Aulophyseter Explained
Aulophyseter is an extinct genus of sperm whales from the subfamily Physeterinae that existed during the Miocene.
History of discovery
Fossils of Aulophyseter have been found in:[1]
Description
Aulophyseter is estimated to have been long,[2] and weighed approximately 1200kg (2,600lb).[3] On the maxilla and mandible, Aulophyseter possessed small, sharp teeth that lack enamel.
Paleobiology
Aulophyseters small teeth lack enamel, which suggests that its feeding habits were more similar to those of modern sperm whales than to other early sperm whales. The diet of Aulophyseter was largely limited to cephalopods and fish.[4]
See also
References
- 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
Notes and References
- https://paleobiodb.org/classic/checkTaxonInfo?taxon_no=36673 Aulophyseter
- Paolucci . F. . Buono . M. R. . Fernández . M. S. . 2025 . Awakening Patagonia's sleeping sperm whale: a new description of the Early Miocene Idiorophus patagonicus (Odontoceti, Physeteroidea) . Papers in Palaeontology . 11 . 2 . e70007 . 10.1002/spp2.70007 . This condition appeared convergently in other physeteroids, such as Aulophyseter (6 m), Zygophyseter (7 m), Brygmophyseter (c. 6 m) and probably Albicetus (5.9 m) during the Middle and Late Miocene.
- van Dongen PAM. 1998 Brain size in vertebrates. In The central nervous system of vertebrates (eds Nieuwenhuys R, ten Donkelaar HJ, Nicholson C), pp. 2099–2134. Berlin, Germany: Springer.
- Encyclopedia of Marine Mammals by William F. Perrin, Bernd Wursig, and J. G.M. Thewissen*
