Olympicetus

Olympicetus
Temporal range: Oligocene
(Rupelian-Chattian), ~33.7–26.5 Ma
Holotype skull of O. thalassodon
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Artiodactyla
Infraorder: Cetacea
Parvorder: Odontoceti
Genus: †Olympicetus
Velez-Juarbe 2017
Type species
†Olympicetus avitus
Velez-Juarbe 2017
Other species
  • †O. thalassodon
    Velez-Juarbe 2023
Life reconstruction of O. thalassodon alongside plotopterid birds

Olympicetus (meaning Olympic cetacean) is an extinct genus of small simocetid toothed whales that lived during the Oligocene epoch in what is now the coasts of Washington, about 33.7 million to 26.5 million years ago. The type species is Olympicetus avitus, known from the littoral Pysht Formation and described in 2017.[1] A second species, Olympicetus thalassodon, was named in 2023 and it is also known from this formation.[2]

See also

References

  1. ^ Velez-Juarbe, J. (2017). "A new stem odontocete from the late Oligocene Pysht Formation in Washington State, U.S.A.". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 37 (5): e1366916. Bibcode:2017JVPal..37E6916V. doi:10.1080/02724634.2017.1366916. S2CID 90151706.
  2. ^ Velez-Juarbe, J. (2023). "New heterodont odontocetes from the Oligocene Pysht Formation in Washington State, U.S.A., and a reevaluation of Simocetidae (Cetacea, Odontoceti)". PeerJ. 11: e15576. doi:10.7717/peerj.15576. PMC 10292202. PMID 37377790.


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