Mycteriacetus

Mycteriacetus is an extinct genus of dolphin from the Early Miocene (Burdigalian) of northeastern Italy. The type species is M. bellunensis.

Mycteriacetus Temporal range: Burdigalian, ~18.78 Ma PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N ↓
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Artiodactyla
Infraorder:	Cetacea
Family:	†Eurhinodelphinidae
Genus:	†Mycteriacetus Lambert, 2004
Type species
†Mycteriacetus bellunensis (Pilleri, 1985)

Etymology

Mycteriacetus is named after the Yellow-billed stork (Mycteria ibis) because the bill of that species is as long as the rostrum of Mycteriacetus.^[1]

Taxonomy

Mycteriacetus bellunensis was originally named as a new species of Eurhinodelphis, E. bellunensis, by Pilleri (1985).^[2] However, Bianucci and Landini (2002) transferred this species to Argyrocetus, creating the new combination A. bellunensis.^[3] Lambert (2004) eventually recognized E. bellunensis as sufficiently distinct from Eurhinodelphis and Argyrocetus to warrant a new genus, Mycteriacetus.

References

1. O. Lambert. 2004. Systematic revision of the Miocene long-snouted dolphin Eurhinodelphis longirostris Du Bus, 1872. Bulletin de l'Institut royal des Sciences naturelles de Belgique, Sciences de la Terre 74:147-174.
2. G. Pilleri. 1985. The Miocene Cetacea of the Belluno Sandstones (Eastern Southern Alps). Memoire degli Instituti di Geologia e Mineralogia dell'Universita di Padova 37:1-250.
3. G. Bianucci and W. Landini. 2002. Change in diversity, ecological significance and biogeographical relationships of the Mediterranean Miocene toothed whale fauna. Geobios Mémoire spécial 24:19-28