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Squalodon

Mammalia - Cetacea - Squalodontidae

Taxonomy
Squalodon was named by Grateloup (1840) [Sepkoski's age data: T Ol-u T Plio Sepkoski's reference number: 1066]. It is the type genus of Squalodontinae. It was considered monophyletic by Muizon (1987) and Uhen et al. (2008) and Geisler et al. (2011).

It was synonymized subjectively with Basilosaurus by Gibbes (1847).

It was assigned to Reptilia by Grateloup (1840); to Zeuglodontae by Bronn (1853); to Zeuglodontes by Pictet (1853); to Cynorcidae by Cope (1867), Gill (1871) and Gill (1872); to Gymnorhinidae by Brandt (1874); to Zeuglodontidae by McCoy (1875) and Davis (1888); to Odontoceti by Depéret (1893); to Squalodontinae by Rothausen (1968); to Cetacea by Sepkoski (2002); and to Squalodontidae by Lydekker (1887), Cope (1890), Newton (1891), Zittel (1894), Paquier (1894), Flores (1895), Trouessart (1898), Hay (1902), Rhoads (1903), Trouessart (1904), Palmer (1904), Case (1904), Abel (1905), True (1907), Abel (1919), Winge (1921), Miller (1923), Zittel (1925), Dal Piaz (1929), Hay (1930), Kellogg (1931), Simpson (1945), Siryk and Dubrovo (1970), Ginsburg and Janvier (1971), Keyes (1973), Ginsburg and Janvier (1975), Whitmore and Sanders (1977), Fordyce (1982), Whitmore (1984), Pilleri (1987), Muizon (1987), Carroll (1988), Muizon (1990), Benton (1993), Muizon (1994), Gottfried et al. (1994), McKenna and Bell (1997), Fordyce and de Muizon (2001), Bianucci and Landini (2002), Geisler and Sanders (2003), Cahuzac et al. (2005), Uhen (2008), Uhen et al. (2008), Geisler et al. (2011), Fornasiero and Del Vavero (2014), Di Patti (2014), Carone and Marra (2014), Bianucci and Varola (2014), Tanaka and Fordyce (2014), Marx et al. (2016), Berta (2017), Collareta et al. (2020) and Godfrey and Lambert (2023).

Synonyms
Synonymy list
YearName and author
1840Squalodon Grateloup p. 208
1841Phocodon Agassiz p. 236
1841Arionius Meyer pp. 315-331
1844Crenidelphinus Laurillard p. 636
1845Delphinoides Pedroni p. 1181
1849Phoca pedronii Gervais
1852Rhytisodon Costa
1852Rhytisodon tuberculatus Costa
1853Arionius Bronn p. 759
1853Smilocamptus Bronn p. 763
1853Squalodon Bronn p. 772
1853Squalodon Pictet p. 379
1853Arionius Pictet p. 383
1856Macrophoca Leidy p. 220 figs. not figured
1861Rhizoprion Jourdan
1864Rhytisodon Costa p. 12
1864Rhytisodon tuberculatus Costa p. 13
1865Squalodon gervaisii Van Beneden p. 71
1867Squalodon Cope p. 144
1871Squalodon Gill p. 125
1872Priscodelphinus validus Du Bus p. 493
1872Squalodon Gill p. 93
1873Squalodon suessii Brandt p. 330 figs. Pl. 32, figs 24a-c
1874Squalodon Brandt p. III
1874Squalodon gervaisii Brandt p. III
1874Priscodelphinus validus Vanden Broeck p. 146
1875Squalodon McCoy p. 7
1879Squalodon quaternarium Forsyth Major p. 227
1880Squalodon gervaisi Van Beneden and Gervais p. 434 figs. Plate XXVIII, Fig. 12-12a
1880Priscodelphinus validus Van Beneden and Gervais p. 494
1887Portheodon gervaisii Cope p. 242
1887Squalodon Lydekker p. 75
1888Squalodon Davis p. 45
1890Squalodon Cope p. 603
1890Trirhizodon Cope p. 603
1891Squalodon Newton p. 75
1893Squalodon Depéret p. 204
1894Squalodon Paquier p. 5
1894Squalodon gervaisi Paquier p. 5
1894Squalodon Zittel p. 170
1895Squalodon Flores p. 11
1898Squalodon Trouessart p. 1011
1898Squalodon gervaisii Trouessart p. 1014
1898Squalodon suessii Trouessart p. 1014
1898Priscodelphinus validus Trouessart p. 1023
1902Squalodon Hay p. 588
1903Squalodon Rhoads p. 247
1904Squalodon Case p. 6
1904Crenidelphinus Palmer p. 202
1904Delphinoides Palmer p. 220
1904Phocodon Palmer p. 533
1904Rhytisodon Palmer p. 610
1904Smilocamptus Palmer p. 635
1904Squalodon Palmer p. 642
1904Squalodon Trouessart p. 755
1904Squalodon gervaisi Trouessart p. 755
1904Squalodon quaternarius Trouessart p. 755
1904Squalodon suessi Trouessart p. 755
1905Squalodon Abel p. 47
1906Squalodon gervaisi Joleaud p. 379
1907Squalodon True p. 7
1919Squalodon Abel p. 763
1921Squalodon Winge p. 7
1923Trirhizodon gervaisii Kellogg p. 14
1923Trirhizodon suessii Kellogg p. 33
1923Rhytisodon tuberculatus Kellogg p. 34
1923Squalodon Miller p. 40
1925Squalodon Zittel p. 85
1928Rhytisodon Kellogg p. 32 figs. Table 1
1928Trirhizodon Kellogg p. 32 figs. Table 1
1929Squalodon Dal Piaz p. 74
1930Squalodon Hay p. 580
1931Squalodon Kellogg p. 373
1945Rhytisodon Simpson p. 100
1945Squalodon Simpson p. 100
1945Trirhizodon Simpson p. 100
1968Squalodon Rothausen p. 88
1970Squalodon Siryk and Dubrovo p. 128
1971Squalodon Ginsburg and Janvier p. 167
1973Squalodon Keyes p. 389
1975Squalodon Ginsburg and Janvier p. 80 figs. Fig. 2
1976Kelloggia Mchedlidze p. 57
1977Squalodon Whitmore and Sanders p. 305
1982Squalodon Fordyce p. 423
1984Squalodon Whitmore p. 230
1985Kelloggia Barnes p. 90
1987Kelloggia Muizon p. 13
1987Squalodon Muizon p. 13
1987Squalodon Pilleri p. 147
1988Squalodon Carroll
1990Kelloggia Muizon p. 315 figs. Fig. 15
1990Squalodon Muizon p. 315 figs. Fig. 15
1993Kelloggia Benton p. 761
1993Squalodon Benton p. 761
1994Squalodon Gottfried et al. p. 233
1994Kelloggia Muizon p. 136
1994Squalodon Muizon p. 136
1997Squalodon McKenna and Bell p. 373
1997Kelloggia McKenna and Bell p. 374
2001Kelloggia Fordyce and de Muizon p. 178
2001Squalodon Fordyce and de Muizon p. 178
2002Squalodon Bianucci and Landini p. 21
2002Kelloggia Sepkoski
2002Rhytisodon Sepkoski
2002Squalodon Sepkoski
2002Trirhizodon Sepkoski
2003Rhytisodon Delfino et al. p. 18
2003Kelloggia Geisler and Sanders p. 28
2003Squalodon Geisler and Sanders p. 28
2005Squalodon Cahuzac et al. p. 420
2008Squalodon Uhen p. 445 figs. Table 1
2008Squalodon Uhen et al. p. 583
2011Squalodon Geisler et al. p. 5 figs. Table 1
2014Squalodon Bianucci and Varola p. 117
2014Squalodon Carone and Marra p. 122
2014Squalodon Di Patti p. 129
2014Squalodon Fornasiero and Del Vavero p. 65
2014Squalodon Tanaka and Fordyce p. 27
2016Squalodon Marx et al. p. 120
2017Squalodon Berta p. 160
2020Squalodon Collareta et al. p. 21
2023Squalodon Godfrey and Lambert p. 53

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RankNameAuthor
kingdomAnimalia()
Bilateria
EubilateriaAx 1987
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
familySqualodontidae
genusSqualodon

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. †Squalodon Grateloup 1840
show all | hide all
Squalodon antverpiensis Van Beneden 1861
+
Squalodon barbarus Mchedlidze and Aslanova 1968
Squalodon bariensis Jourdan 1861
Squalodon bellunensis Dal Piaz 1901
Squalodon bordae Gervais 1852
Squalodon calvertensis Kellogg 1923
Squalodon catulli Molin 1859
Squalodon dalpiazi Fabiani 1949
Squalodon grateloupii von Meyer 1843
+
Invalid names: Delphinoides gratelupi Pedroni 1845 [objective synonym], Squalodon burgueti Gervais 1849 [synonym], Squalodon grateloupii Gervais 1846 [objective synonym]
Squalodon hypsispondylus Brandt 1874
Squalodon imperator Cigala-Fulgosi and Pilleri 1985
Squalodon linzianus Brandt 1871
Squalodon melitensis Blainville 1840
+
Invalid names: Squalodon scillae Agassiz 1841 [synonym]
Squalodon meyeri Brandt 1873
Squalodon mirabilis Meyer 1838
Squalodon molassicus Bronn 1837
Squalodon murdochi Godfrey and Lambert 2023
Squalodon peregrinus Dal Piaz 1971
Squalodon rugidens Meyer 1845
Squalodon servatus Meyer 1841
Squalodon vocontiorum Delfortrie 1874
Squalodon whitmorei Dooley 2005
Squalodon zitteli Paquier 1894
Invalid names: Arionius Meyer 1841 [synonym], Crenidelphinus Laurillard 1844 [synonym], Delphinoides Pedroni 1845 [synonym], Kelloggia Mchedlidze 1976 [synonym], Macrophoca Leidy 1856 [synonym], Phoca pedronii Gervais 1849 [invalid subgroup], Phocodon Agassiz 1841 [synonym], Priscodelphinus validus Du Bus 1872 [nomen nudum], Rhizoprion Jourdan 1861 [synonym], Rhytisodon Costa 1852 [synonym], Smilocomptus Gervais 1849 [synonym], Squalodon quaternarium Forsyth Major 1879 [nomen nudum], Trirhizodon Cope 1890 [synonym]
Diagnosis
ReferenceDiagnosis
M. D. Uhen et al. 2008Rostrum elongated, equaling nearly twice the length of that portion of the skull posterior to maxillary notches; external nasal openings situated far posteriorly; brain case telescoped; no intertemporal construction; supraorbital process of frontal expanded laterally, constricted proximally; frontals in contact posteriorly with supraoccipital, and receive the ascending processes of the premaxillae in paired grooves along the internal margins of the maxillae; nasals abbreviated, apparently synostosing with the frontals in old adults; mesorostral channel open; mesethmoid fills large frontal fontanelle; forms the thick partition separating the nasal passages externally; provides support for the abbreviated nasals; and is pierced by a second pair of passages, the foramina for the nasal or ophthalmic branches of the trigeminal nerve; cheek teeth increased above the typical number 44; variable 58 to 60; molars not exceeding seven and premolars five in either jaw (Kellogg, 1923b).