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Figueiredo R, Bosselaers M, Póvoas L, Castanhinha R. Redescription of three fossil baleen whale skulls from the Miocene of Portugal reveals new cetotheriid phylogenetic insights. PLoS One 2024; 19:e0298658. [PMID: 38478506 PMCID: PMC10936793 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0298658] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2023] [Accepted: 01/30/2024] [Indexed: 08/09/2024] Open
Abstract
Cetotheriidae is a family of baleen whales that went nearly extinct during the Pleistocene (excluding Caperea marginata). For a long time, the Cetotheriidae family has been seen as a problematic clade, but in the past two decades there have been various studies trying to resolve the phylogeny of this group. In 1831, Alexandre Vandelli described three cetotheriid skulls, found during a gold exploration at Adiça beach (Portugal). These specimens constituted the first Portuguese vertebrate fossils ever published in the literature. Another skull was added to the "Vandelli skulls" by Jacinto Pedro Gomes, in 1914, during a survey of the Museu Nacional de História Natural collections without giving information on the origin of this skull. In 1941, Remington Kellogg states that one of the original "Vandelli skulls" is no longer present in the Museu Nacional de História Natural collections. Until today, there is no information on how, or exactly when, the fourth skull and one of the original three "Vandelli skulls" appeared and disappeared, respectively. Since their discovery, all the attempts to describe these specimens were not based on direct observations and no comprehensive phylogenetic analysis have included the three skulls. Here we provide a detailed anatomic description, a new phylogenetic analysis and a palaeoecological reconstruction of these specimens, clarifying their relationships within the Cetotheriidae family and fostering the importance of these historical specimens to the modern comprehension of fossil whale evolution. In addition, our results support that Cephalotropis nectus is a valid species with an emended diagnosis. We also concluded that two specimens belong to a new genus, forming two new fossil species (new combinations).
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Affiliation(s)
- Rodrigo Figueiredo
- Center for Environmental and Marine Studies (CESAM) & Biology Department, University of Aveiro, Aveiro, Portugal
| | - Mark Bosselaers
- Directorate of Earth and History of Life, Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences (RBINS), Brussels, Belgium
- Royal Zeeland Scientific Society, Middelburg, The Netherlands
| | - Liliana Póvoas
- Museu Nacional de História Natural e da Ciência (MUHNAC), University of Lisbon (UL), Lisbon, Portugal
| | - Rui Castanhinha
- Center for Environmental and Marine Studies (CESAM) & Biology Department, University of Aveiro, Aveiro, Portugal
- Grupo de Etnologia e Arquelogia da Lourinhã (GEAL), Museu da Lourinhã, Lourinhã, Portugal
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Vertebrate Palaeoecology of the Pisco Formation (Miocene, Peru): Glimpses into the Ancient Humboldt Current Ecosystem. JOURNAL OF MARINE SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING 2021. [DOI: 10.3390/jmse9111188] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
The northward-flowing Humboldt Current hosts perpetually high levels of productivity along the western coast of South America. Here, we aim to elucidate the deep-time history of this globally important ecosystem based on a detailed palaeoecological analysis of the exceptionally preserved middle–upper Miocene vertebrate assemblages of the Pisco Formation of the East Pisco Basin, southern Peru. We summarise observations on hundreds of fossil whales, dolphins, seals, seabirds, turtles, crocodiles, sharks, rays, and bony fishes to reconstruct ecological relationships in the wake of the Middle Miocene Climatic Optimum, and the marked cooling that followed it. The lowermost, middle Miocene Pisco sequence (P0) and its vertebrate assemblage testify to a warm, semi-enclosed, near-shore palaeoenvironment. During the first part of the Tortonian (P1), high productivity within a prominent upwelling system supported a diverse assemblage of mesopredators, at least some of which permanently resided in the Pisco embayment and used it as a nursery or breeding/calving area. Younger portions of the Pisco Formation (P2) reveal a more open setting, with wide-ranging species like rorquals increasingly dominating the vertebrate assemblage, but also local differences reflecting distance from the coast. Like today, these ancient precursors of the modern Humboldt Current Ecosystem were based on sardines, but notably differed from their present-day equivalent in being dominated by extremely large-bodied apex predators like Livyatan melvillei and Carcharocles megalodon.
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Bianucci G, de Muizon C, Urbina M, Lambert O. Extensive Diversity and Disparity of the Early Miocene Platanistoids (Cetacea, Odontoceti) in the Southeastern Pacific (Chilcatay Formation, Peru). Life (Basel) 2020; 10:life10030027. [PMID: 32197480 PMCID: PMC7151620 DOI: 10.3390/life10030027] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/14/2020] [Revised: 03/14/2020] [Accepted: 03/16/2020] [Indexed: 11/27/2022] Open
Abstract
Several aspects of the fascinating evolutionary history of toothed and baleen whales (Cetacea) are still to be clarified due to the fragmentation and discontinuity (in space and time) of the fossil record. Here we open a window on the past, describing a part of the extraordinary cetacean fossil assemblage deposited in a restricted interval of time (19–18 Ma) in the Chilcatay Formation (Peru). All the fossils here examined belong to the Platanistoidea clade as here redefined, a toothed whale group nowadays represented only by the Asian river dolphin Platanista gangetica. Two new genera and species, the hyper-longirostrine Ensidelphis riveroi and the squalodelphinid Furcacetus flexirostrum, are described together with new material referred to the squalodelphinid Notocetus vanbenedeni and fragmentary remains showing affinities with the platanistid Araeodelphis. Our cladistic analysis defines the new clade Platanidelphidi, sister-group to Allodelphinidae and including E. riveroi and the clade Squalodelphinidae + Platanistidae. The fossils here examined further confirm the high diversity and disparity of platanistoids during the early Miocene. Finally, morphofunctional considerations on the entire platanistoid assemblage of the Chilcatay Formation suggest a high trophic partitioning of this peculiar cetacean paleocommunity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Giovanni Bianucci
- Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, Università di Pisa, 56126 Pisa, Italy
- Correspondence:
| | - Christian de Muizon
- CR2P (CNRS, MNHN, SU), Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle, Département Origines et Évolution, 75005 Paris, France;
| | - Mario Urbina
- Departamento de Paleontología de Vertebrados, Museo de Historia Natural de la Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos, Lima 15072, Peru;
| | - Olivier Lambert
- Institut Royal des Sciences Naturelles de Belgique, D.O. Terre et Histoire de la Vie, 1000 Brussels, Belgium
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Bianucci G, Marx FG, Collareta A, Di Stefano A, Landini W, Morigi C, Varola A. Rise of the titans: baleen whales became giants earlier than thought. Biol Lett 2019; 15:20190175. [PMID: 31039728 DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2019.0175] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/02/2023] Open
Abstract
Baleen whales (Mysticeti) are major ecosystem engineers, thanks to their enormous size and bulk filter feeding strategy. Their signature gigantism is thought to be a relatively recent phenomenon, resulting from a Plio-Pleistocene mode shift in their body size evolution. Here, we report the largest whale fossil ever described: an Early Pleistocene (1.5-1.25 Ma) blue whale from Italy with an estimated body length of up to 26 m. Macroevolutionary modelling taking into account this specimen, as well as additional material from the Miocene of Peru, reveals that the proposed mode shift occurred either somewhat earlier, or perhaps not at all. Large-sized mysticetes comparable to most extant species have existed since at least the Late Miocene, suggesting a long-term impact on global marine ecosystems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Giovanni Bianucci
- 1 Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, Università di Pisa , Pisa , Italy
| | - Felix G Marx
- 2 Directorate Earth and History of Life, Royal Belgium Institute of Natural Sciences , Brussels , Belgium.,3 Department of Geology, University of Liège , Liège , Belgium.,4 Geosciences, Museums Victoria , Melbourne, Victoria , Australia.,5 School of Biological Sciences, Monash University , Clayton, Victoria , Australia
| | - Alberto Collareta
- 1 Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, Università di Pisa , Pisa , Italy
| | - Agata Di Stefano
- 6 Dipartimento di Scienze Biologiche Geologiche e Ambientali, Università di Catania , Catania , Italy
| | - Walter Landini
- 1 Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, Università di Pisa , Pisa , Italy
| | - Caterina Morigi
- 1 Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, Università di Pisa , Pisa , Italy
| | - Angelo Varola
- 1 Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, Università di Pisa , Pisa , Italy
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Marx FG, Post K, Bosselaers M, Munsterman DK. A large Late Miocene cetotheriid (Cetacea, Mysticeti) from the Netherlands clarifies the status of Tranatocetidae. PeerJ 2019; 7:e6426. [PMID: 30783574 PMCID: PMC6377596 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.6426] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/26/2018] [Accepted: 01/09/2019] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Cetotheriidae are a group of small baleen whales (Mysticeti) that evolved alongside modern rorquals. They once enjoyed a nearly global distribution, but then largely went extinct during the Plio-Pleistocene. After languishing as a wastebasket taxon for more than a century, the concept of Cetotheriidae is now well established. Nevertheless, the clade remains notable for its variability, and its scope remains in flux. In particular, the recent referral of several traditional cetotheriids to a new and seemingly unrelated family, Tranatocetidae, has created major phylogenetic uncertainty. Here, we describe a new species of Tranatocetus, the type of Tranatocetidae, from the Late Miocene of the Netherlands. Tranatocetus maregermanicum sp. nov. clarifies several of the traits previously ascribed to this genus, and reveals distinctive auditory and mandibular morphologies suggesting cetotheriid affinities. This interpretation is supported by a large phylogenetic analysis, which mingles cetotheriids and tranatocetids within a unified clade. As a result, we suggest that both groups should be reintegrated into the single family Cetotheriidae.
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Affiliation(s)
- Felix G Marx
- Department of Geology, Université de Liège, Liège, Belgium.,Directorate of Earth and History of Life, Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences, Brussels, Belgium.,Palaeontology, Museums Victoria, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.,School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria, Australia
| | - Klaas Post
- Natuurhistorisch Museum, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Mark Bosselaers
- Directorate of Earth and History of Life, Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences, Brussels, Belgium.,Zeeland Royal Society of Sciences, Middelburg, The Netherlands
| | - Dirk K Munsterman
- Netherlands Institute of Applied Geoscience TNO - National Geological Survey, Utrecht, The Netherlands
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Gol'din P. New Paratethyan dwarf baleen whales mark the origin of cetotheres. PeerJ 2018; 6:e5800. [PMID: 30356949 PMCID: PMC6193469 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.5800] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/20/2018] [Accepted: 09/20/2018] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Family Cetotheriidae sensu stricto and several closely related taxa comprise the Cetotherioidea and represent a lineage of Neogene baleen whales that includes the smallest edentulous baleen whales in Earth history. Most of known cetotheriids came from the Late Miocene to Quaternary, and the earliest records from the latest Middle Miocene. The Paratethys region shows a great diversity of Middle to Late Miocene cetotheriids. That includes nominative taxon of the family, Cetotherium rathkii, and this suggests that the earliest cetotheriids may have lived in that region. Materials and methods Here, Ciuciulea davidi, a new genus and species from the Middle Miocene of southeastern Europe, is described as the chronologically earliest and earliest diverging member of Cetotheriidae. Also, a new specimen of Otradnocetus, a basal Cetotherioidea sensu Gol'din & Steeman, 2015 is identified from the Late Miocene deposits of Caucasus and compared with Otradnocetus virodovi from the Middle Miocene of the same region. Results and discussion Ciuciulea davidi is a dwarf whale displaying primitive traits: posterior ends of facial bones forming a single transverse line, a narrow occipital shield, and a relatively long interparietal region. Meanwhile, it shares some cetotheriid apomorphies: posteriorly telescoped wedge-shaped facial bones and an ovoid tympanic bulla with shallow lateral and medial furrows, a short anterior lobe and a short sigmoid process. Phylogenetic analysis suggests that Parietobalaena and Otradnocetus are branches diverging before the clade Cetotheriidae + Neobalaenidae. This is confirmed by the stepwise evolution of the anatomy of the squamosal, mandible, and ear bones across these groups. The re-described juvenile specimen of Otradnocetus differs from O. virodovi in the more primitive anatomy of the mandible and the autapomorphic anatomy of the humerus. Records of the earliest cetotheriids and related taxa in the Paratethys support the idea that this could be the region where Cetotheriidae evolved before their worldwide dispersal and radiation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pavel Gol'din
- Schmalhausen Institute of Zoology, National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Kiev, Ukraine
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Tanaka Y, Ando T, Sawamura H. A new species of Middle Miocene baleen whale from the Nupinai Group, Hikatagawa Formation of Hokkaido, Japan. PeerJ 2018; 6:e4934. [PMID: 29967715 PMCID: PMC6025157 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.4934] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/27/2018] [Accepted: 05/18/2018] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
A fossil whale from the Hikatagawa Formation (Middle Miocene, 15.2-11.5 Ma) of Hokkaido, Japan is described as a new genus and species Taikicetus inouei and its phylogenetic position is examined. Consistent with the result of Marx, Lambert & de Muizon (2017), the Cetotheriidae form a clade with the Balaenopteroidea, and "a clade comprising Isanacetus, Parietobalaena and related taxa" is located basal to the Balaenopteroidea + Cetotheriidae clade. Taikicetus inouei is placed in the clade with most of members of "Cetotheres" sensu lato comprising Isanacetus, Parietobalaena and related taxa. Taikicetus inouei can be distinguished from the other members of "Cetotheres" sensu lato in having an anteriorly swollen short zygomatic process, high triangular coronoid process, and angular process, which does not reach as far posterior as the mandibular condyle. Taikicetus inouei is only record of "Cetotheres" sensu lato from Hokkaido, Japan and the northern-most records of "Cetotheres" sensu lato in Japan.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yoshihiro Tanaka
- Osaka Museum of Natural History, Osaka, Japan
- Hokkaido University Museum, Sapporo, Japan
- Numata Fossil Museum, Hokkaido, Japan
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Tanaka Y, Abella J, Aguirre-Fernández G, Gregori M, Fordyce RE. A new tropical Oligocene dolphin from Montañita/Olón, Santa Elena, Ecuador. PLoS One 2017; 12:e0188380. [PMID: 29261688 PMCID: PMC5737981 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0188380] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/27/2017] [Accepted: 10/31/2017] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
A new small probable Oligocene dolphin from Ecuador represents a new genus and species, Urkudelphis chawpipacha. The new taxon is known from a single juvenile skull and earbones; it differs from other archaic dolphins in features including widely exposed frontals at the vertex, a dorsally wide open vomer at the mesorostral groove, and a strongly projected and pointed lateral tuberosity of the periotic. Phylogenetic analysis places it toward the base of the largely-extinct clade Platanistoidea. The fossil is one of a few records of tropical fossil dolphins.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yoshihiro Tanaka
- Osaka Museum of Natural History, Osaka, Japan
- Numata Fossil Museum, Hokkaido, Japan
- Division of Academic Resources and Specimens, Hokkaido University Museum, Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan
| | - Juan Abella
- Facultad de Ciencias del Mar, Universidad Estatal Península de Santa Elena, Santa Elena, Ecuador
- Institut Català de Paleontologia Miquel Crusafont, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Edifici ICP, Campus de la UAB, Cerdanyola del Vallès, Barcelona, Spain
| | | | - Maria Gregori
- Facultad de Ciencias del Mar, Universidad Estatal Península de Santa Elena, Santa Elena, Ecuador
| | - R. Ewan Fordyce
- Department of Geology, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand
- Departments of Paleobiology and Vertebrate Zoology, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC, United States of America
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