Waipatiidae

Waipatiidae is an extinct family of odontocetes currently known from the Oligocene of the Pacific Ocean and possibly Europe and the Caucasus.

Waipatiids Temporal range: 30–23.03 Ma PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N Oligocene
Reconstructed skull of the waipatiid Otekaikea marplesi
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Artiodactyla
Infraorder:	Cetacea
Parvorder:	Odontoceti
Family:	†Waipatiidae Fordyce, 1994
Genera
†Awamokoa †Ediscetus †Nihohae †Nihoroa †Otekaikea †Urkudelphis †Waipatia

Taxonomy

Waipatiidae was coined by Fordyce (1994) to include his new taxon Waipatia, and he also considered the genera Microcetus, Sachalinocetus, and Sulakocetus to be possible waipatiids.^[1] The taxon "Prosqualodon" marplesi was recognized in the 2010s as being a member of Waipatiidae and given its own genus, Otekaikea.^[2][3][4]

References

1. Fordyce, R. Ewan (1994). A. Berta; T. Deméré (eds.). "Waipatia maerewhenua, new genus and new species (Waipatiidae, new family), an archaic Late Oligocene dolphin (Cetacea: Odontoceti: Platanistoidea) from New Zealand". Proceedings of the San Diego Museum of Natural History. 29, Contributions in marine mammal paleontology honoring Frank C. Whitmore, Jr.: 147–176. doi:10.5962/bhl.part.10662.
2. Tanaka, Y.; Fordyce, R. Ewan (2015). "Historically significant late Oligocene dolphin Microcetus hectori Benham 1935: a new species of Waipatia (Platanistoidea)". Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand. 45 (3): 135–150. Bibcode:2015JRSNZ..45..135T. doi:10.1080/03036758.2015.1016046. S2CID 129704207.
3. Tanaka, Y.; Fordyce, R. Ewan (2014). "Fossil Dolphin Otekaikea marplesi (Latest Oligocene, New Zealand) Expands the Morphological and Taxonomic Diversity of Oligocene Cetaceans". PLOS ONE. 9 (9): e107972. Bibcode:2014PLoSO...9j7972T. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0107972. PMC 4176723. PMID 25250733.
4. Tanaka, Y.; Fordyce, R. Ewan (2015). "A new Oligo-Miocene dolphin from New Zealand: Otekaikea huata expands diversity of the early Platanistoidea". Palaeontologia Electronica. 18.2.23A: 1–71. doi:10.26879/518.