Miocene Paleotemperatures

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JVP 26(3) September 2006—ABSTRACTS

Neoceti Symposium, Saturday 8:45 acid-prepared osteolepiforms Medoevia and Gogonasus has offered strong support for BODY SIZE AND CRYPTIC TROPHIC SEPARATION OF GENERALIZED Jarvik’s interpretation, but Eusthenopteron itself has not been reexamined in detail. PIERCE-FEEDING CETACEANS: THE ROLE OF FEEDING DIVERSITY DUR- Uncertainty has persisted about the relationship between the large endoskeletal “fenestra ING THE RISE OF THE NEOCETI endochoanalis” and the apparently much smaller choana, and about the occlusion of upper ADAM, Peter, Univ. of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA; JETT, Kristin, Univ. of and lower jaw fangs relative to the choana. California, Davis, Davis, CA; OLSON, Joshua, Univ. of California, Los Angeles, Los A CT scan investigation of a large skull of Eusthenopteron, carried out in collaboration Angeles, CA with University of Texas and Parc de Miguasha, offers an opportunity to image and digital- Marine mammals with homodont dentition and relatively little specialization of the feeding ly “dissect” a complete three-dimensional snout region. We find that a choana is indeed apparatus are often categorized as generalist eaters of squid and fish. However, analyses of present, somewhat narrower but otherwise similar to that described by Jarvik. It does not many modern ecosystems reveal the importance of body size in determining trophic parti- receive the anterior coronoid fang, which bites mesial to the edge of the dermopalatine and tioning and diversity among predators. We established relationships between body sizes of is received by a pit in that bone. The fenestra endochoanalis is partly floored by the vomer extant cetaceans and their prey in order to infer prey size and potential trophic separation of and the dermopalatine, restricting the choana to the lateral part of the fenestra.
PDF of Manuscript and Figures

The triple origin of whales DAVID PETERS Independent Researcher 311 Collinsville Avenue, Collinsville, IL 62234, USA [email protected] 314-323-7776 July 13, 2018 RH: PETERS—TRIPLE ORIGIN OF WHALES Keywords: Cetacea, Mysticeti, Odontoceti, Phylogenetic analyis ABSTRACT—Workers presume the traditional whale clade, Cetacea, is monophyletic when they support a hypothesis of relationships for baleen whales (Mysticeti) rooted on stem members of the toothed whale clade (Odontoceti). Here a wider gamut phylogenetic analysis recovers Archaeoceti + Odontoceti far apart from Mysticeti and right whales apart from other mysticetes. The three whale clades had semi-aquatic ancestors with four limbs. The clade Odontoceti arises from a lineage that includes archaeocetids, pakicetids, tenrecs, elephant shrews and anagalids: all predators. The clade Mysticeti arises from a lineage that includes desmostylians, anthracobunids, cambaytheres, hippos and mesonychids: none predators. Right whales are derived from a sister to Desmostylus. Other mysticetes arise from a sister to the RBCM specimen attributed to Behemotops. Basal mysticetes include Caperea (for right whales) and Miocaperea (for all other mysticetes). Cetotheres are not related to aetiocetids. Whales and hippos are not related to artiodactyls. Rather the artiodactyl-type ankle found in basal archaeocetes is also found in the tenrec/odontocete clade. Former mesonychids, Sinonyx and Andrewsarchus, nest close to tenrecs. These are novel observations and hypotheses of mammal interrelationships based on morphology and a wide gamut taxon list that includes relevant taxa that prior studies ignored. Here some taxa are tested together for the first time, so they nest together for the first time. INTRODUCTION Marx and Fordyce (2015) reported the genesis of the baleen whale clade (Mysticeti) extended back to Zygorhiza, Physeter and other toothed whales (Archaeoceti + Odontoceti).
Mandible Allometry in Extant and Fossil Balaenopteridae (Cetacea: Mammalia): the Largest Vertebrate Skeletal Element and Its Role in Rorqual Lunge Feeding

bs_bs_banner Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2013, 108, 586–599. With 6 figures Mandible allometry in extant and fossil Balaenopteridae (Cetacea: Mammalia): the largest vertebrate skeletal element and its role in rorqual lunge feeding NICHOLAS D. PYENSON1,2*, JEREMY A. GOLDBOGEN3 and ROBERT E. SHADWICK4 1Department of Paleobiology, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, P.O. Box 37012, Washington, DC, 20013-7013, USA 2Departments of Mammalogy and Paleontology, Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture, Seattle, WA 98195, USA 3Cascadia Research Collective, 218½ West 4th Avenue, Olympia, WA, USA 4Department of Zoology, University of British Columbia, 6270 University Boulevard, Vancouver, BC, Canada V6T 1Z4 Received 4 July 2012; revised 10 September 2012; accepted for publication 10 September 2012 Rorqual whales (crown Balaenopteridae) are unique among aquatic vertebrates in their ability to lunge feed. During a single lunge, rorquals rapidly engulf a large volume of prey-laden water at high speed, which they then filter to capture suspended prey. Engulfment biomechanics are mostly governed by the coordinated opening and closing of the mandibles at large gape angles, which differentially exposes the floor of the oral cavity to oncoming flow. The mouth area in rorquals is delimited by unfused bony mandibles that form kinetic linkages to each other and with the skull. The relative scale and morphology of these skeletal elements have profound consequences for the energetic efficiency of foraging in these gigantic predators. Here, we performed a morphometric study of rorqual mandibles using a data set derived from a survey of museum specimens. Across adult specimens of extant balaenopterids, mandibles range in size from ~1–6 m in length, and at their upper limit they represent the single largest osteological element of any vertebrate, living or extinct.
The Taxonomic and Evolutionary History of Fossil and Modern Balaenopteroid Mysticetes

Journal of Mammalian Evolution, Vol. 12, Nos. 1/2, June 2005 (C 2005) DOI: 10.1007/s10914-005-6944-3 The Taxonomic and Evolutionary History of Fossil and Modern Balaenopteroid Mysticetes Thomas A. Demer´ e,´ 1,4 Annalisa Berta,2 and Michael R. McGowen2,3 Balaenopteroids (Balaenopteridae + Eschrichtiidae) are a diverse lineage of living mysticetes, with seven to ten species divided between three genera (Megaptera, Balaenoptera and Eschrichtius). Extant members of the Balaenopteridae (Balaenoptera and Megaptera) are characterized by their engulfment feeding behavior, which is associated with a number of unique cranial, mandibular, and soft anatomical characters. The Eschrichtiidae employ suction feeding, which is associated with arched rostra and short, coarse baleen. The recognition of these and other characters in fossil balaenopteroids, when viewed in a phylogenetic framework, provides a means for assessing the evolutionary history of this clade, including its origin and diversification. The earliest fossil balaenopterids include incomplete crania from the early late Miocene (7–10 Ma) of the North Pacific Ocean Basin. Our preliminary phylogenetic results indicate that the basal taxon, “Megaptera” miocaena should be reassigned to a new genus based on its possession of primitive and derived characters. The late late Miocene (5–7 Ma) balaenopterid record, except for Parabalaenoptera baulinensis and Balaenoptera siberi, is largely undescribed and consists of fossil specimens from the North and South Pacific and North Atlantic Ocean basins. The Pliocene record (2–5 Ma) is very diverse and consists of numerous named, but problematic, taxa from Italy and Belgium, as well as unnamed taxa from the North and South Pacific and eastern North Atlantic Ocean basins.
The Biology of Marine Mammals

Romero, A. 2009. The Biology of Marine Mammals. The Biology of Marine Mammals Aldemaro Romero, Ph.D. Arkansas State University Jonesboro, AR 2009 2 INTRODUCTION Dear students, 3 Chapter 1 Introduction to Marine Mammals 1.1. Overture Humans have always been fascinated with marine mammals. These creatures have been the basis of mythical tales since Antiquity. For centuries naturalists classified them as fish. Today they are symbols of the environmental movement as well as the source of heated controversies: whether we are dealing with the clubbing pub seals in the Arctic or whaling by industrialized nations, marine mammals continue to be a hot issue in science, politics, economics, and ethics. But if we want to better understand these issues, we need to learn more about marine mammal biology. The problem is that, despite increased research efforts, only in the last two decades we have made significant progress in learning about these creatures. And yet, that knowledge is largely limited to a handful of species because they are either relatively easy to observe in nature or because they can be studied in captivity. Still, because of television documentaries, ‘coffee-table’ books, displays in many aquaria around the world, and a growing whale and dolphin watching industry, people believe that they have a certain familiarity with many species of marine mammals (for more on the relationship between humans and marine mammals such as whales, see Ellis 1991, Forestell 2002). As late as 2002, a new species of beaked whale was being reported (Delbout et al. 2002), in 2003 a new species of baleen whale was described (Wada et al.
How Modern Baleen Whales Arose from a Fossil “Dark Age”

Editors' choice Like phoenix from the ashes: How modern baleen whales arose from a fossil “dark age” FELIX G. MARX, ERICH M.G. FITZGERALD, and R. EWAN FORDYCE Marx, F.G., Fitzgerald, E.M.G., and Fordyce, R.E. 2019. Like phoenix from the ashes: How modern baleen whales arose from a fossil “dark age”. Acta Palaeontologica Polonica 64 (2): 231–238. The evolution of baleen whales (Mysticeti), the largest animals on Earth, was punctuated by a pivotal turnover event. Following their emergence around 36 million years (Ma), mysticetes diversified into a disparate range of toothed and toothless species until 23 Ma, but then nearly vanished from the global fossil record for the next five million years. Following this early Miocene “dark age”, toothless mysticetes spectacularly reappeared around 18–17 Ma, whereas toothed mysticetes had gone entirely extinct. Here, we suggest that this turnover event reflects a change in mysticete habitat occupancy. Using the well-sampled record of Australasia as a case study, we show that Oligocene pre-“dark age” mysticetes formed distinct coastal and offshore assemblages, dominated by small (2–4 m), ecologically disparate toothed species, and larger (5–6 m) toothless filter feeders, respectively. Environmental change around the Oligocene–Miocene boundary led to the decline of the endemic coastal assemblages, leaving nearshore deposits virtually devoid of mys- ticetes. Filter feeders persisted offshore and subsequently re-invaded coastal habitats during the mid-Miocene Climatic Optimum, thus establishing the modern, cosmopolitan mysticete fauna. Key words: Mammalia, Mysticeti, evolution, Oligocene, Miocene, Zealandia, Australia. Felix G. Marx [[email protected]], Directorate Earth and History of Life, Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences, Rue Vautier 29, Brussels 1000, Belgium; Department of Geology, University of Liège, Belgium; School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, Clayton, Vic., Australia; Museums Victoria, Melbourne, Vic., Australia.
Fragilicetus Velponi: a New Mysticete Genus and Species and Its Implications for the Origin of Balaenopteridae (Mammalia, Cetacea, Mysticeti)

Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2016, 177, 450–474. With 14 ﬁgures Fragilicetus velponi: a new mysticete genus and species and its implications for the origin of Balaenopteridae (Mammalia, Cetacea, Mysticeti) MICHELANGELO BISCONTI1* and MARK BOSSELAERS2 1San Diego Natural History Museum, 1788 El Prado, California 92101, USA 2Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences, 29 Vautierstraat, 1000, Brussels, Belgium Received 15 February 2015 revised 2 October 2015 accepted for publication 21 October 2015 A new extinct genus, Fragilicetus gen. nov., is described here based on a partial skull of a baleen-bearing whale from the Early Pliocene of the North Sea. Its type species is Fragilicetus velponi sp. nov. This new whale shows a mix of morphological characters that is intermediate between those of Eschrichtiidae and those of Balaenopteridae. A phylogenetic analysis supported this view and provided insights into some of the morphological transforma- tions that occurred in the process leading to the origin of Balaenopteridae. Balaenopterid whales show special- ized feeding behaviour that allows them to catch enormous amounts of prey. This behaviour is possible because of the presence of specialized anatomical features in the supraorbital process of the frontal, temporal fossa, glenoid fossa of the squamosal, and dentary. Fragilicetus velponi gen. et sp. nov. shares the shape of the supraorbital process of the frontal and signiﬁcant details of the temporal fossa with Balaenopteridae but maintains an eschrichtiid- and cetotheriid-like squamosal bulge and posteriorly protruded exoccipital. The character combination exhibited by this cetacean provides important information about the assembly of the specialized morphological features re- sponsible for the highly efficient prey capture mechanics of Balaenopteridae.
Evolution of Aquatic Tetrapods

Evolution of Aquatic Tetrapods Fourth Triannual Convention Abstracts Akron, Ohio, U.S.A., May 16-20, 2005 Cranbrook Institute of Science Miscellaneous Publications, Volume 1 Edited by Mark D. Uhen EAT Conference organized by: J.G.M. “Hans” Thewissen, Northeastern Ohio Universities College of Medicine, Rootstown OH Sandra I. Madar, Hiram College, Hiram, OH Frank Fish, West Chester University, West Chester, PA Mark D. Uhen, Cranbrook Institute of Science, Bloomfield Hills, MI Published by the Cranbrook Institute of Science: ISBN 0-87737-045-1 CONTENTS PETER J. ADAM EVOLUTION OF THE CARNIVOROUS MARINE MAMMAL FEEDING GUILD: A PRELIMINARY OVERVIEW. 1 SUNIL BAJPAI AND J. G. M. THEWISSEN AGES OF THE WHALE-BEARING STRATA IN THE EOCENE OF INDIA: TIMING OF THE ORIGIN OF WHALES 3 LAWRENCE G. BARNES EVOLUTIONARY PATTERNS AMONG THE OTARIOID PINNIPEDS (MAMMALIA: CARNIVORA). 5 LAWRENCE G. BARNES, NICHOLAS D. PYENSON AND SAMUEL A. MCLEOD MIDDLE MIOCENE MARINE ECOSYSTEMS AND CETACEAN DIVERSITY AS EXEMPLIFIED BY THE SHARKTOOTH HILL BONEBED, CALIFORNIA, USA 6 BRIAN LEE BEATTY DENTAL MICROWEAR IN AQUATIC VERTEBRATES: CONSTRAINTS, OPPORTUNITIES AND PRELIMINARY RESULTS FOR SELECTED MARINE MAMMALS 8 ANNALISA BERTA AND THOMAS A. DEMÉRÉ PHYLOGENETIC RELATIONSHIPS AMONG THE DIVERSE TOOTHED MYSTICETE CLADE THE AETIOCETIDAE AND RECONSIDERATION OF THE FILTER FEEDING NICHE 9 VIRGINIE BOUETEL PHYLOGENETIC IMPLICATIONS OF SKULL STRUCTURE AND FEEDING BEHAVIOUR IN BALAENOPTERIDAE (CETACEA, MYSTICETI) 10 EMILY A. BUCHHOLTZ AND ELIZABETH M. WOLKOVICH COMPLEXITY IN DELPHINOID EVOLUTION 11 MICHAEL W. CALDWELL HISTOLOGY OF TOOTH ATTACHMENT AND TOOTH REPLACEMENT PATTERNS IN MOSASAURS: WHAT IS THECODONTY ANYHOW? 13 MICHAEL W. CALDWELL, ALEXANDER DUTCHAK AND TAKUYA KONISHI MIDDLE EAR ANATOMY IN UPPER CRETACEOUS MOSASAURS (SQUAMATA): FROM IMPEDANCE MATCHING TO UNDERWATER HEARING 14 CARRIE A.
Reconstructing Body Size in Extinct Crown Cetacea (Neoceti) Using Allometry, Phylogenetic Methods and Tests from the Fossil Record

J Mammal Evol DOI 10.1007/s10914-011-9170-1 ORIGINAL PAPER Reconstructing Body Size in Extinct Crown Cetacea (Neoceti) Using Allometry, Phylogenetic Methods and Tests from the Fossil Record Nicholas D. Pyenson & Simon N. Sponberg # Springer Science+Business Media, LLC (outside the USA) 2011 Abstract Living cetaceans exhibit interspecific size rang- well as single trait predictors and a new approach that ing across several orders of magnitude, and rank among the combines the advantages of a partial least squares (PLS) largest vertebrates ever. Details of how cetaceans evolved multivariate regression with independent contrasts. This last different body sizes, however, remain obscure, because they approach leverages the predictive power of using multiple lack basic morphological proxies that have been tradition- correlated proxies. Lastly, we used the rare occurrences of ally used in other fossil vertebrates. Here, we reconstruct fossil cetaceans with preserved total lengths to test the the body size of extinct crown group cetaceans (Neoceti) performance of our predictive equations for reconstructing using different regression methods on extant skull and body size from skull measurements alone. Our results length data, in a phylogenetic context. Because most fossil demonstrate that incorporating information about phyloge- cetaceans are fragmentary, we developed regression equa- netic relationships and multiple cranial measures in PLS tions to predict total length based on cranial metrics that are scaling studies increases the accuracy of reconstructed body preserved on most fossil crania. The resultant regression size, most notably by reducing prediction intervals by more equations are based on a database of skull and length data than 70%. With this empirical foundation, we highlight the from most extant lineages of cetaceans (n=45 species; 272 outline of major features in the evolution of body size for specimens), sampling all living mysticete genera and all Neoceti and future opportunities to use these metrics for major clades of odontocetes.
Living Mammals Are Placentals (Eutheria), Marsupials, and Monotremes

304 Chapter f THE AGE OF MAMMALS The Present is the Key to the Past: HUGH RANCE CENOZOIC HERBIVORES & CARNIVORES f1 Living mammals are placentals (eutheria), marsupials, and monotremes < aardvark, opossum, platypus > The term Mammal is artificial and has no exact equivalent in the true vernacular of any language. ... The older English names, such as ‘beast’ and ‘quadruped,’ are not quite the same as ‘mammal,’ for they do not include men, bats, or whales and their allies, which are unmistakable mammals. It was one of the happiest inspirations of Linnæus to segregate all the mammiferous animals,—the hairy quadrupeds, the sirenians, and the cetaceans—in a single class. No one before had appreciated the closeness of the relations of the several types and there was no name for the new class, as there was for all the others, fishes, reptiles and birds. The name ‘Mammalia’ was taken from the Latin mamma [mammary gland] and made in analogy with animalia (Gill). —W. B. Scott.1 The evolutionary history of the Cenozoic mammals (placentals, marsupials and monotremes) is better known than that of any other class of vertebrates.2 This is so because continental terrestrial sediments of this age are fairly complete (except in Australia and Antarctica), accessible (near surface and exposed by gullying), and easily worked (unconsolidated mostly as for example in the Calvert Cliffs State Park, Chesapeake Bay, MD, Figure f1.1). The living members of the class Mammalia include only one order each of monotremes (subclass Prototheria, order Figure f1.1 3 The bareness of the cliff along Monotreata) and marsupials (subclass Theria, infraclass the western shore of the Chesapeake Bay in Metatheria, order Marsupialia), and many orders of Maryland shows that wave erosion, which cuts placentals (subclass Theria, infraclass Eutheria).
A New Miocene Baleen Whale from Peru Deciphers Rsos.Royalsocietypublishing.Org the Dawn of Cetotheriids

A new Miocene baleen whale from Peru deciphers rsos.royalsocietypublishing.org the dawn of cetotheriids 1,2,3 3 Research Felix G. Marx , Olivier Lambert and Christian de Muizon4 Cite this article: Marx FG, Lambert O, de Muizon C. 2017 A new Miocene baleen 1School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, 25 Rainforest Walk, Clayton, whale from Peru deciphers the dawn of Victoria 3800, Australia 2 cetotheriids. R. Soc. open sci. 4: 170560. Geosciences, Museum Victoria, Melbourne, Australia 3 http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rsos.170560 Directorate of Earth and History of Life, Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences, Brussels, Belgium 4CR2P (MNHN, CNRS, UPMC, Sorbonne-Université), Département Origines et Évolution, Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle, Paris 75005, France Received: 23 May 2017 FGM, 0000-0002-1029-4001;OL,0000-0003-0740-5791; Accepted: 17 August 2017 CM, 0000-0002-1247-8867 Cetotheriidae are an iconic, nearly extinct family of baleen whales (Mysticeti) with a highly distinct cranial morphology. Subject Category: Their origins remain a mystery, with even the most archaic Biology (whole organism) species showing a variety of characteristic features. Here, we describe a new species of archaic cetotheriid, Tiucetus rosae, Subject Areas: from the Miocene of Peru. The new material represents the ﬁrst palaeontology/evolution/taxonomy and mysticete from the poorly explored lowest portion of the highly systematics fossiliferous Pisco Formation (allomember P0), and appears to form part of a more archaic assemblage than observed at the well-known localities of Cerro Colorado, Cerro los Quesos, Keywords: Sud-Sacaco and Aguada de Lomas. Tiucetus resembles basal Mysticeti, baleen whale, pisco formation, plicogulans (crown Mysticeti excluding right whales), such cetotheriidae, evolution, phylogeny as Diorocetus and Parietobalaena, but shares with cetotheriids a distinct morphology of the auditory region, including the presence of an enlarged paroccipital concavity.
JVP 26(3) September 2006—ABSTRACTS 35A JOURNAL of VERTEBRATE PALEONTOLOGY

Neoceti Symposium, Saturday 8:45 acid-prepared osteolepiforms Medoevia and Gogonasus has offered strong support for BODY SIZE AND CRYPTIC TROPHIC SEPARATION OF GENERALIZED Jarvik’s interpretation, but Eusthenopteron itself has not been reexamined in detail. PIERCE-FEEDING CETACEANS: THE ROLE OF FEEDING DIVERSITY DUR- Uncertainty has persisted about the relationship between the large endoskeletal “fenestra ING THE RISE OF THE NEOCETI endochoanalis” and the apparently much smaller choana, and about the occlusion of upper ADAM, Peter, Univ. of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA; JETT, Kristin, Univ. of and lower jaw fangs relative to the choana. California, Davis, Davis, CA; OLSON, Joshua, Univ. of California, Los Angeles, Los A CT scan investigation of a large skull of Eusthenopteron, carried out in collaboration Angeles, CA with University of Texas and Parc de Miguasha, offers an opportunity to image and digital- Marine mammals with homodont dentition and relatively little specialization of the feeding ly “dissect” a complete three-dimensional snout region. We find that a choana is indeed apparatus are often categorized as generalist eaters of squid and fish. However, analyses of present, somewhat narrower but otherwise similar to that described by Jarvik. It does not many modern ecosystems reveal the importance of body size in determining trophic parti- receive the anterior coronoid fang, which bites mesial to the edge of the dermopalatine and tioning and diversity among predators. We established relationships between body sizes of is received by a pit in that bone. The fenestra endochoanalis is partly floored by the vomer extant cetaceans and their prey in order to infer prey size and potential trophic separation of and the dermopalatine, restricting the choana to the lateral part of the fenestra.