Chonecetus Temporal range:
Oligocene
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Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Mammalia |
Order: | Artiodactyla |
Infraorder: | Cetacea |
Family: | † Aetiocetidae |
Genus: | †
Chonecetus Russell (1968) |
Type species | |
†Chonecetus sookensis | |
Species | |
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Chonecetus is an extinct genus of primitive baleen whale of the family Aetiocetidae [1] that lived in the Oligocene period. [2] Its fossils have been found in Canada, [3] in the northeast Pacific. [4] It was first named by L.S. Russell in 1968, and contains one species, C. sookensis.
Like Aetiocetus, Chonecetus possessed both multicusped teeth and the nutrient foramina required for baleen. [5] Chonecetus closely resembled a modern Mysticeti, with an elongate, streamlined body supporting a pair of paddle-shaped forelimbs, and a horizontal tail fluke strengthened by fibrous cartilage. [1]