#squalodon

[justgoji]

The high seas!

[mesozoicmarket]

A fossilized tooth, possibly a squalodontid or Squalodon sp. from the Bone Valley Member, Peace River Formation in the phosphate mines of Florida, United States. These oddly toothed cetaceans are also known as shark-toothed dolphins. The identification of these basal looking cetacean teeth can be tricky due to a number of taxa with similar looking teeth.

[paleonativeart]

Day 18: Squalodon calvertensis

A extinct genus of whales of the Oligocene and Miocene epochs, belonging to the family Squalodontidae.

[umbrasdoodles]

Here is my second Mermay piece because I also knew I wanted to do an ancient whale because of the Ancient Whale Week all the paleoartists threw a bit back. So here is a Squalodon mermaid! She is beeg. 

[dinodorks]

Segment of the lower jaw of a “Shark toothed dolphin”.

[extinctanimals]

Squalodon, a genus of toothed whale somewhat related to modern dolphins though not through direct ancestry.  Apparently they had some weird ass teeth.  From the Oligocene through the Miocene.

[palaeopedia]

The Shark toothed whale, Squalodon (1840)

Phylum : Chordata Class : Mammalia Order : Cetaceae Superfamily : Platanistoidea Family : Squalodontidae Genus : Squalodon Speices : S. atlanticus

Early Oligocene/Middle Miocene (38 - 14 Ma)

2,5 m long (size)

Atlantic ocean (map)

One of the first fossils described in scientific literature is that of a specimen of Squalodon (Fordyce, R.E.). Fossils of this genus are identified mainly by the teeth but several different species have been named based on skull characteristics and size (the biggest being S. whitmorei). Most of the fossil record consists of teeth. These odontocete fossils have been discovered in Europe, eastern North America, New Zealand, and Argentina. Because isolated teeth are insufficient for species identification, most specimens lacking the skull can only be identified to genus (Dooley,A.). The fossils of squalodontids indicate that this species is more closely related to endangered species of dolphins and not to most of the living dolphins today (Fordyce, R.E.). The classification of this genus is not clear. A book by Charles Darwin states that "....Squalodon, which have been placed by some naturalists in an order by themselves, are considered......to be undoubtedly cetaceans..." (Darwin, C.) Many of the fresh-water dolphins are differentiated phylogenetically very well, while the argument of some of the species has been going on for more than a century. The taxon is characterized during the Oligocene and Miocene in which heterodont teeth are standard amongst the family. Some modern features of the scapula, however, contradict with current phylogenetic relationships. Squalodontids were believed to be the last common ancestor of the odontocetes until 1984. Muizon came to the conclusion that rather than to any of the living species this family is closer related to the endangered species. Therefore, the ancestry of today's dolphins has little to do with the squalodontids (Fordyce, R.E.).

[lostbeasts]

Squalodon. This was a 10ft long toothed whale that lived during the Oligocene epoch. Its name means "shark tooth", obviously describing the incredibly shark-like nature of its rear teeth, most notably the flat and serrated shape. No modern whales have dentition like this- all toothed whales have conical teeth that are usually blunted from use, as did most Oligocene-Holocene whales. Their ancestors, however, had the same shark-like teeth. Its front teeth were typically conical and long, overlapping towards the end of its snout, which is unusual in that Squalodon should retain ancestral teeth whilst still developing modern teeth.

Similarly, their necks were very mobile, much like extant beluga whales. Archaic whales typically had more mobile necks than the other whales that were evolving at the same time as Squalodon.

Their skulls possessed signs of the first development of echolocation.