Miophyseter chitaensis is an extinct genus and species of the physeteroid whale from the lower Miocene (Burdigalian) of Japan. This specimen was recovered from the Toyohama Formation, Chita County, Aichi Prefecture, Japan in 1984 and includes a finely preserved cranium with detached teeth and ear bones (periotic, tympanic bulla, and malleus).
Description[]
The concluded phylogenetic analysis suggests that Miophyseter is a physeteroid more closely related to the crown Physeteroidea (Physeteridae and Kogiidae) than the macroraptorial physeteroids that flourished in middle and late Miocene times. A deep and large excavation on the ventral surface of the palatine and pterygoid in Miophyster suggests an adaptation for deep dives and/or the development of robust pterygoid muscles for active biting.
Other Wikis[]
References[]
- https://bioone.org/journals/paleontological-research/volume-26/issue-1/PR200021/A-New-Physeteroid-from-the-Lower-Miocene-of-Japan/10.2517/PR200021.short
- http://novataxa.blogspot.com/2022/03/miophyseter.html
- http://www.pieronline.jp/content/article/1342-8144/26010/87
- https://www.researchgate.net/publication/357500418_A_new_physeteroid_from_the_lower_Miocene_of_Japan