Pinocetus – a genus of small baleen whales from the Miocene epoch, discovered in southern Poland. It inhabited shallow waters of the Paratethys Sea. As a smaller whale, it fell prey to predators such as Megalodon. The genus is known only from one species, Pinocetus polonicus. The anatomy of Pinocetus, with its elongated, oval-shaped chest, low-positioned lungs, and weak flipper muscles, suggests it was not an efficient swimmer. Likely unable to dive deeply, it was confined to shallow, coastal waters where it thrived.
The Museum of Natural History in Wrocław holds an almost complete, well-preserved Pinocetus skeleton. An incomplete second specimen in Kielce was broken during excavation; one half was taken by a small on-site corporation, its current location is unknown.
Attempts to recover the missing part of the fossil were met with hostility, as company representatives insulted museum staff and journalists. Afterward, the fossil's whereabouts became a mystery, hindering further research into extinct whales from Poland.