Incakujira

Incakujira is an extinct genus of rorqual from the Late Miocene (Huayquerian in the SALMA classification) Pisco Formation in western Peru.[1]

Incakujira
Temporal range: Tortonian (Huayquerian)
~11.6–7.2 Ma
Incakujira anilliodefuego paratype specimen
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Artiodactyla
Infraorder: Cetacea
Family: Balaenopteridae
Genus: Incakujira
Marx & Kohno 2016
Type species
Incakujira anillodefuego
Marx & Kohno 2016
Species
  • I. anillodefuego Marx & Kohno 2016 (type)

Description

The holotype specimen in Gamagori, Japan

Incakujira differs from other rorquals (fossil and extant) in having a less attenuated rostrum and the features of the maxilla, supraorbital, and remainder of the cranium. Kujira in the genus name means "whale" in Japanese.[2]

Biology

The twisted postglenoid process of the squamosal suggests that the lunge-feeding capabilities of Incakujira were not as great as those of extant rorquals, and that Incakujira itself also pursued additional krill-feeding strategies like skimming.[3]

References

  1. Incakujira at Fossilworks.org
  2. Marx & Kohno, 2016, p.5
  3. Marx & Kohno, 2016, p.26

Bibliography

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