Mammalodontidae
Encyclopedia
Mammalodontidae is an extinct family
of whale
s known from the Oligocene
of Australia
.
There are currently two genera is this family: Janjucetus
and Mammalodon
. After a new cladistic analysis by Fitzgerald (2010), Janjucetus was transferred into Mammalodontidae, thereby making Janjucetidae a junior synonym of Mammalodontidae.
Family
In human context, a family is a group of people affiliated by consanguinity, affinity, or co-residence. In most societies it is the principal institution for the socialization of children...
of whale
Whale
Whale is the common name for various marine mammals of the order Cetacea. The term whale sometimes refers to all cetaceans, but more often it excludes dolphins and porpoises, which belong to suborder Odontoceti . This suborder also includes the sperm whale, killer whale, pilot whale, and beluga...
s known from the Oligocene
Oligocene
The Oligocene is a geologic epoch of the Paleogene Period and extends from about 34 million to 23 million years before the present . As with other older geologic periods, the rock beds that define the period are well identified but the exact dates of the start and end of the period are slightly...
of Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
.
There are currently two genera is this family: Janjucetus
Janjucetus
Janjucetus is an extinct genus of whale, and a basal form of the Mysticeti, a clade which includes the extant baleen whales. The only known species, Janjucetus hunderi, lived during the late Oligocene, about 25 million years ago in coastal seas off southeast Australia. Unlike modern mysticetes, it...
and Mammalodon
Mammalodon
Mammalodon is an extinct genus of whale that was discovered in 1932. It is an early baleen whale which still had teeth, as opposed to baleen plates. It is one of two genera in the family Mammalodontidae....
. After a new cladistic analysis by Fitzgerald (2010), Janjucetus was transferred into Mammalodontidae, thereby making Janjucetidae a junior synonym of Mammalodontidae.