Kekenodon
Kekenodon Temporal range:
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Teeth of Kekenodon onamata | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Mammalia |
Order: | Artiodactyla |
Infraorder: | Cetacea |
Family: | †Kekenodontidae |
Genus: | †Kekenodon Hector, 1881 |
Species | |
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Kekenodon is an extinct kekenodontid early whale from the Late Oligocene (Chattian) of New Zealand. Although at times classified as a basilosaurid, mysticete, or odontocete, recent work suggests that it represents a phylogenetic intermediate form between Basilosauridae and Neoceti.
Classification[]
Kekenodon was considered a member of the basilosaurid subfamily Dorudontinae in the classic monograph on Archaeoceti by Kellogg (1936).[1]
"Squalodon" gambierensis from Australia is a close relative of Kekenodon.[2]
References[]
Categories:
- Archaeoceti
- Fossil taxa described in 1881
- Prehistoric cetacean genera
- Prehistoric cetacean stubs