Pontolis

Pontolis; Temporal range: Miocene-Pliocene PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Carnivora
Clade:	Pinnipedia
Family:	Odobenidae
Genus:	†Pontolis; True, 1905
Type species
	†Pontolis magnus; True, 1905
Species
	†P. magnus (True, 1905, type]; †P. barroni (Biewer, Velez-Juarbe & Parham, 2020); †P. kohnoi (Biewer, Velez-Juarbe & Parham, 2020);
Synonyms
	Pontoleon magnus True, 1905

Pontolis is a large extinct genus of walrus. It contained three species, P. magnus, P. barroni, and P. kohnoi.^[1]^[2]

Like all pinnipeds, Pontolis was a heavily built amphibious carnivore. Pontolis lived along the Pacific coast of North America along what is now the western coasts of California and Oregon between 11.608 and 5.332 million years ago, during the Miocene and Pliocene.^[1] This giant species was much larger than modern walrus, though like many other extinct walrus species, its upper canines did not develop into long tusks like those of the modern walrus. Pontolis rivaled the extant southern elephant seal as the largest pinniped and member of the order Carnivora of all time. Weight estimates for Pontolis range between 2,000 to 4,000 kg (4,400 to 8,800 lb).^[3]

References[]

^ ^a ^b "Pontolis". Fossilworks. Retrieved 17 December 2021.
^ Biewer, Jacob N.; Velez-Juarbe, Jorge; Parham, James F. (1 December 2020). "Insights on the Dental Evolution of Walruses Based on New Fossil Specimens from California". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 40 (5): e1833896. doi:10.1080/02724634.2020.1833896. ISSN 0272-4634.
^ Valentin, T. Encyclopedia Largest Prehistoric Animals Vol.1 Vertebrates part1 Mammals ch.1 Carnivores - Hyaenidae, Mustelids and Viverrids Encyclopedia Largest prehistoric animals Vol.1 Vertebrates part1 Mammals ch.1 Carnivores -Mesonychids.

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[Pontolis-1] "Pontolis". Fossilworks. Retrieved 17 December 2021.

[2] Biewer, Jacob N.; Velez-Juarbe, Jorge; Parham, James F. (1 December 2020). "Insights on the Dental Evolution of Walruses Based on New Fossil Specimens from California". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 40 (5): e1833896. doi:10.1080/02724634.2020.1833896. ISSN 0272-4634.

[3] Valentin, T. Encyclopedia Largest Prehistoric Animals Vol.1 Vertebrates part1 Mammals ch.1 Carnivores - Hyaenidae, Mustelids and Viverrids Encyclopedia Largest prehistoric animals Vol.1 Vertebrates part1 Mammals ch.1 Carnivores -Mesonychids.

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