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A new large squalodelphinid (Cetacea, Odontoceti) from Peru sheds light on the Early Miocene platanistoid disparity and ecology
Bianucci, G.; Bosio, G.; Malinverno, E.; de Muizon, C.; Villa, I.M.; Urbina, M.; Lambert, O. (2018). A new large squalodelphinid (Cetacea, Odontoceti) from Peru sheds light on the Early Miocene platanistoid disparity and ecology. Royal Society Open Science 5(4): 32. https://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rsos.172302
In: Royal Society Open Science. The Royal Society: London. ISSN 2054-5703; e-ISSN 2054-5703, more
Peer reviewed article  
Available in  Authors 
Keywords
    Odontoceti Flower, 1867 [WoRMS]; Squalodelphinidae
    Marine/Coastal
Author keywords
    Odontoceti; Squalodelphinidae; Early Miocene; Peru; phylogeny;palaeoecology
Authors  Top 
  • Bianucci, G.
  • Bosio, G.
  • Malinverno, E.
  • de Muizon, C.
  • Villa, I.M.
  • Urbina, M.
  • Lambert, O., more
Abstract
    The South Asian river dolphin (Platanista gangetica) is the only extant survivor of the large clade Platanistoidea, having a well-diversified fossil record from the Late Oligocene to the Middle Miocene. Based on a partial skeleton collected from the Chilcatay Formation (Chilcatay Fm; southern coast of Peru), we report here a new squalodelphinid genus and species, Macrosqualodelphis ukupachai. A volcanic ash layer, sampled near the fossil, yielded the 40Ar/39Ar age of 18.78 ± 0.08 Ma (Burdigalian, Early Miocene). The phylogenetic analysis places Macrosqualodelphis as the earliest branching squalodelphinid. Combined with several cranial and dental features, the large body size (estimated body length of 3.5 m) of this odontocete suggests that it consumed larger prey than the other members of its family. Together with Huaridelphis raimondii and Notocetus vanbenedeni, both also found in the Chilcatay Fm, this new squalodelphinid further demonstrates the peculiar local diversity of the family along the southeastern Pacific coast, possibly related to their partition into different dietary niches. At a wider geographical scale, the morphological and ecological diversity of squalodelphinids confirms the major role played by platanistoids during the Early Miocene radiation of crown odontocetes.
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