typicus, S. bariensis, S. grateloupii, S. kelloggi, S. zitteli, S. burgueti), S. murdochi, S. peregrinus, S. quaternarium, S. servatus, S. whitmorei, Trirhizodon gervaisii, Trirhizodon suessii
Species lacking formal opinion data
Synonyms
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Synonymy list
Year | Name and author |
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1840 | Squalodon Grateloup p. 208 |
1841 | Phocodon Agassiz p. 236 |
1841 | Arionius Meyer pp. 315-331 |
1844 | Crenidelphinus Laurillard p. 636 |
1845 | Delphinoides Pedroni p. 1181 |
1849 | Phoca pedronii Gervais |
1852 | Rhytisodon Costa |
1852 | Rhytisodon tuberculatus Costa |
1853 | Arionius Bronn p. 759 |
1853 | Smilocamptus Bronn p. 763 |
1853 | Squalodon Bronn p. 772 |
1853 | Squalodon Pictet p. 379 |
1853 | Arionius Pictet p. 383 |
1856 | Macrophoca Leidy p. 220 figs. not figured |
1861 | Rhizoprion Jourdan |
1861 | Squalodon antverpiensis Van Beneden |
1864 | Rhytisodon Costa p. 12 |
1864 | Rhytisodon tuberculatus Costa p. 13 |
1865 | Squalodon gervaisii Van Beneden p. 71 |
1867 | Squalodon Cope p. 144 |
1871 | Squalodon Gill p. 125 |
1872 | Priscodelphinus validus Du Bus p. 493 |
1872 | Squalodon Gill p. 93 |
1873 | Squalodon antverpiensis Brandt p. 321 |
1873 | Squalodon gervaisii Brandt p. 329 |
1873 | Squalodon suessii Brandt p. 330 figs. Pl. 32, figs 24a-c |
1873 | Squalodon Scott p. 59 |
1873 | Arionius Scott p. 67 |
1874 | Squalodon Brandt p. III |
1874 | Squalodon antverpiensis Brandt p. III |
1874 | Squalodon gervaisii Brandt p. III |
1874 | Squalodon Brandt p. 50 |
1874 | Priscodelphinus validus Vanden Broeck p. 146 |
1874 | Squalodon antwerpiensis Vanden Broeck p. 147 |
1875 | Squalodon McCoy p. 7 |
1879 | Squalodon quaternarium Forsyth Major p. 227 |
1880 | Squalodon gervaisi Van Beneden and Gervais p. 434 figs. Plate XXVIII, Fig. 12-12a |
1880 | Priscodelphinus validus Van Beneden and Gervais p. 494 |
1887 | Portheodon gervaisii Cope p. 242 |
1887 | Squalodon Lydekker p. 75 |
1888 | Squalodon Davis p. 45 |
1890 | Squalodon Cope p. 603 |
1890 | Squalodon antverpiensis Cope p. 603 |
1890 | Trirhizodon Cope p. 603 |
1891 | Squalodon Newton p. 75 |
1891 | Squalodon antwerpiensis Newton p. 75 |
1893 | Squalodon Depéret p. 204 |
1894 | Squalodon Paquier p. 5 |
1894 | Squalodon gervaisi Paquier p. 5 |
1894 | Squalodon Zittel p. 170 |
1894 | Squalodon antwerpiense Zittel p. 171 |
1895 | Squalodon Flores p. 11 |
1895 | Squalodon antverpiensis Flores p. 11 |
1898 | Squalodon Trouessart p. 1011 |
1898 | Squalodon antverpiensis Trouessart p. 1013 |
1898 | Squalodon gervaisii Trouessart p. 1014 |
1898 | Squalodon suessii Trouessart p. 1014 |
1898 | Priscodelphinus validus Trouessart p. 1023 |
1902 | Squalodon Hay p. 588 |
1903 | Squalodon Rhoads p. 247 |
1904 | Squalodon Case p. 6 |
1904 | Crenidelphinus Palmer p. 202 |
1904 | Delphinoides Palmer p. 220 |
1904 | Phocodon Palmer p. 533 |
1904 | Rhytisodon Palmer p. 610 |
1904 | Smilocamptus Palmer p. 635 |
1904 | Squalodon Palmer p. 642 |
1904 | Squalodon Trouessart p. 755 |
1904 | Squalodon antverpiensis Trouessart p. 755 |
1904 | Squalodon gervaisi Trouessart p. 755 |
1904 | Squalodon quaternarius Trouessart p. 755 |
1904 | Squalodon suessi Trouessart p. 755 |
1905 | Squalodon Abel p. 47 |
1905 | Squalodon antwerpiensis Abel p. 47 |
1906 | Squalodon gervaisi Joleaud p. 379 |
1907 | Squalodon True p. 7 |
1916 | Squalodon antverpiense Dal Piaz p. 8 |
1919 | Squalodon Abel p. 763 |
1921 | Squalodon Winge p. 7 |
1923 | Squalodon antverpiensis Kellogg p. 6 |
1923 | Trirhizodon gervaisii Kellogg p. 14 |
1923 | Trirhizodon suessii Kellogg p. 33 |
1923 | Rhytisodon tuberculatus Kellogg p. 34 |
1923 | Squalodon Miller p. 40 |
1925 | Squalodon Zittel p. 85 |
1928 | Rhytisodon Kellogg p. 32 figs. Table 1 |
1928 | Trirhizodon Kellogg p. 32 figs. Table 1 |
1929 | Squalodon Dal Piaz p. 74 |
1930 | Squalodon Hay p. 580 |
1931 | Squalodon Kellogg p. 373 |
1945 | Rhytisodon Simpson p. 100 |
1945 | Squalodon Simpson p. 100 |
1945 | Trirhizodon Simpson p. 100 |
1968 | Squalodon Rothausen p. 88 |
1968 | Squalodon antverpiensis Rothausen p. 91 figs. Table 1 |
1968 | Squalodon antverpiensis antverpiensis Rothausen p. 93 |
1968 | Squalodon antverpiensis papillatus Rothausen p. 94 figs. Plate 12, Fig. 6, 7 |
1970 | Squalodon Siryk and Dubrovo p. 128 |
1971 | Squalodon Ginsburg and Janvier p. 167 |
1973 | Squalodon Keyes p. 389 |
1975 | Squalodon Ginsburg and Janvier p. 80 figs. Fig. 2 |
1976 | Kelloggia Mchedlidze p. 57 |
1977 | Squalodon Whitmore and Sanders p. 305 |
1982 | Squalodon Fordyce p. 423 |
1984 | Squalodon Whitmore p. 230 |
1985 | Kelloggia Barnes p. 90 |
1987 | Kelloggia Muizon p. 13 |
1987 | Squalodon Muizon p. 13 |
1987 | Squalodon Pilleri p. 147 |
1988 | Squalodon Carroll |
1990 | Kelloggia Muizon p. 315 figs. Fig. 15 |
1990 | Squalodon Muizon p. 315 figs. Fig. 15 |
1993 | Kelloggia Benton p. 761 |
1993 | Squalodon Benton p. 761 |
1994 | Squalodon Gottfried et al. p. 233 |
1994 | Kelloggia Muizon p. 136 |
1994 | Squalodon Muizon p. 136 |
1997 | Squalodon McKenna and Bell p. 373 |
1997 | Kelloggia McKenna and Bell p. 374 |
2001 | Kelloggia Fordyce and de Muizon p. 178 |
2001 | Squalodon Fordyce and de Muizon p. 178 |
2002 | Squalodon Bianucci and Landini p. 21 |
2002 | Kelloggia Sepkoski |
2002 | Rhytisodon Sepkoski |
2002 | Squalodon Sepkoski |
2002 | Trirhizodon Sepkoski |
2003 | Rhytisodon Delfino et al. p. 18 |
2003 | Kelloggia Geisler and Sanders p. 28 |
2003 | Squalodon Geisler and Sanders p. 28 |
2004 | Squalodon antwerpiensis Symeonidis et al. p. 319 figs. Table 2 |
2005 | Squalodon Cahuzac et al. p. 420 |
2008 | Squalodon Uhen p. 445 figs. Table 1 |
2008 | Squalodon Uhen et al. p. 583 |
2011 | Squalodon Geisler et al. p. 5 figs. Table 1 |
2014 | Squalodon Bianucci and Varola p. 117 |
2014 | Squalodon Carone and Marra p. 122 |
2014 | Squalodon Di Patti p. 129 |
2014 | Squalodon Fornasiero and Del Vavero p. 65 |
2014 | Squalodon Tanaka and Fordyce p. 27 |
2016 | Squalodon Marx et al. p. 120 |
2017 | Squalodon Berta p. 160 |
2020 | Squalodon Collareta et al. p. 21 |
2023 | Squalodon Godfrey and Lambert p. 53 |
2025 | Squalodon Nelson et al. p. 5 |
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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.
G. †Squalodon Grateloup 1840
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†Squalodon barbarus Mchedlidze and Aslanova 1968
†Squalodon bellunensis Dal Piaz 1901
†Squalodon calvertensis Kellogg 1923
†Squalodon grateloupii von Meyer 1843
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Invalid names: Delphinoides gratelupi Pedroni 1845 [objective synonym], Squalodon bariensis Jourdan 1861 [synonym], Squalodon burgueti Gervais 1849 [synonym], Squalodon grateloupii Gervais 1846 [objective synonym], Squalodon kelloggi Rothausen 1968 [synonym], Squalodon zitteli Paquier 1894 [synonym]
†Squalodon murdochi Godfrey and Lambert 2023
†Squalodon peregrinus Dal Piaz 1971
†Squalodon servatus Meyer 1841
†Squalodon whitmorei Dooley 2005
Invalid names: Arionius Meyer 1841 [synonym], Crenidelphinus Laurillard 1844 [synonym], Delphinoides Pedroni 1845 [synonym], Kelloggia Mchedlidze 1976 [synonym], Macrophoca Leidy 1856 [synonym], Phoca pedronii Gervais 1849 [invalid subgroup], Phocodon Agassiz 1841 [synonym], Priscodelphinus validus Du Bus 1872 [nomen nudum], Rhizoprion Jourdan 1861 [synonym], Rhytisodon Costa 1852 [synonym], Smilocomptus Gervais 1849 [synonym], Squalodon antverpiensis Van Beneden 1861 [nomen dubium], Squalodon antverpiensis antverpiensis Rothausen 1968 [nomen dubium], Squalodon quaternarium Forsyth Major 1879 [nomen nudum], Trirhizodon Cope 1890 [synonym]
Diagnosis
Reference | Diagnosis | |
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M. D. Uhen et al. 2008 | Rostrum elongated, equaling nearly twice the length of that portion of the skull posterior to maxillary notches; external nasal openings situated far posteriorly; brain case telescoped; no intertemporal construction; supraorbital process of frontal expanded laterally, constricted proximally; frontals in contact posteriorly with supraoccipital, and receive the ascending processes of the premaxillae in paired grooves along the internal margins of the maxillae; nasals abbreviated, apparently synostosing with the frontals in old adults; mesorostral channel open; mesethmoid fills large frontal fontanelle; forms the thick partition separating the nasal passages externally; provides support for the abbreviated nasals; and is pierced by a second pair of passages, the foramina for the nasal or ophthalmic branches of the trigeminal nerve; cheek teeth increased above the typical number 44; variable 58 to 60; molars not exceeding seven and premolars five in either jaw (Kellogg, 1923b). |
Measurements
No measurements are available
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Source: subo = suborder, o = order | |||||
Reference: Uhen 2004 |
Collections (65 total)
Time interval | Ma | Country or state | Original ID and collection number |
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Chattian | Germany | S. sp. (57119) | |
Chattian | Japan | S. sp. (51103 51105) | |
Chattian | Azerbaijan | S. barbarus (45737) | |
Chattian | USA (South Carolina) | S. sp. (97550 112635 206943) | |
Aquitanian | Italy | S. bariensis, S. bellunensis, S. peregrinus (47623) S. bellunensis (59850) | |
Aquitanian | Austria | S. bellunensis (76129) | |
Aquitanian | France | S. sp. (70242) | |
Aquitanian | USA (Virginia) | S. calvertensis (70517) | |
Aquitanian - Burdigalian | USA (New Jersey) | S. sp. (50944) | |
Early/Lower Miocene | Slovakia | S. sp. (47461) | |
Early/Lower Miocene | Greece (Macedonia) | S. bellunensis (47083) | |
Aquitanian - Langhian | USA (North Carolina) | S. sp., S. calvertensis (48887) | |
Aquitanian - Serravallian | USA (Maryland) | S. calvertensis (231816) | |
Miocene | France (Côtes-d'Armor) | S. sp. (148402) | |
Miocene | Netherlands | Phoca ambigua (37599) | |
Miocene | United Kingdom (England) | S. antverpiensis (153047) | |
Miocene | France | S. gervaisii, S. grateloupii (93327) | |
Burdigalian | USA (Virginia) | S. whitmorei (57951 57953 57959) | |
Burdigalian | Switzerland (Aargau) | S. sp. (46524) | |
Burdigalian | Italy | S. bariensis, S. bellunense (47187) S. sp. (70814 207869) | |
Burdigalian | France | S. grateloupi (57732) S. sp. (52061) | |
Burdigalian | USA (Delaware) | S. calvertensis (18579) | |
Burdigalian | USA (Maryland) | S. calvertensis (45493) S. calvertensis, S. whitmorei (71810) S. whitmorei (57960) | |
Burdigalian | France (Drôme) | Rhizoprion bariensis (48662) | |
Burdigalian | France (Bordeaux) | S. grateloupii, Delphinoides gratelupi, Phoca pedronii (48660) | |
Burdigalian | Germany | Arionius servatus (47425) S. zitteli (48663) | |
Burdigalian | Slovakia | S. ehrlichii (48642) | |
Burdigalian | Italy (Sicily) | S. bariensis (49396) | |
Burdigalian | Switzerland (Zurich) | S. sp. (46523) | |
Burdigalian - Langhian | Belgium | S. sp. (114830) | |
Burdigalian - Messinian | Italy (Apulia) | S. sp. (48657) S. sp., S. antverpiensis (47125) | |
Early/Lower Barstovian | USA (Florida) | S. sp. (18549) | |
Langhian | Italy (Sicillia) | S. bariensis (28617) | |
Langhian | Malta | S. sp. (81668) | |
Langhian | USA (Maryland) | S. murdochi (45506 60379) S. sp. (55517 70819) | |
Langhian | USA (Virginia) | S. calvertensis (79793) | |
Langhian - Serravallian | Belgium (Antwerpen) | S. antverpiensis, Priscodelphinus validus (51680) | |
Langhian - Serravallian | Belgium | S. sp. A (59123) | |
Middle Miocene | Costa Rica (Limon) | S. sp. (124711) | |
Badenian | Belgium | S. sp. (95167) | |
Serravallian | Japan (Ishikawi) | S. sp. (76038) | |
Serravallian | Italy | S. bellunensis (48656) | |
Serravallian | France | S. sp. (85338) | |
Serravallian | USA (Virginia) | S. calvertensis (71801) S. sp. (57113 187324) | |
Serravallian | France (Gironde) | Smilocomptus burgueti (85340) | |
Tortonian | Italy | S. sp. (80394) | |
Late/Upper Miocene - Early/Lower Pliocene | Chile | Delphinus sp. (73840) |