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Ontocetus emmonsi

Mammalia - Carnivora - Odobenidae

Taxonomy
Ontocetus emmonsi was named by Leidy (1859) [cast ANSP 11255]. Its type specimen is USNM 329064, a tooth (tusk), and it is a 3D body fossil. Its type locality is Murfreesboro, which is in a Zanclean shallow subtidal sandstone in the Yorktown Formation of North Carolina. It is the type species of Ontocetus.

It was recombined as Hoplocetus emmonsi by Trouessart (1898) and Trouessart (1904).

Synonyms
Synonymy list
YearName and author
1859Ontocetus emmonsi Leidy p. 162
1865Trichecodon huxleyi Lankester p. 226 figs. Plates X-XI
1867Alachtherium crestsii Du Bus p. 566
1869Ontocetus emmonsi Leidy p. 440
1874Alachtherium cretsii Vanden Broeck p. 199
1875Ontocetus emmonsii Cope p. 51
1880Trichechus huxleyi Lankester p. 144
1891Trichechus huxleyi Newton p. 17
1898Trichechus huxleyi Trouessart p. 376
1898Hoplocetus emmonsi Trouessart p. 1055
1902Ontocetus emmonsi Hay p. 596
1904Alachtherium cretsii Palmer p. 87
1904Trichechus huxleyi Trouessart p. 281
1904Hoplocetus emmonsi Trouessart p. 773
1906Prorosmarus alleni Berry and Gregory p. 444
1907Trichechus antverpiensis Rutten p. 12
1909Alachtherium antwerpiensis Hasse p. 302
1922Alachtherium cretsii Kellogg p. 101
1922Prorosmarus alleni Kellogg p. 101
1922Trichecodon huxleyi Kellogg p. 102
1930Prorosmarus alleni Hay p. 559
1957Odobenus huxleyi Hooijer p. 255
1964Odobenus huxleyi Van Deinse p. 187
1964Alachtherium antverpiensis Van Deinse p. 194
1968Odobenus huxleyi Van Der Feen p. 24
1968Odobenus antverpiensis Van Der Feen p. 26
1975Ontocetus emmonsi Ray
1977Alachtherium antverpiensis Repenning and Tedford p. 13
1989Trichecodon huxleyi Barnes p. 23
1994Alachtherium cretsii Deméré p. 118
1994Prorosmarus alleni Deméré p. 119
1994Odobenus huxleyi Deméré p. 121
1997Alachtherium africanum Geraads p. 155 figs. Fig. 15.1-3
1999Odobenus antverpiensis Bosscha Erdbrink and Van Bree p. 76
1999Odobenus cretsii Bosscha Erdbrink and Van Bree p. 76
1999Odobenus huxleyi Bosscha Erdbrink and Van Bree p. 76
1999Odobenus africanus Bosscha Erdbrink and Van Bree p. 80
2003Alachtherium cretsii Deméré et al. p. 49 figs. Fig. 3.3
2003Odobenus huxleyi Deméré et al. p. 49 figs. Fig. 3.3
2003Prorosmarus alleni Deméré et al. p. 49 figs. Fig. 3.3
2004Odobaenus huxleyi Post p. 73
2008Prorosmarus alleni Barnes p. 536
2008Trichecodon huxleyi Barnes p. 536
2008Ontocetus emmonsi Kohno and Ray p. 45
2010Ontocetus emmonsi Werdelin and Peigne p. 647
2018Ontocetus emmonsi Berta et al. p. 217 figs. Fig. 6
2018Ontocetus emmonsi Boessenecker et al. p. 282
2018Ontocetus emmonsi Magallanes et al. p. 30 figs. Figure 14
2019Ontocetus emmonsi Albright et al. p. 177
2020Ontocetus emmonsi Biewer et al.
2024Ontocetus emmonsi Boisville et al.

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RankNameAuthor
kingdomAnimalia()
—Bilateria
—EubilateriaAx 1987
—Deuterostomia
phylumChordataHaeckel 1874
subphylumVertebrata
superclassGnathostomata
—Osteichthyes()
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()
—CarnivoramorphaWyss and Flynn 1993
—CarnivoraformesFlynn et al.
orderCarnivora
suborderCaniformiaKretzoi 1943
infraorderCanoidea(Simpson 1931)
superfamilyArctoideaFlower 1869
—PanpinnipediaWolsan et al. 2020
—Pinnipedimorpha
—Pinnipedia()
familyOdobenidae()
subfamilyOdobeninae
tribeOdobenini
genusOntocetus
speciesemmonsi

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 emmonsi Leidy 1859
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Invalid names: Alachtherium africanum Geraads 1997 [synonym], Alachtherium antverpiensis Rutten 1907 [synonym], Alachtherium cretsii Du Bus 1867 [synonym], Prorosmarus alleni Berry and Gregory 1906 [synonym], Trichecodon huxleyi Lankester 1865 [synonym]
Diagnosis
No diagnoses are available
Measurements
No measurements are available
Composition: hydroxyapatiteuc
Ontogeny: modification of partsuc
Environment: marinef
Locomotion: actively mobilec
Life habit: amphibiousf
Diet: carnivoref
Reproduction: viviparousf
Created: 2011-05-21 01:16:23
Modified: 2011-05-20 10:16:23
Source: f = family, c = class, uc = unranked clade
References: Carreño and Cronin 1993, Hendy et al. 2009, Kohno et al. 1995

Age range: base of the Zanclean to the top of the Rancholabrean or 5.33300 to 0.01200 Ma

Collections (62 total)


Time interval Ma Country or state Original ID and collection number
Miocene - Pliocene23.03 - 2.588Netherlands Trichechus huxleyi (53929)
Neogene23.03 - 2.58USA (Florida) Ontocetus emmonsi (77598 77599)
Neogene23.03 - 2.58USA (Georgia) Ontocetus emmonsi (77597)
Late/Upper Hemphillian10.3 - 4.9USA (Florida) Ontocetus emmonsi (60036) Trichecodon huxleyi (18532 18595)
Late/Upper Hemphillian - Zanclean10.3 - 3.6USA (Florida) Trichecodon huxleyi (18535)
Messinian - Early/Lower Pleistocene7.246 - 0.781Netherlands Ontocetus emmonsi (189573)
Early/Lower Pliocene5.333 - 3.6USA (Virginia) Ontocetus emmonsi (57908)
Zanclean5.333 - 3.6USA (South Carolina) Ontocetus emmonsi (77594)
Zanclean5.333 - 3.6USA (Virginia) Ontocetus emmonsi (77577 77578 77579)
Zanclean5.333 - 3.6USA (North Carolina) Ontocetus emmonsi (49982 type locality: 51591 52582 77580 77581 77582 77583 77584 77585 77586)
Zanclean5.333 - 3.6USA (Florida) Ontocetus emmonsi (45474) Trichecodon huxleyi (154720)
Pliocene5.333 - 2.588USA (South Carolina) Ontocetus emmonsi (77593 77595)
Pliocene5.333 - 2.588Belgium Alachtherium antwerpiensis (116315)
Pliocene5.333 - 2.588USA (North Carolina) Ontocetus emmonsi (49983)
Pliocene5.333 - 2.588Belgium (Antwerpen) Alachtherium cretsii (67028 67029)
Zanclean - Piacenzian5.333 - 2.588Netherlands (Noord-Brabant) Alachtherium cretsii (59003)
Zanclean - Piacenzian5.333 - 2.588USA (Virginia) Prorosmarus alleni (59155)
Pliocene - Pleistocene5.333 - 0.0117USA (Georgia) Ontocetus emmonsi (51589)
Blancan4.9 - 1.8USA (Florida) Ontocetus emmonsi (19753)
Late/Upper Pliocene3.6 - 2.588Netherlands Odobenus antverpiensis (116344)
Late/Upper Pliocene3.6 - 2.588Morocco Alachtherium africanum (32052 32054)
Piacenzian3.6 - 2.588USA (Florida) Ontocetus emmonsi (32039 77600 77602 77604)
Piacenzian3.6 - 2.588Belgium (Antwerpen) Trichechus antverpiensis, Alachtherium cretsii, Alachtherium antwerpiensis (66958)
Piacenzian3.6 - 2.588USA (South Carolina) Ontocetus emmonsi (77591)
Piacenzian (interglacial)3.6 - 2.588USA (Florida) Ontocetus emmonsi (77601)
Piacenzian3.6 - 2.588United Kingdom (England) Odobenus huxleyi (77745)
Gelasian2.588 - 1.806United Kingdom (England) Odobenus huxleyi (77746) Ontocetus emmonsi (77632) Trichecodon huxleyi (48093)
Early/Lower Pleistocene2.588 - 0.781United Kingdom (England) Trichechus huxleyi (77750)
Early/Lower Pleistocene2.588 - 0.781Netherlands Ontocetus emmonsi (189574)
Pleistocene2.588 - 0.0117Netherlands Odobenus huxleyi (77659)
Pleistocene2.588 - 0.0117USA (Georgia) Ontocetus emmonsi (77596)
Pleistocene2.588 - 0.0117USA (South Carolina) Ontocetus emmonsi (77588 206994)
Calabrian1.8 - 0.774Belgium (Knokke-Heist) Trichechus antverpiensis (59164)
Irvingtonian1.8 - 0.3USA (Florida) Ontocetus emmonsi (20482)
Middle Pleistocene0.774 - 0.129Netherlands Hippopotamus major (109704)
Middle Pleistocene0.774 - 0.129United Kingdom (England) Trichechus huxleyi (58421)
Rancholabrean0.3 - 0.012USA (South Carolina) Ontocetus emmonsi (206985)
Late/Upper Pleistocene0.129 - 0.0117USA (South Carolina) Ontocetus emmonsi (188304)