Ankylorhiza
Sign in to saveAnkylorhiza (meaning "fused roots"; in reference to the type of dentition seen in early toothed whales) is an extinct genus of toothed whale that lived in what is now the United States during the Oligocene epoch, between 29 and 23.5 million years ago. The type and only known species is A. tiedemani, though two fossil skeletons may represent an additional, second species within the genus. Ankylorhiza was about long, with a long, robust skull bearing conical teeth that were angled forwards at the tip of the snout.
In the Vinony graph
Within Vinony's link graph, Ankylorhiza is referenced by 183 other articles, and connects out to Ziphiidae, Cetacea and Delphinidae.
It is catalogued under topics including Fossil taxa described in 2020, Oligocene cetaceans and Oligocene mammals of North America.
Its subject is documented across 5 Wikipedia language editions.
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- Ankylorhiza tiedemani holotype 1.jpg
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Encyclopedic overview
6 sectionsContents
- Discovery and naming
- Description
- Classification
- Paleobiology
- Paleoecology
- References
Ankylorhiza (meaning "fused roots"; in reference to the type of dentition seen in early toothed whales) is an extinct genus of toothed whale that lived in what is now the United States during the Oligocene epoch, between 29 and 23.5 million years ago. The type and only known species is A. tiedemani, though two fossil skeletons may represent an additional, second species within the genus. Ankylorhiza was about long, with a long, robust skull bearing conical teeth that were angled forwards at the tip of the snout.
Ankylorhiza is the largest known Oligocene toothed whale and is one of the most completely known early members of this group, with characteristics intermediate between basal and derived cetaceans. The taxon would have had powerful jaw musculature and probably fed on large prey by seizing it and puncturing it with its robust teeth. The animal likely occupied a fast-swimming predator niche similar to that of living orcas.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Ankylorhiza” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.