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Delphinapterus leucas (beluga whale)

Mammalia - Artiodactyla - Monodontidae

Taxonomy

Delphinus leucas was named by Pallas (1776) [no type specimen designated ]. It is extant. Its type locality is Ob River mouth, which is in a Holocene estuary/bay horizon in the Russian Federation. It is the type species of Delphinapterus.

It was replaced with Beluga borealis by Lesson (1828); it was recombined as Delphinapterus leucas by Flower (1885), Lydekker (1887), Newton (1891), Hay (1902), Trouessart (1904), Turner (1912), Hay (1930), Scheffer and Rice (1963), Hershkovitz (1966), Stewart and Stewart (1989), Rice (1998), Mead and Brownell (2005), Agnarsson and May-Collado (2008) and Uhen et al. (2008).

View classification of included taxa

Synonyms

Delphinus vermontana was named by Thompson (1850). It is not a trace fossil.

It was corrected as Delphinus vermontanus by Pictet (1853); it was recombined as Beluga vermontana by Thompson (1853); it was recombined as Delphinapterus vermontanus by Cope (1890), Perkins (1908), Perkins (1908) and Hay (1930); it was recombined as Delphinapterus vermontana by Trouessart (1898), Hay (1902) and Trouessart (1904); it was synonymized subjectively with Delphinapterus leucas by Dana (1896) and Harington (2003).
Balaena albicans was named by Muller (1776). It is extant.

It was recombined as Delphinus albians by Nilsson (1820); it was synonymized subjectively with Delphinapterus leucas by Stewart and Stewart (1989).
Catodon canadensis was named by Lesson (1828). It is extant.

It was synonymized subjectively with Delphinapterus leucas by Stewart and Stewart (1989).
Beluga borealis was named by Lesson (1828). It is extant.

It was synonymized subjectively with Delphinapterus leucas by Stewart and Stewart (1989).
Beluga glacialis was named by Lesson (1828). It is extant.

It was synonymized subjectively with Delphinapterus leucas by Stewart and Stewart (1989).
Catodon sibbaldi was named by Fleming (1828). It is extant.

It was synonymized subjectively with Delphinapterus leucas by Stewart and Stewart (1989).
Beluga rhinodon was named by Cope (1865). It is extant.

It was synonymized subjectively with Delphinapterus leucas by Stewart and Stewart (1989).
Beluga declivis was named by Cope (1865). It is extant.

It was synonymized subjectively with Delphinapterus leucas by Stewart and Stewart (1989).
Delphinapterus concreta was named by Cope (1865). It is extant.

It was synonymized subjectively with Delphinapterus leucas by Stewart and Stewart (1989).
Delphinapterus freimani was named by Klumov (1935). It is extant.

It was synonymized subjectively with Delphinapterus leucas by Hershkovitz (1966) and Stewart and Stewart (1989).
Delphinapterus dorofeevi was named by Klumov and Barabash (1935). It is extant.

It was synonymized subjectively with Delphinapterus leucas by Stewart and Stewart (1989) and Mead and Brownell (2005).
Delphinapterus marisalbi was named by Ostroumov (1935). It is extant.

It was synonymized subjectively with Delphinapterus leucas by Mead and Brownell (2005).
Beluga angustata was named by Cope (1866). It is extant.

It was synonymized subjectively with Delphinapterus leucas by Hershkovitz (1966) and Stewart and Stewart (1989).
Catodon albicans was named by Lacépède (1804). It is extant.

It was synonymized subjectively with Delphinapterus leucas by Hershkovitz (1966) and Mead and Brownell (2005).
Delphinapterus beluga was named by Lacépède (1804). It is extant.

It was synonymized subjectively with Delphinapterus leucas by Trouessart (1904), Hershkovitz (1966), Stewart and Stewart (1989) and Mead and Brownell (2005).
Beluga catodon was named by Gray (1846). It is extant.

It was synonymized subjectively with Delphinapterus leucas by Hershkovitz (1966), Stewart and Stewart (1989) and Mead and Brownell (2005).
Delphinus kingii was named by Gray (1827). It is extant.

It was recombined as Beluga kingii by Gray (1846), Gray (1850), Gray (1866) and Gray (1868); it was recombined as Delphinapterus kingi by Trouessart (1904); it was synonymized subjectively with Delphinapterus leucas by Hershkovitz (1966) and Stewart and Stewart (1989).
Delphinus canadensis was named by Desmarest (1822). It is extant.

It was recombined as Inia canadensis by Gray (1846); it was synonymized subjectively with Delphinapterus leucas by Hershkovitz (1966) and Stewart and Stewart (1989).

Synonymy list

Year	Name and author
1776	Balaena albicans Muller p. 7
1776	Delphinus leucas Pallas p. 85
1804	Catodon albicans Lacépède p. 218
1804	Delphinapterus beluga Lacépède p. 243
1820	Delphinus albians Nilsson p. 243
1821	Delphinus leucaster Gray p. 310
1822	Delphinus canadensis Desmarest
1827	Delphinus kingii Gray p. 235
1828	Catodon sibbaldi Fleming p. 29
1828	Beluga glacialis Lesson p. 194
1828	Beluga borealis Lesson p. 440
1828	Catodon canadensis Lesson p. 440
1829	Delphinus canadensis Fischer p. 505
1829	Delphinus kingii Fischer p. 513
1829	Delphinus leucas Fischer p. 513
1846	Beluga catodon Gray p. 29
1846	Beluga kingii Gray p. 30
1846	Inia canadensis Gray p. 45
1847	Delphinus leucas Nilsson p. 614
1850	Beluga catodon Gray p. 77
1850	Beluga kingii Gray p. 79
1850	Delphinus vermontana Thompson p. 262
1853	Delphinus vermontanus Pictet p. 382
1853	Beluga vermontana Thompson p. 15
1865	Beluga rhinodon Cope p. 29
1865	Beluga declivis Cope p. 274
1865	Delphinapterus concreta Cope p. 278
1866	Beluga angustata Cope p. 293
1866	Beluga kingii Gray p. 309
1868	Beluga kingii Gray p. 9
1869	Beluga declivis Scammon and Cope p. 23
1885	Delphinapterus leucas Flower pp. 14-15
1887	Delphinapterus leucas Lydekker p. 78
1890	Delphinapterus vermontanus Cope p. 616
1891	Delphinapterus leucas Newton p. 79
1898	Delphinapterus vermontana Trouessart p. 1051
1902	Delphinapterus leucas Hay p. 594
1902	Delphinapterus vermontana Hay p. 594
1904	Delphinapterus vermontana Trouessart p. 771
1904	Delphinapterus kingi Trouessart p. 772
1904	Delphinapterus leucas Trouessart p. 772
1908	Delphinapterus vermontanus Perkins p. 77
1912	Delphinapterus leucas Turner p. 103
1930	Delphinapterus leucas Hay p. 593
1930	Delphinapterus vermontanus Hay p. 594
1935	Delphinapterus freimani Klumov p. 26
1935	Delphinapterus dorofeevi Klumov and Barabash p. 24
1935	Delphinapterus marisalbi Ostroumov
1963	Delphinapterus leucas Scheffer and Rice p. 5
1966	Delphinapterus leucas Hershkovitz p. 391
1989	Delphinapterus leucas Stewart and Stewart p. 1
1998	Delphinapterus leucas Rice p. 96
2005	Delphinapterus leucas Mead and Brownell p. 735
2008	Delphinapterus leucas Agnarsson and May-Collado p. 981 figs. Fig. 5
2008	Delphinapterus leucas Uhen et al. p. 590

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Rank	Name	Author
kingdom	Animalia	()
—	Triploblastica
—	Nephrozoa
—	Deuterostomia
phylum	Chordata	Haeckel 1847
subphylum	Vertebrata
superclass	Gnathostomata
—	Osteichthyes	()
—	Sarcopterygii
subclass	Dipnotetrapodomorpha	(Nelson 2006)
subclass	Tetrapodomorpha	()
—	Tetrapoda	()
—	Reptiliomorpha
—	Anthracosauria
—	Batrachosauria	()
—	Cotylosauria	()
—	Amniota
—	Synapsida	()

Rank	Name	Author
—	Therapsida	()
infraorder	Cynodontia	()
—	Epicynodontia
infraorder	Eucynodontia
—	Probainognathia
—	Mammaliamorpha
—	Mammaliaformes
class	Mammalia
order	Artiodactyla	()
—	Cetacea	()
—	Pelagiceti
—	Neoceti
—	Odontoceti	()
infraorder	Delphinida
superfamily	Delphinoidea
family	Monodontidae
genus	Delphinapterus
species	leucas	(Pallas 1776)

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.

Diagnosis

No diagnoses are available