Hadrokirus

Hadrokirus martini is an extinct species of true seal (Phocidae) that lived on the coast of Peru about 6 million years ago. It was found in the Pisco Formation, together with other marine animals such as crustaceans, sharks, coastal birds, whales and aquatic sloths. The main particularity of this seal dwells in its teeth: they are extremely robust, hence the name (hadros, "stout" in Greek; kiru, tooth in Quechua). It is assumed that Hadrokirus martini was durophagous, its diet probably comprised crustaceans, small bivalves and other shelled animals, as it is seen for instance in the living sea otter. The extant seals the most closely related to Hadrokirus martini are the Lobodontini (seals from Antarctica).[1]

Hadrokirus martini
Temporal range: Late Miocene
~6 Ma
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Carnivora
Clade: Pinnipediformes
Clade: Pinnipedia
Family: Phocidae
Subfamily: Monachinae
Genus: Hadrokirus
Type species
Hadrokirus martini
Amson & De Muizon 2013

References

  1. Amson & De Muizon, 2013

Bibliography

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