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Taxonomy
Phoca vitulinoides was named by Van Beneden (1876). Its type specimen is neotype: IRSNB M2276a–q, a set of vertebrae (partial skeleton), and it is a 3D body fossil. Its type locality is Borsbeek, Fort 3, which is in a Tortonian lagoonal horizon in the Diest Formation of Belgium.
It was recombined as Phoca (Phoca) vitulinoides by Trouessart (1898) and Friant (1947); it was considered a nomen dubium by Koretsky and Ray (2008); it was recombined as Nanophoca vitulinoides by Dewaele et al. (2017) and Berta et al. (2022).
It was recombined as Phoca (Phoca) vitulinoides by Trouessart (1898) and Friant (1947); it was considered a nomen dubium by Koretsky and Ray (2008); it was recombined as Nanophoca vitulinoides by Dewaele et al. (2017) and Berta et al. (2022).
Synonymy list
| Year | Name and author |
|---|---|
| 1874 | Phoca vitulinoides Vanden Broeck p. 199 |
| 1876 | Phoca vitulinoides Van Beneden p. 800 |
| 1898 | Phoca (Phoca) vitulinoides Trouessart p. 385 |
| 1904 | Phoca vitulinoides Trouessart p. 286 |
| 1922 | Phoca vitulinoides Kellogg p. 118 |
| 1947 | Phoca (Phoca) vitulinoides Friant p. 7 |
| 1976 | Phoca vitulinoides Ray p. 394 |
| 2001 | Phoca vitulinoides Koretsky p. 85 |
| 2017 | Nanophoca vitulinoides Dewaele et al. p. 13 |
| 2022 | Nanophoca vitulinoides Berta et al. p. 7 figs. Table 1.1 |
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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.
†Nanophoca vitulinoides Van Beneden 1876
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Diagnosis
| Reference | Diagnosis | |
|---|---|---|
| L. Dewaele et al. 2017 | Nanophoca vitulinoides is a small seal, estimated to have reached a length of approximately
one meter, which is slightly smaller than members of the genus Pusa (1.3 m for male Pusa sibirica Ciesielski et al., 2006). It differs from other genera of Phocinae in the following characteristics: sacrum with three (also in Monachinae Gray, 1869) to four fused sacral vertebrae (also in other Phocinae); sacral spinous processes fused and dorsally elongate; prominent hook-like ischiatic spine; and a low proximodistally oriented ridge just proximal to the medial condyle of the femur, less than one millimeter raised over the condyle. Additionally, the following characteristics have also been observed in other Phocinae, but their combination is unique to N. vitulinoides: a scapular spine and subspinous ridge (see definition below) fuse at scapular neck (also in H. grypus, Phoca, and Pusa) lesser tubercle of humerus at same level as humeral head (also in Cryptophoca maeotica); greater trochanter of femur higher than head (also in Praepusa vindobonenesis, Pusa caspica, and Pusa sibirica); head of femur on narrow, long neck (also in C. maeotica, L. proxima, Monachopsis pontica, Praepusa vindobonensis, and Sarmatonectes sintsovi). |
Measurements
No measurements are available
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| Source: f = family, c = class, uc = unranked clade | |||||
| References: Carreño and Cronin 1993, Hendy et al. 2009, Gingerich 2003, Nowak 1991 | |||||
Age range: base of the Serravallian to the top of the Zanclean or 13.82000 to 3.60000 Ma
Collections (7 total)
| Time interval | Ma | Country or state | Original ID and collection number |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miocene | Netherlands | Phoca vitulinoides (190171) | |
| Langhian - Serravallian | Belgium | Nanophoca vitulinoides (91520) | |
| Serravallian | Netherlands | Phoca vitulinoides (75152) | |
| Tortonian | Belgium | Nanophoca vitulinoides (116630 217346) | |
| Tortonian | Belgium (Antwerpen) | Phoca vitulinoides (type locality: 52049) | |
| Zanclean | Belgium (Antwerpen) | Phoca vitulinoides (57701) |