Africanacetus

Africanacetus is an extinct genus of ziphiid cetacean known from skulls found in seafloor sediments of Late Miocene to Early Pliocene age off the coasts of South Africa (Banzare Bank) and Brazil (São Paulo Ridge).[1]

Africanacetus
Temporal range: Late Miocene-Early Pliocene
~5.3–3.6 Ma
↓
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Artiodactyla
Infraorder: Cetacea
Family: Ziphiidae
Genus: †Africanacetus
Bianucci et al. 2007
Species
  • †A. ceratopsis Bianucci et al. 2007 (type)
  • †A. gracilis Ichishima et al. 2017

Systematics

Two species are known, A. ceratopsis and A. gracilis. Both are distinguished by their cranial proportions, with A. gracilis having a more slender skull than A. ceratopsis.[2][3]

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References
  1. Africanacetus at Fossilworks.org
  2. G. Bianucci, O. Lambert, and K. Post. 2007. A high diversity in fossil beaked whales (Mammalia, Odontoceti, Ziphiidae) recovered by trawling from the sea floor off South Africa. Geodiversitas 29(4):561-618.
  3. Ichishima, H., A.H.Augustin, T. Toyofuku, and H. Kitazato. 2016. A new species of Africanacetus (Odontoceti: Ziphiidae) found on the deep ocean floor off the coast of Brazil. Deep Sea Research Part II: Topical Studies in Oceanography. Online Early.


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