Incakujira

Incakujira; Temporal range: Miocene ; (Tortonian-Messinian), ~
	Holotype specimen exhibited at Gamagori, Japan
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Artiodactyla
Infraorder:	Cetacea
Superfamily:	Balaenopteroidea
Family:	Balaenopteridae
Genus:	†Incakujira; Marx & Kohno, 2016
Type species
	†Incakujira anillodefuego; Marx & Kohno, 2016

Incakujira (meaning Inca whale) is a genus of rorqual whales that lived during the Late Miocene epoch in what are now the coasts of Peru, about 8 million to 7.3 million years ago. It contains a single species, Incakujira anillodefuego, named and described in 2016 with known specimens coming from the Pisco Formation.

Description

Paratype specimen

Incakujira differs from other rorquals (fossil and extant) in having a less attenuated rostrum and the features of the maxilla, supraorbital, and remainder of the cranium. Kujira in the genus name means "whale" in Japanese.[1]

Paleobiology

The twisted postglenoid process of the squamosal suggests that the lunge-feeding capabilities of Incakujira were not as great as those of extant rorquals, and that Incakujira itself also pursued additional krill-feeding strategies like skimming.[1]

References

Marx, F. G.; Kohno, N. (2016). "A new Miocene baleen whale from the Peruvian desert". Royal Society Open Science. 3 (10): 1–27. Bibcode:2016RSOS....360542M. doi:10.1098/rsos.160542. PMC 5098998. PMID 27853573.

External links

Media related to Incakujira at Wikimedia Commons
Data related to Incakujira at Wikispecies

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.

[Marx2016-1] Marx, F. G.; Kohno, N. (2016). "A new Miocene baleen whale from the Peruvian desert". Royal Society Open Science. 3 (10): 1–27. Bibcode:2016RSOS....360542M. doi:10.1098/rsos.160542. PMC 5098998. PMID 27853573.