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Metopocetus
Taxonomy
Metopocetus was named by Cope (1896) [Sepkoski's age data: T Mi-u]. Its type is Metopocetus durinasus. It was considered monophyletic by Bisconti (2008).
It was assigned to Balaenopterinae by Trouessart (1898) and Trouessart (1904); to Balaenidae by Hay (1902), Palmer (1904) and Case (1904); to Mysticeti by True (1912); to Cetacea by Sepkoski (2002); to Herpetocetinae by Steeman (2007); to Cetotheriinae by Whitmore and Barnes (2008); and to Cetotheriidae by Kellogg (1928), Hay (1930), Simpson (1945), Carroll (1988), McKenna and Bell (1997), Bouetel (2005), Bouetel and Muizon (2006), Uhen et al. (2008), Bisconti (2008), Bisconti et al. (2013), Goldin et al. (2014), Bisconti (2014), Goldin and Startsev (2014), Gol'din and Steeman (2015), Marx and Fordyce (2015), Marx et al. (2016), Marx et al. (2016), Berta (2017) and Gol'din (2018).
It was assigned to Balaenopterinae by Trouessart (1898) and Trouessart (1904); to Balaenidae by Hay (1902), Palmer (1904) and Case (1904); to Mysticeti by True (1912); to Cetacea by Sepkoski (2002); to Herpetocetinae by Steeman (2007); to Cetotheriinae by Whitmore and Barnes (2008); and to Cetotheriidae by Kellogg (1928), Hay (1930), Simpson (1945), Carroll (1988), McKenna and Bell (1997), Bouetel (2005), Bouetel and Muizon (2006), Uhen et al. (2008), Bisconti (2008), Bisconti et al. (2013), Goldin et al. (2014), Bisconti (2014), Goldin and Startsev (2014), Gol'din and Steeman (2015), Marx and Fordyce (2015), Marx et al. (2016), Marx et al. (2016), Berta (2017) and Gol'din (2018).
Species
M. durinasus (type species), M. hunteri
Synonymy list
| Year | Name and author |
|---|---|
| 1896 | Metopocetus Cope p. 141 |
| 1898 | Metopocetus Trouessart p. 1069 |
| 1902 | Metopocetus Hay p. 598 |
| 1904 | Metopocetus Case p. 35 |
| 1904 | Metopocetus Palmer p. 419 |
| 1904 | Metopocetus Trouessart p. 779 |
| 1912 | Metopocetus True p. 3 |
| 1928 | Metopocetus Kellogg p. 35 figs. Table 1 |
| 1930 | Metopocetus Hay p. 573 |
| 1945 | Metopocetus Simpson p. 104 |
| 1988 | Metopocetus Carroll |
| 1997 | Metopocetus McKenna and Bell p. 376 |
| 2002 | Metopocetus Sepkoski |
| 2005 | Metopocetus Bouetel p. 139 |
| 2006 | Metopocetus Bouetel and Muizon p. 385 |
| 2007 | Metopocetus Steeman p. 875 |
| 2008 | Metopocetus Bisconti p. 173 |
| 2008 | Metopocetus Uhen et al. p. 613 |
| 2008 | Metopocetus Whitmore and Barnes p. 144 |
| 2013 | Metopocetus Bisconti et al. p. 121 |
| 2014 | Metopocetus Bisconti figs. Figure 4 |
| 2014 | Metopocetus Goldin and Startsev p. 419 |
| 2015 | Metopocetus Gol'din and Steeman p. 13 figs. Figure 10 |
| 2015 | Metopocetus Marx and Fordyce p. 4 figs. Figure 2 |
| 2016 | Metopocetus Marx et al. p. 4 |
| 2016 | Metopocetus Marx et al. p. 110 |
| 2017 | Metopocetus Berta p. 168 |
| 2018 | Metopocetus Gol'din p. 23 figs. Fig. 14 |
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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. †Metopocetus Cope 1896
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†Metopocetus durinasus Cope 1896
†Metopocetus hunteri Marx et al. 2016
Diagnosis
| Reference | Diagnosis | |
|---|---|---|
| F. G. Marx et al. 2016 | Small to medium-sized cetotheriid differing from all other chaeomysticetes except cetotheriids in having a distally expanded compound posterior process of the tympanoperiotic bearing a floored facial sulcus, as well as medially convergent ascending processes of the maxillae bearing an enlarged, primary dorsal infraorbital foramen (new term); further differs from all other chaeomysticetes except cetotheriids and balaenopterids in having the ascending process of the maxilla and the parietal overlap anteroposteriorly; and from balaenopterids in having the apex of the supraoccipital shield located posterior to the supraorbital process of the frontal. Differs from other cetotheriids, including neobalaenines, in lacking a well-developed lateral tuberosity of the periotic, and in having a better-defined mallear fossa and a well-developed paroccipital concavity and tympanohyal; from all other cetotheriids, except possibly Joumocetus Kimura & Hasegawa, 2010, in having a distinctly triangular ascending process of the maxilla; from Herpetocetus, Nannocetus, Cephalotropis Cope, 1896 and neobalaenines in having the posterior portion of the zygomatic process of the squamosal offset from the lateral border of the exoccipital by a distinct angle; from Herpetocetus, Nannocetus and Piscobalaena Pilleri and Siber, 1989 in the presence of
a squamosal cleft; from Herpetocetus and Nannocetus in having a smaller temporal exposure of the alisphenoid and in having a transversely oriented postglenoid process; from Brandtocetus Gol’din & Startsev, 2014, Cetotherium, Joumocetus, Kurdalagonus Tarasenko & Lopatin, 2012, ‘‘Aulocetus’’ latus, ‘‘Cetotherium’’ megalophysum, ‘‘Metopocetus’’ vandelli and likely also Herentalia Bisconti, 2014 in having a (slightly) more plug-like compound posterior process of the tympanoperiotic; from Brandtocetus, Cephalotropis, Cetotherium, Joumocetus, Kurdalagonus, Vampalus Tarasenko & Lopatin, 2012, Zygiocetus Tarasenko, 2014, ‘‘Aulocetus’’ latus, ‘‘Cetotherium’’ megalophysum and ‘‘Metopocetus’’ vandelli in having a more rounded apex of the supraoccipital shield; from Brandtocetus, Cetotherium and Zygiocetus in having a tympanic bulla that is not transversely wider anteriorly than it is posteriorly; and from Joumocetus and Cephalotropis in having the parietal almost excluded from the intertemporal region. |
Measurements
No measurements are available
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| Source: subo = suborder, o = order | |||||
| Reference: Uhen 2004 | |||||
Age range: base of the Serravallian to the top of the Tortonian or 13.82000 to 7.24600 Ma
Collections (3 total)
| Time interval | Ma | Country or state | Original ID and collection number |
|---|---|---|---|
| Serravallian | USA (Virginia) | M. durinasus (71798 126605) | |
| Tortonian | Netherlands (Noord-Brabant) | M. hunteri (94930) |