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Titanocetus sammarinensis

Mammalia - Cetacea - Cetotheriidae

Taxonomy
Aulocetus sammarinensis was named by Capellini (1901). Its type specimen is MGB 1CMC172 9073, a partial skeleton (skull, complete left dentary, anterior end of right dentary, atlas, axis, third and fourth cervical vertebrae, 9 fragmentary vertebrae and vertebral epiphyses, ), and it is a 3D body fossil. Its type locality is Luigi Reffi quarry, Monte Titano, which is in a Burdigalian/Langhian marine mixed carbonate-siliciclastic in the Monte Fumaiolo Formation of San Marino. It is the type species of Aulocetus.

It was recombined as Titanocetus sammarinensis by Bisconti (2006), Marx (2011), Bisconti et al. (2013), Marx and Fordyce (2015) and Marx et al. (2016).

Synonymy list
YearName and author
1901Aulocetus sammarinensis Capellini p. 12 figs. Plate I-II
1904Aulocetus sammarinensis Trouessart p. 781
1938Aulocetus sammarinensis Abel p. 8
2006Titanocetus sammarinensis Bisconti p. 345
2011Titanocetus sammarinensis Marx p. 83 figs. Figure 2
2013Titanocetus sammarinensis Bisconti et al. p. 122 figs. Fig. 28
2015Titanocetus sammarinensis Marx and Fordyce p. 4 figs. Figure 2
2016Titanocetus sammarinensis Marx et al. p. 22 figs. Figure 10

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RankNameAuthor
kingdomAnimalia()
Bilateria
EubilateriaAx 1987
Deuterostomia
phylumChordataHaeckel 1874
subphylumVertebrata
superclassGnathostomata
Osteichthyes()
subclassSarcopterygii()
subclassDipnotetrapodomorpha(Nelson 2006)
subclassTetrapodomorpha()
Tetrapoda
Reptiliomorpha
Anthracosauria
subclassAmphibiosauriaKuhn 1967
Cotylosauria()
Amniota
subclassSynapsida
Therapsida()
infraorderCynodontia()
Mammaliamorpha
Mammaliaformes
classMammalia
Theriamorpha(Rowe 1993)
RankNameAuthor
Theriiformes()
Trechnotheria
Cladotheria
Zatheria
subclassTribosphenida()
subclassTheria
Eutheria()
Placentalia
Boreoeutheria
Laurasiatheria
Scrotifera
Euungulata
Artiodactylamorpha
Artiodactyla()
Whippomorpha
orderCetacea
Pelagiceti
Neoceti
suborderMysticeti
Chaeomysticeti()
familyCetotheriidae()
genusTitanocetus
speciessammarinensis()

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.

Titanocetus sammarinensis Capellini 1901
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Diagnosis
ReferenceDiagnosis
M. Bisconti 2006The following characters distinguish T. sammarin- ensis from all the other mysticetes: anterior border of supraoc- cipital round and wide; deep and basin-like depression on dorsal surface of supraoccipital; medial portion of interorbital region of frontal exposed dorsally posterior to nasofrontal suture and tri- angular; ventromedial border of maxilla forming transversely round and ventrally protruding double keel; nasal contacts pari- etal posteriorly; ascending process of maxilla contacting poste- rior portion of nasal; in axis, distal ends of parapophysis and diapophysis free and foramen transversarium laterally delimited by dorsoventral projection originating from ventral edge of di- apophysis. Titanocetus sammarinensis shares with balaenopterids and Cetotherium-like mysticetes the following characters: defi- nite ascending process of maxilla present; posteromedial ele- ments of rostrum (including ascending process of maxilla, pre- maxilla, and nasal) superimposed on interorbital region of fron- tal; coronal suture posterior to posteromedial corner of maxilla; parietals divided anteriorly by interposition of interorbital region of frontal; anterior end of nasal bones located approximately on transverse line connecting antorbital corners of supraorbital pro- cesses of frontal; anterior margin of supraoccipital not extended anteriorly beyond anterior tip of zygomatic process of squamo- sal. Titanocetus sammarinensis shares with cetotheriid-grade mysticetes the following characters: posterior border of maxilla oblique (anterolateral corner of maxilla more anterior than pos- teromedial corner); proximal portion of supraorbital process of frontal gently descending from interorbital region; strong bulg- ing of parietal and squamosal into temporal fossa (shared also with the gray whale Eschrichtius robustus); glenoid cavity of squamosal (cranio-mandibular joint) straight in lateral view (shared also with gray whale Eschrichtius robustus); posterior apex of lambdoidal crest posterior to occipital condyles; parietals exposed on laterodorsal wall of skull. The lack of the antorbital notch is only shared with Parietobalaena palmeri and Aglaocetus moreni.
Measurements
No measurements are available
Composition: hydroxyapatitesubo
Form: roller-shapedo
Ontogeny: modification of partso
Environment: marinesubo
Locomotion: actively mobileo
Life habit: aquaticsubo
Depth habitat: surfaceo
Diet: carnivoresubo
Diet 2: suspension feedersubo
Reproduction: viviparouso
Created: 2005-03-06 14:20:41
Modified: 2005-03-06 16:34:40
Source: subo = suborder, o = order
Reference: Uhen 2004

Age range: base of the Burdigalian to the top of the Langhian or 20.44000 to 13.82000 Ma

Collections: one only


Time interval Ma Country or state Original ID and collection number
Burdigalian - Langhian20.44 - 13.82San Marino Aulocetus sammariensis (type locality: 49405)