Aulophyseter

Aulophyseter is an extinct genus of sperm whales from the Miocene formations of the west and east coasts of North America.

Aulophyseter Temporal range: Mid-Late Miocene ~15.97–5.332 Ma PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N
Skeleton of A. morricei at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Artiodactyla
Infraorder:	Cetacea
Superfamily:	Physeteroidea
Family:	incertae sedis
Genus:	†Aulophyseter Kellogg, 1927[1]
Species
A. morricei Kellogg, 1927 (type species) A. mediatlanticus Cope, 1895

Life restoration

Aulophyseter reached a length of approximately 6 metres (20 ft) with an estimated body weight of 1,100 kilograms (2,400 lb).^[2]

Distribution

Fossils of Aulophyseter have been found in:^[3]

• Oidawara Formation, Japan
• United States
  • Temblor Formation, California
  • St. Marys Formation, Maryland

See also

• Cetaceans portal
• Paleontology portal
• Prehistoric mammals portal

• Evolution of cetaceans

References

1. Remington, Kellogg (1927). "Study of the skull of a fossil sperm-whale from the Temblor Miocene of Southern California". Contributions to Palaeontology from the Carnegie Institution of Washington: 3–24.
2. R. Nieuwenhuys (1998) The central nervous system of vertebrates, Volume 1 p.2130
3. Aulophyseter at Fossilworks.org

• Colbert's Evolution of the Vertebrates: A History of the Backboned Animals Through Time by Edwin H. Colbert, Michael Morales, and Eli C. Minkoff Pg.396.
• Sperm Whales: Social Evolution in the Ocean by Hal Whitehead
• Encyclopedia of Marine Mammals by William F. Perrin, Bernd Wursig, and J. G.M. Thewissen
• Aulophyseter morricei

External links

• Age of Mammals - Specimen Spotlight - Aulophyseter morricei