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Pliophoca etrusca

Osteichthyes - Carnivora - Phocidae

Taxonomy
Pliophoca etrusca was named by Tavani (1941) [No type specimen number is listed by Tavani (1941). Holotype is the major part of an associated skeleton, Museo di Geologia di Pisa, Italy (Koretsky & Ray, 2008). ]. It is a 3D body fossil. Its type locality is Casa Nuova, which is in a Piacenzian coastal claystone in the Argille Azzurre Formation of Italy.

Synonymy list
YearName and author
1941Pliophoca etrusca Tavani p. 112 figs. Fig. 1, 2, 10, 13, 18, 22
1972Pliophoca etrusca Hendey p. 100
2000Pliophoca etrusca Mendez et al. p. 24
2001Pliophoca etrusca Koretsky p. 86
2003Pliophoca etrusca Deméré et al. p. 49 figs. Fig. 3.3
2008Pliophoca etrusca Koretsky and Barnes p. 550
2008Pliophoca etrusca Koretsky and Ray p. 103
2010Pliophoca etrusca Werdelin and Peigne p. 649
2015Pliophoca etrusca Berta et al. p. 3
2018Pliophoca etrusca Berta et al. p. 210 figs. Fig. 4
2018Pliophoca etrusca Dewaele et al. p. 15
2019Pliophoca etrusca Kienle and Berta
2022Pliophoca etrusca Berta et al. p. 8 figs. Table 1
2024Pliophoca etrusca Rule and Park p. 10 figs. Table 2

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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
PanpinnipediaWolsan et al. 2020
Pinnipedimorpha
Pinnipedia()
familyPhocidae()
subfamilyMonachinae
genusPliophoca
speciesetrusca

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.

Pliophoca etrusca Tavani 1941
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Diagnosis
ReferenceDiagnosis
A. Berta et al. 2015Pliophoca is distinguished from Mona- chus by medial tuberosity on premaxillary reduced or absent, lat- eral extension on premaxillary present, upper incisors transversely compressed, femur epiphyses in which the distal epiphysis is wider than the proximal epiphysis, greater trochanter of femur higher than the head, and calcaneum slightly longer than the astragalus. Pliophoca is distinguished from stem mona- chines (i.e., Acrophoca, ‘Callophoca,’ Piscophoca, Homiphoca, and Leptophoca) by the following derived characters: supinator ridge on humerus absent or poorly developed and metacarpal I longer than metacarpal II. Pliophoca is distinguished from Mir- ounga and lobodontines in retention of the following primitive characters: medial tuberosity on the premaxillary reduced or absent, mastoid lip does not cover the external cochlear foramen, procumbent upper incisors absent, and intercondylar region of femur narrow and deep.
L. Dewaele et al. 2018We retain the holotype specimen, described by Tavani [15], and redescribed by Berta et al. [12] as the sole unquestionable specimen of Pliophoca etrusca. We only emend the part of the humerus in the diagnosis presented by Berta et al. [12] and exclude Leptophoca True, 1906 from the list of stem monachines, following recent recent phylogenetic analysis of the taxon by Dewaele et al. [11,13]: Pliophoca is distinguished from Monachus by medial tuberosity on premaxillary reduced or absent, lateral extension on premaxillary present, upper incisors transversely compressed, femur epiphyses in which the distal epiphysis is wider than the proximal epiphysis, greater trochanter of femur higher than the head, and calcaneum slightly longer than the astragalus. Pliophoca is distinguished from stem monachines (i.e. Acrophoca, ‘Callophoca’, Homiphoca and Piscophoca) by the following derived characters: humeral head strongly overhanging the humeral neck, supinator ridge on humerus absent or poorly developed and metacarpal I longer than metacarpal II. Pliophoca is distinguished from Mirounga and lobodontines in retention of the following primitive characters: medial tuberosity on the premaxillary reduced or absent, mastoid lip does not cover the external cochlear foramen, procumbent upper incisors absent and intercondylar region of femur narrow and deep.
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: Hendy et al. 2009, Gingerich 2003, Carreño and Cronin 1993, Nowak 1991

Age range: base of the Zanclean to the top of the Piacenzian or 5.33300 to 2.58000 Ma

Collections (8 total)


Time interval Ma Country or state Original ID and collection number
Zanclean5.333 - 3.6Italy (Tuscany) Pliophoca etrusca (96777)
Zanclean5.333 - 3.6Spain Pliophoca etrusca (165803)
Zanclean5.333 - 3.6Spain (Tarragona) Pliophoca etrusca (165802)
Zanclean5.333 - 3.6France Phoca occitana (56693)
Pliocene5.333 - 2.58Italy Pliophoca etrusca (96779)
Late/Upper Pliocene3.6 - 2.58Egypt Pristiphoca occitana (22592)
Piacenzian3.6 - 2.58Italy Pliophoca etrusca (type locality: 96765 190379)