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Mammalodontidae
Taxonomy
Mammalodontidae was named by Mitchell (1989). It is not extant. It was considered monophyletic by Geisler et al. (2011).
It was assigned to Crenaticeti by Rice (1998); to Aetiocetoidea by Sanders and Barnes (2002), Geisler and Sanders (2003), Gingerich (2005); to Mysticeti by Mitchell (1989), Fordyce and Barnes (1994), Fordyce et al. (1995), McKenna and Bell (1997), Fordyce and de Muizon (2001), Rice (2002), Fordyce (2003), Fitzgerald (2004), Fitzgerald (2010), Bianucci et al. (2011); and to Mysticeti by Fordyce (2006), Bianucci and Landini (2007), Rice (2009), Geisler et al. (2011), Boessenecker and Fordyce (2015), Marx and Fordyce (2015), Marx et al. (2016), Fordyce and Marx (2016), Berta (2017), Fordyce and Marx (2018), Duncan et al. (2025).
It was assigned to Crenaticeti by Rice (1998); to Aetiocetoidea by Sanders and Barnes (2002), Geisler and Sanders (2003), Gingerich (2005); to Mysticeti by Mitchell (1989), Fordyce and Barnes (1994), Fordyce et al. (1995), McKenna and Bell (1997), Fordyce and de Muizon (2001), Rice (2002), Fordyce (2003), Fitzgerald (2004), Fitzgerald (2010), Bianucci et al. (2011); and to Mysticeti by Fordyce (2006), Bianucci and Landini (2007), Rice (2009), Geisler et al. (2011), Boessenecker and Fordyce (2015), Marx and Fordyce (2015), Marx et al. (2016), Fordyce and Marx (2016), Berta (2017), Fordyce and Marx (2018), Duncan et al. (2025).
Subtaxa
Synonyms
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Synonymy list
| Year | Name and author |
|---|---|
| 1989 | Mammalodontidae Mitchell p. 2231 |
| 1994 | Mammalodontidae Fordyce and Barnes p. 428 figs. Table 1 |
| 1995 | Mammalodontidae Fordyce et al. p. 379 |
| 1997 | Mammalodontidae McKenna and Bell p. 375 |
| 1998 | Mammalodontidae Rice |
| 2001 | Mammalodontidae Fordyce and de Muizon p. 176 |
| 2002 | Mammalodontidae Rice p. 231 figs. Table 1 |
| 2002 | Mammalodontidae Sanders and Barnes p. 353 |
| 2003 | Mammalodontidae Fordyce p. 156 figs. Figure 9.1 |
| 2003 | Mammalodontidae Geisler and Sanders p. 27 |
| 2004 | Mammalodontidae Fitzgerald p. 206 |
| 2005 | Mammalodontidae Gingerich p. 237 figs. Table 15.1 |
| 2006 | Janjucetidae Fitzgerald p. 1 |
| 2006 | Mammalodontidae Fordyce p. 757 figs. Figure 3 |
| 2007 | Mammalodontidae Bianucci and Landini p. 45 figs. Table 2.1 |
| 2009 | Janjucetidae Rice p. 235 figs. Table 1 |
| 2009 | Mammalodontidae Rice p. 235 figs. Table 1 |
| 2010 | Mammalodontidae Fitzgerald p. 370 figs. Table 1 |
| 2011 | Mammalodontidae Bianucci et al. p. 572 |
| 2011 | Mammalodontidae Geisler et al. p. 6 figs. Table 1 |
| 2015 | Mammalodontidae Boessenecker and Fordyce figs. Table 1 |
| 2015 | Mammalodontidae Marx and Fordyce figs. Figure 2 |
| 2016 | Mammalodontidae Fordyce and Marx p. 108 |
| 2016 | Mammalodontidae Marx et al. p. 104 |
| 2017 | Mammalodontidae Berta p. 166 |
| 2018 | Mammalodontidae Fordyce and Marx p. 2 figs. Fig. 4 |
| 2025 | Mammalodontidae Duncan et al. p. 7 |
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If no rank is listed, the taxon is considered an unranked clade in modern classifications. Ranks may be repeated or presented in the wrong order because authors working on different parts of the classification may disagree about how to rank taxa.
Fm. †Mammalodontidae Mitchell 1989
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G. †Janjucetus Fitzgerald 2006
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†Janjucetus dullardi Duncan et al. 2025
†Janjucetus hunderi Fitzgerald 2006
G. †Mammalodon Pritchard 1939
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†Mammalodon colliveri Pritchard 1939
†Mammalodon hakataramea Fordyce and Marx 2016
Invalid names: Janjucetidae Fitzgerald 2006 [synonym]
Diagnosis
| Reference | Diagnosis | |
|---|---|---|
| E. M. G. Fitzgerald 2010 | Emended diagnosis of family: Relatively small mysticetes (condylobasal length < 500 mm). More archaic than described species of Chaeomysticeti: mammalodontids are differentiated from all these mysticetes in possessing mineralized rostral and mandibular teeth as adults. Mammalodontids are placed in the Mysticeti because they possess: a maxilla with a dorsoventrally thin lateral edge, a laterally projecting antorbital process with a steep face on its anterior edge clearly distinguishing it from the rostral part of the maxilla, and a posteriorly elongated infraorbital process developed ventral to the supraorbital process of the frontal; upper cheek teeth that lack an entocingulum; and transversely thickened basioccipital crests.
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| R. J. Duncan et al. 2025 | Mammalodontids are assigned to Neoceti [following Fordyce
(2009), Fitzgerald (2010), and Boessenecker et al. (2023)] on the basis of: an amastoid skull; three or more dorsal infraorbital foramina; an open mesorostral groove with a short or absent ante- rior connection of premaxillae; the presence of an antorbital notch; a dorsal portion of the supraorbital process of the frontal as long as it is wide; the presence of an anteroexternal sulcus of the periotic; and lower premolar and molar teeth subequal in size. They are further diagnosed as mysticetes [following Fitzgerald (2010), Marx (2011), and Boessenecker et al. (2023)] by: a bulbous, transversely thickened basioccipital crest; a steep face of the antorbital process of the maxilla clearly distinct from the ros- tral portion of the maxilla; a broad infraorbital plate of the maxilla; orbitotemporal crest extends onto frontals; and a short mandib- ular symphysis. Within Mysticeti, mammalodontids are small (<4 m overall body length), toothed baleen whales characterized by the follow- ing features following Fitzgerald (2010) and Fordyce and Marx (2016). We place synapomorphies in bold and denote newly proposed characters based on the work below with an asterisk (*): (i) an anteroposteriorly short and dorsoventrally tall rostrum (width at antorbital notches >80% of the length of the rostrum from the antorbital notches to apex); (ii) anterior margin of supraorbital process of frontal is elongate and linguiform; (iii) a triangular wedge of the frontal separates the posteromedial edge of the ascending process of the maxilla from the postero- lateral edge of the nasal; (iv) a subhorizontal dorsal margin of the braincase (relative to the lateral margin of the rostrum) in lateral view (dorsal profile at an angle of <10° to the lateral edge of the rostrum); (v) a posteriorly V-shaped frontoparietal suture on the dorsal surface of the skull (differs from all toothed mysticetes except Coronodon); (vi) anterior edge of supraoccipital posterior to the dorsoventrally lowest point of the squamosal fossa (differs from all toothed mysticetes except Mystacodon); (vii) a proportionally narrow intertemporal region that is 25% or less of the bizygomatic width at its narrowest point* (differs from all toothed mysticetes except Coronodon and Mystacodon); (viii) dor- soventral expansion of mandibular body posteriorly in lateral and medial view; (ix) a concave depression along the medial surface of the involucrum ventral to the apex of the involucral ridge*; (x) a dorsomedially extended crista transversa of the peri- otic that is anteroposteriorly wide and extends to a level in line with the rim of the internal acoustic meatus medially* (differs from all toothed mysticetes except Coronodon and Salishicetus); (xi) posterior upper cheek teeth are at least double rooted, with the roots being joined by an isthmus apically for part or all of their length (differs from all toothed mysticetes except Coronodon); (xii) posteriorly reclined cheek teeth relative to transverse plane of the skull and mandibles (differs from all toothed mysticetes except Coronodon); and (xiii) extensive apicobasal ridges on both the lingual and buccal surfaces of the tooth crowns (differs from all toothed mysticetes except Morawanocetus, Salishicetus, and Llanocetus). |
Measurements
No measurements are available
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| Source: subo = suborder, o = order | |||||
| Reference: Uhen 2004 | |||||
Age range: base of the Duntroonian to the top of the Chattian or 27.30000 to 23.04000 Ma
Collections (18 total)
| Time interval | Ma | Country or state | Original ID and collection number |
|---|---|---|---|
| Duntroonian | New Zealand | Mammalodon hakataramea (152358) | |
| Chattian | New Zealand (Canterbury) | Mammalodontidae indet. (208603) | |
| Chattian | Malta | Mammalodontidae indet. (122008) | |
| Chattian | Australia (Victoria) | Cetacea indet. (51393) Janjucetus hunderi (51394) Janjucetus sp. (51383 176278) Mammalodon colliveri, Janjucetus cf (242124) Mammalodon colliveri, Janjucetus dullardi (242125) Mammalodon new species 1, Mammalodon colliveri (48647) Mammalodon sp., Mammalodontidae indet., Janjucetus sp., Janjucetus dullardi, Mammalodon colliveri (46166) Mammalodontidae indet. (51390 176295) Mammalodontidae indet., Janjucetus dullardi, Janjucetus hunderi (114718) Mammalodontidae indet., Mammalodon colliveri (51392) Mysticeti indet. (51391) | |
| Late/Upper Oligocene - Early/Lower Miocene | Australia (Victoria) | Mammalodontidae indet. (51395) | |
| Waitakian | New Zealand | Mammalodon sp. (74593) |