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Mesoplodon

Mammalia - Cetacea - Ziphiidae

Taxonomy
Mesoplodon was named by Gervais (1850) [Sepkoski's age data: T Mi-u R]. It is extant. Its type is Physeter bidens. It was considered monophyletic by Uhen et al. (2008) and Lambert et al. (2009).

It was synonymized subjectively with Nodus by Hershkovitz (1961).

It was assigned to Physeteridae by Cope (1890), Newton (1891) and Palmer (1904); to Xiphii by Winge (1921); to Khoufechia by Moore (1968); to Ziphiinae by Gill (1871), Gill (1872), Lydekker (1887), Trouessart (1898), Hay (1902), Trouessart (1904), Turner (1912), Zittel (1925), Weber (1928), Hay (1930), Fraser and Purves (1960) and Kasuya (1973); to Hyperoodontidae by McKenna and Bell (1997); to Cetacea by Sepkoski (2002); to Ziphiina by Mead and Brownell (2005); to Ziphiidae by Abel (1905), Abel (1919), Kellogg (1928), Simpson (1945), Ellerman and Morrisson-Scott (1951), Sherman (1952), Scheffer and Rice (1963), Barnes (1977), Loughlin and Perez (1985), Pilleri (1987), Carroll (1988), Vidal (1991), Morgan (1994), Norman and Mead (2001), Bianucci and Landini (2002), Dalebout et al. (2002), Geisler and Sanders (2003), Lambert (2005), Agnarsson and May-Collado (2008), Whitmore and Kaltenbach (2008), Uhen et al. (2008), Geisler et al. (2011), Manganelli and Benocci (2014), Damarco (2014) and Cioppi (2014); and to Hyperoodontinae by Muizon (1990), Rice (1998), Fordyce and de Muizon (2001), Bianucci et al. (2007), Lambert et al. (2009), Bianucci et al. (2010), Lambert et al. (2013), Ramassamy (2016), Marx et al. (2016), Lambert and Louwye (2016) and Lambert et al. (2018).

Synonyms
Synonymy list
YearName and author
1828Aodon Lesson p. 155 figs. Plate 3, Figure 1
1830Nodus Wagler p. 34
1846Micropterus Wagner p. 281
1849Micropteron Eschricht p. 97
1850Dioplodon Gervais p. 14
1850Mesoplodon Gervais p. 16
1851Mesodiodon Duvernoy p. 68
1853Dioplodon Pictet p. 385
1863Dioplodon Gray p. 200
1864Dioplodon Huxley p. 395
1864Micropteron Huxley p. 395
1865Dioplodon Gray p. 529
1866Diplodon Gray
1866Mesiodon Gray p. 349
1866Ziphius (Dolichodon) Gray p. 353
1866Dioplodon Gray p. 355
1868Dioplodon Gray p. 10
1868Dolichodon Gray p. 10
1870Ziphius medilineatus Owen
1870Ziphius gibbus Owen p. 17
1870Ziphius medilineatus Owen p. 22 figs. Plate 4, fig. 3
1870Ziphius tenuirostris Owen p. 24 figs. Plate V, fig 1, 2
1871Dioplodon Gill p. 126
1871Mesoplodon Gill p. 126
1871Dolichodon Gray p. 101
1871Neoziphius Gray p. 101
1871Callidon Gray p. 368
1872Mesoplodon Gill p. 96
1876Dioplodon danconae Lawley
1876Dioplodon meneghinii Lawley p. 109
1876Dioplodon danconae Lawley p. 110
1876Oulodon van Haast p. 547
1880Dioplodon gibbus Van Beneden and Gervais p. 420
1880Dioplodon medilineatus Van Beneden and Gervais p. 422
1880Dioplodon tenuirostris Van Beneden and Gervais p. 422
1882Ziphius (Dolichodon) geelongensis McCoy
1885Dioplodon gibbus Capellini p. 295
1885Dioplodon bononiensis Capellini p. 296 figs. Plate 1, Fig. 9-11
1885Dioplodon tenuirostris Capellini p. 296
1885Dioplodon medilineatus Capellini p. 298
1885Dioplodon lawley Capellini p. 299 figs. Plate 1, Fig. 17-18
1885Dioplodon meneghinii Capellini p. 301
1885Mesoplodon danconae Capellini p. 302
1887Mesoplodon Lydekker p. 64
1887Mesoplodon gibbus Lydekker p. 71
1887Mesoplodon tenuirostris Lydekker p. 71
1890Mesoplodon Cope p. 607
1891Mesoplodon Newton p. 72
1891Mesoplodon tenuirostris Newton p. 72
1891Mesoplodon gibbus Newton p. 73
1893Dioplodon tenuirostris Capellini p. 286
1894Micropteron danconae Vigliarolo p. 8
1894Dioplodon gibbus Vigliarolo p. 11
1894Dioplodon medilineatus Vigliarolo p. 13
1894Dioplodon tenuirostris Vigliarolo p. 13
1894Dioplodon meneghinii Vigliarolo p. 14
1894Dioplodon bononiensis Vigliarolo p. 15
1894Dioplodon lawleyi Vigliarolo p. 15
1895Dioplodon Flores p. 13
1895Dioplodon gibbus Flores p. 13
1895Dioplodon tenuirostris Flores p. 13
1898Mesoplodon Trouessart p. 1063
1898Mesoplodon bononiensis Trouessart p. 1064
1898Mesoplodon gibbus Trouessart p. 1064
1898Mesoplodon danconai Trouessart p. 1065
1898Mesoplodon lawleyi Trouessart p. 1065
1898Mesoplodon medilineatus Trouessart p. 1065
1898Mesoplodon meneghinii Trouessart p. 1065
1898Mesoplodon tenuirostris Trouessart p. 1065
1899Dioplodon lawleyi Simonelli p. 1 fig. Fig.
1902Mesoplodon Hay p. 597
1904Dioplodon Palmer p. 237
1904Mesodiodon Palmer p. 414
1904Mesoplodon Palmer p. 415
1904Micropterus Palmer p. 423
1904Neoziphius Palmer p. 456
1904Oulodon Palmer p. 490
1904Mesoplodon Trouessart p. 777
1904Mesoplodon bononiensis Trouessart p. 777
1904Mesoplodon danconae Trouessart p. 777
1904Mesoplodon gibbus Trouessart p. 777
1904Mesoplodon lawleyi Trouessart p. 777
1904Mesoplodon medilineatus Trouessart p. 777
1904Mesoplodon meneghinii Trouessart p. 777
1904Mesoplodon tenuirostris Trouessart p. 777
1905Mesoplodon Abel p. 110
1911Dioplodon gibbus Capellini p. 114
1911Dioplodon tenuirostris Capellini p. 114
1911Dioplodon bononiensis Capellini p. 115
1911Dioplodon lawley Capellini p. 115
1911Dioplodon medilineatus Capellini p. 115
1911Dioplodon meneghinii Capellini p. 115
1911Mesoplodon danconae Capellini p. 115
1912Ziphius medilineatus Turner p. 79
1912Mesoplodon Turner p. 86
1919Mesoplodon Abel p. 772
1921Mesoplodon Winge p. 44
1922Paikea Oliver p. 574
1925Dioplodon Portis p. 14
1925Mesoplodon Zittel p. 86
1928Mesoplodon Kellogg p. 33 figs. Table 1
1928Mesoplodon Weber p. 389
1930Mesoplodon Hay p. 584
1945Mesoplodon Simpson p. 101
1951Mesoplodon Ellerman and Morrisson-Scott p. 724
1952Mesoplodon Sherman p. 99
1960Mesoplodon Fraser and Purves p. 112 figs. Figure 26
1963Mesoplodon Scheffer and Rice p. 8
1968Mesoplodon Moore p. 277
1968Mesoplodon (Dolichodon) Moore p. 277
1968Mesoplodon (Dioplodon) Moore p. 278
1973Mesoplodon Kasuya p. 61
1977Mesoplodon Barnes p. 323 figs. Table 1
1982Mesoplodon (Dioplodon) tenuirostris Pilleri and Pilleri p. 308
1982Mesoplodon (Dioplodon) medilineatus Pilleri and Pilleri p. 309
1982Mesoplodon (Dioplodon) Pilleri and Pilleri p. 311
1982Mesoplodon (Dioplodon) lawley Pilleri and Pilleri p. 311
1982Mesoplodon (Dioplodon) meneghinii Pilleri and Pilleri p. 311
1985Mesoplodon Loughlin and Perez p. 1
1987Mesoplodon meneghinii Pilleri p. 32
1987Mesoplodon Pilleri p. 53
1987Mesoplodon danconae Pilleri p. 53
1987Mesoplodon medilineatus Pilleri p. 86
1987Mesoplodon bononiensis Pilleri p. 88
1987Mesoplodon lawleyi Pilleri p. 88
1987Mesoplodon tenuirostris Pilleri p. 88
1987Mesoplodon gibbus Pilleri p. 90
1988Mesoplodon Carroll
1990Mesoplodon Muizon p. 295
1991Mesoplodon Vidal p. 5
1994Mesoplodon Morgan pp. 255-256 figs. 9a-c
1997Mesoplodon McKenna and Bell p. 381
1998Mesoplodon Rice p. 89
2001Mesoplodon Fordyce and de Muizon p. 179
2001Mesoplodon Norman and Mead
2002Mesoplodon Bianucci and Landini p. 22
2002Mesoplodon Dalebout et al. p. 583
2002Mesoplodon Sepkoski
2003Mesoplodon Geisler and Sanders p. 29
2005Mesoplodon Lambert p. 465
2005Mesoplodon Mead and Brownell p. 740
2007Mesoplodon Bianucci et al. p. 578
2008Mesoplodon Agnarsson and May-Collado p. 981 figs. Fig. 5
2008Mesoplodon Uhen et al. p. 579
2008Mesoplodon Whitmore and Kaltenbach p. 213
2009Mesoplodon Lambert et al. p. 919 figs. Fig. 10
2010Mesoplodon Bianucci et al. p. 1093 figs. Figure 14
2011Mesoplodon Geisler et al. p. 5 figs. Table 1
2013Mesoplodon Lambert et al. p. 588 figs. FIgure 14
2014Mesoplodon Cioppi p. 87
2014Mesoplodon Damarco p. 27
2014Mesoplodon Manganelli and Benocci p. 107
2016Mesoplodon Lambert and Louwye figs. Figure 3
2016Mesoplodon Marx et al. p. 130
2016Mesoplodon Ramassamy p. 398 figs. Figure 17
2018Mesoplodon Lambert et al. p. 147

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RankNameAuthor
kingdomAnimalia()
Bilateria
EubilateriaAx 1987
Life
Deuterostomia
phylumChordataHaeckel 1874
subphylumVertebrata
superclassGnathostomata
Osteichthyes()
subclassSarcopterygii()
subclassDipnotetrapodomorpha(Nelson 2006)
subclassTetrapodomorpha()
Tetrapoda
Reptiliomorpha
Anthracosauria
subclassAmphibiosauriaKuhn 1967
Cotylosauria()
Amniota
subclassSynapsida
Therapsida()
infraorderCynodontia()
Mammaliamorpha
Mammaliaformes
classMammalia
Theriamorpha(Rowe 1993)
RankNameAuthor
Theriiformes()
Trechnotheria
Cladotheria
Zatheria
subclassTribosphenida()
subclassTheria
Eutheria()
Placentalia
Boreoeutheria
Laurasiatheria
Scrotifera
Euungulata
Artiodactylamorpha
Artiodactyla()
Whippomorpha
orderCetacea
Pelagiceti
Neoceti
suborderOdontoceti
Amblyoccipita
Stegoceti
familyZiphiidae
subfamilyHyperoodontinae
genusMesoplodon

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. Mesoplodon Gervais 1850
show all | hide all
Mesoplodon bidens Sowerby 1804
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Invalid names: Aodon dalei Lesson 1828 [synonym], Delphinus micropterus Cuvier 1829 [synonym], Delphinus sowerbensis de Blainville 1817 [synonym], Heterodon dalei Lesson 1827 [synonym], Mesoplodon sowerbiensis Blainville 1817 [synonym], Mesoplodon sowerbyi Desmarest 1822 [synonym]
Mesoplodon bowdoini Andrews 1908
Mesoplodon densirostris Blainville 1817
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Invalid names: Ziphius seychellensis Gray 1846 [synonym]
Mesoplodon eueu Carroll et al. 2021
Mesoplodon europaeus Gervais 1852
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Invalid names: Dioplodon gervaisi Deslongchamps 1866 [synonym], Mesoplodon gervaisi Deslongchamps 1866 [synonym]
Mesoplodon ginkgodens Nishiwaki and Kamiya 1958
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Invalid names: Mesoplodon densirostris Ogawa 1938 [synonym]
Mesoplodon grayi Haast 1876
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Invalid names: Berardius hectori Hector 1874 [synonym], Mesoplodon australis Flower 1878 [synonym], Mesoplodon haasti Flower 1878 [synonym]
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Invalid names: Mesoplodon knoxi Hector 1873 [synonym]
Mesoplodon hotaula Deraniyagala 1963
Mesoplodon layardii Gray 1865 [strap-toothed whale]
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Invalid names: Mesoplodon floweri Lydekker 1887 [synonym], Mesoplodon guntheri Krefft 1871 [synonym], Mesoplodon longirostris Gray 1873 [synonym], Mesoplodon thomsoni Ogilby 1896 [synonym]
Mesoplodon longirostris Cuvier 1824
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Invalid names: Dioplodon becanii Gervais 1859 [synonym], Dioplodon farnesinae Capellini 1891 [synonym], Dioplodon taramelli Pelizzola 1916 [synonym], Mesoplodon scaphoides Newton 1890 [synonym], Rhinostodes antwerpiensis Du Bus 1868 [synonym], Ziphius angulatus Owen 1870 [synonym], Ziphius angustus Owen 1870 [synonym]
Mesoplodon mirus True 1913 [True's beaked whale]
Mesoplodon perrini Dalebout et al. 2002
Mesoplodon peruvianus Reyes et al. 1991
Mesoplodon posti Lambert and Louwye 2016
Mesoplodon slangkopi Bianucci et al. 2007
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Invalid names: Mesoplodon bahamondi Reyes et al. 1996 [synonym]
Mesoplodon tumidirostris Miyazaki and Hasegawa 1992
Invalid names: Aodon Lesson 1828 [synonym], Callidon Gray 1871 [synonym], Dioplodon Gervais 1850 [synonym], Diplodon Gray 1866 [synonym], Dolichodon Gray 1866 [synonym], Mesiodon Gray 1866 [synonym], Mesodiodon Duvernoy 1851 [synonym], Mesoplodon bononiensis Capellini 1885 [nomen dubium], Mesoplodon danconae Lawley 1876 [nomen dubium], Mesoplodon lawleyi Capellini 1885 [nomen dubium], Mesoplodon medilineatus Owen 1870 [nomen dubium], Mesoplodon meneghinii Lawley 1876 [nomen dubium], Micropteron Eschricht 1849 [synonym], Micropterus Wagner 1846 [synonym], Neoziphius Gray 1871 [synonym], Nodus Wagler 1830 [synonym], Oulodon van Haast 1876 [synonym], Paikea Oliver 1922 [synonym], Ziphius gibbus Owen 1870 [nomen dubium], Ziphius tenuirostris Owen 1870 [nomen dubium]
Diagnosis
ReferenceDiagnosis
M. D. Uhen et al. 2008Head and body length is 3-7 meters; pectoral fin length is 20-70 cm; dorsal fin height is about 15-20 cm; expanse of the tail flukes is about 100 cm; only two teeth become well developed in males, one on each side of the lower jaw, and these may be lost in old age; functional teeth of females are much smaller than those of males and often do not erupt above the gums; small nonfunctional teeth may be found in both jaws (Nowak and Paradiso, 1983). True (1910a, 1913), Heyning (1989a), Mead (1989) and others gave detailed guides to osteology in living species of Mesoplodon.