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Physeter

Mammalia - Cetacea - Physeteridae

Taxonomy
Physeter was named by Linnaeus (1758) [Sepkoski's age data: T Mi-l R]. It is extant. Its type is Physeter macrocephalus. It is the type genus of Physeterinae. It was considered monophyletic by Geisler et al. (2011).

It was assigned to Cete by Linnaeus (1758); to Cete by Illiger (1811); to Physeterina by Gray (1825); to Balaenidae by De Kay (1842); to Catodontidae by Gray (1846), Gray (1850), Gray (1863), Gray (1864), Gray (1866) and Cope (1867); to Physeteres by Winge (1921); to Physeterinae by Gill (1871), Gill (1872), Brandt (1873), Lydekker (1887), Trouessart (1898), Hay (1902), Trouessart (1904), Turner (1912), Zittel (1925), Weber (1928), Simpson (1945), Ellerman and Morrisson-Scott (1951), Fraser and Purves (1960), Scheffer and Rice (1963), Kasuya (1973), Muizon (1990), Vidal (1991), McKenna and Bell (1997), Fordyce and de Muizon (2001) and Kazár (2002); to Cetacea by Sepkoski (2002); and to Physeteridae by Gray (1821), Pictet (1853), Gray (1868), Scammon and Cope (1869), Depéret (1887), Depéret (1887), Ameghino (1889), Cope (1890), Newton (1891), Paquier (1894), Rhoads (1903), Palmer (1904), Abel (1919), Miller (1923), Dal Piaz (1929), Hay (1930), Sherman (1952), Romero-Herrera et al. (1973), Barnes (1977), Fordyce (1982), Pilleri (1987), Carroll (1988), Benton (1993), Rice (1998), Geisler and Sanders (2003), Mead and Brownell (2005), Agnarsson and May-Collado (2008), Geisler et al. (2011), Ormezzano and Lanzetti (2014), Velez-Juarbe et al. (2015), Marx et al. (2016), Collareta et al. (2017) and Berta (2017).

Synonyms
Synonymy list
YearName and author
1758Physeter Linnaeus p. 76
1761Catodon Linnaeus p. 18
1804Physalus Lacépède
1811Physeter Illiger p. 142
1815Orthodon Rafinesque p. 60
1821Physeter Gray p. 310
1825Catodon Gray p. 340
1825Physeter Gray p. 340
1827Megistosaurus Godman p. 566 figs. not figured
1828Cetus Billberg
1842Physeter De Kay p. 128
1846Catodon Gray p. 83
1846Physeter Gray p. 83
1850Catodon Gray p. 44
1850Physeter Gray p. 53
1853Megistosaurus Pictet p. 386
1853Physeter Pictet p. 386
1863Catodon Gray p. 199
1863Physeter Gray p. 199
1864Catodon Gray p. 231
1864Physeter Gray p. 234
1866Catodon Gray p. 197
1866Physeter Gray p. 210
1866Meganeuron Gray p. 387
1867Physeter Cope p. 144
1868Catodon Gray p. 3
1868Meganeuron Gray p. 3
1868Physeter Gray p. 3
1869Physeter Scammon and Cope p. 32
1871Physeter Gill p. 126
1872Physeter Gill p. 96
1873Physeter Brandt p. 205
1887Physeter Depéret p. 274
1887Physeter Lydekker p. 53
1889Physeter Ameghino p. 887
1890Physeter Cope p. 606
1891Physeter Newton p. 65
1894Physeter Paquier p. 46
1898Physeter Trouessart p. 1055
1902Physeter Hay p. 595
1903Physeter Rhoads p. 248
1904Catodon Palmer p. 164
1904Meganeuron Palmer p. 406
1904Physeter Palmer p. 536
1904Physeter Trouessart p. 774
1912Physeter Turner p. 71
1919Physeter Abel p. 765
1921Physeter Winge p. 44
1923Physeter Miller p. 40
1925Physeter Zittel p. 86
1928Physeter Weber p. 389
1929Physeter Dal Piaz p. 79
1930Physeter Hay p. 598
1945Physeter Simpson p. 102
1951Physeter Ellerman and Morrisson-Scott p. 721
1952Physeter Sherman p. 99
1960Physeter Fraser and Purves p. 112 figs. Figure 26
1963Physeter Scheffer and Rice p. 8
1973Physeter Kasuya p. 61
1973Physeter Romero-Herrera et al. p. 391
1977Physeter Barnes p. 323 figs. Table 1
1982Physeter Fordyce p. 423
1987Physeter Pilleri p. 53
1988Physeter Carroll
1990Physeter Muizon p. 297
1991Physeter Vidal p. 5
1993Physeter Benton p. 761
1997Physeter McKenna and Bell p. 380
1998Physeter Rice p. 82
2001Physeter Fordyce and de Muizon p. 179
2002Physeter Kazár p. 163
2002Physeter Sepkoski
2003Physeter Geisler and Sanders p. 29
2005Physeter Mead and Brownell p. 737
2008Physeter Agnarsson and May-Collado p. 981 figs. Fig. 5
2011Physeter Geisler et al.
2014Physeter Ormezzano and Lanzetti p. 20
2015Physeter Velez-Juarbe et al. p. 15 figs. Fig. 10
2016Physeter Marx et al. p. 124
2017Physeter Berta p. 161
2017Physeter Collareta et al. p. 269 figs. Figure 6

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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
RankNameAuthor
—Theriamorpha(Rowe 1993)
—Theriiformes()
—Trechnotheria
—Cladotheria
—Zatheria
subclassTribosphenida()
subclassTheria
—Eutheria()
—Placentalia
—Boreoeutheria
—Laurasiatheria
—Scrotifera
—Euungulata
—Artiodactylamorpha
—Artiodactyla()
—Whippomorpha
orderCetacea
—Pelagiceti
—Neoceti
suborderOdontoceti
superfamilyPhyseteroidea
familyPhyseteridae
genusPhyseter

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.

G. Physeter Linnaeus 1758
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†Physeter antiquus Gervais 1849
Physeter macrocephalus Linnaeus 1758 [sperm whale]
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Invalid names: Megistosaurus ensiformis Godman 1827 [synonym], Physeter catodon Linnaeus 1758 [synonym]
†Physeter vetus Leidy 1869
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Invalid names: Physeter antiquus Leidy 1853 [objective synonym]
Invalid names: Catodon Linnaeus 1761 [synonym], Cetus Billberg 1828 [synonym], Meganeuron Gray 1866 [synonym], Megistosaurus Godman 1827 [synonym], Orthodon Rafinesque 1815 [synonym], Physalus Lacépède 1804 [synonym]
Diagnosis
No diagnoses are available
Measurements
partNmean

Composition: hydroxyapatitesubo
Form: roller-shapedo
Ontogeny: modification of partso
Environment: oceanicg
Locomotion: actively mobileg
Life habit: aquaticg
Depth habitat: surfaceg
Diet: carnivoreg
Reproduction: viviparoussubo
Created: 2015-04-14 16:58:50
Modified: 2015-04-14 16:58:50
Source: g = genus, subo = suborder, o = order
References: Uhen 2004, Hirota and Barnes 1995

Age range

Maximum range based only on fossils: base of the Burdigalian to the top of the Holocene or 20.44000 to 0.00000 Ma
Minimum age of oldest fossil (stem group age): 15.97 Ma

Collections (67 total)


Time interval Ma Country or state Original ID and collection number
Neogene23.03 - 2.58France P. antiquus (85338)
Burdigalian20.44 - 15.97USA (New Jersey) P. antiquus (18587)
Burdigalian - Serravallian20.44 - 11.62USA (Virginia) P. vetus (105548)
Langhian15.97 - 13.82Australia (Victoria) P. sp. (46165)
Middle Miocene - Early/Lower Pleistocene15.97 - 0.781Netherlands P. sp., P. macrocephalus (189573)
Zanclean5.333 - 3.6USA (North Carolina) P. catodon (52582)
Zanclean5.333 - 3.6South Africa P. macrocephalus (100313)
Zanclean5.333 - 3.6France P. antiquus (56693)
Zanclean5.333 - 3.6Italy (Asti) P. macrocephalus (80610)
Zanclean5.333 - 3.6Australia (Victoria) P. sp. (51328 51335)
Early/Lower Pliocene - Late/Upper Pliocene5.333 - 2.588Australia (Tasmania) P. sp. (51414)
Pliocene5.333 - 2.588Italy P. sp. (96776)
Pliocene5.333 - 2.588Ukraine (Zaporizhzhia) P. sp. (183537)
Piacenzian3.6 - 2.588Italy (Tuscany) P. macrocephalus (48652)
Gelasian2.588 - 1.806United Kingdom (England) P. sp. (48093)
Early/Lower Pleistocene2.588 - 0.781Japan (Tokyo) P. sp. (76022)
Early/Lower Pleistocene2.588 - 0.781Netherlands P. sp. (189574)
Pleistocene2.588 - 0.0117USA (South Carolina) P. antiquus (79950) P. sp. (65405)
Pleistocene2.588 - 0.0117USA (Georgia) P. vetus (96899)
Middle Pleistocene0.774 - 0.129United Kingdom (England) P. macrocephalus (58421)
Late/Upper Pleistocene0.129 - 0.0117Spain P. macrocephalus (96706)
Late/Upper Pleistocene0.129 - 0.0117France P. macrocephalus (86273)
Late/Upper Pleistocene0.129 - 0.0117Spain (Santander) P. catodon (125320)
Holocene0.0117 - 0.0New Caledonia P. macrocephalus (83457 83483 83484 83485 83486 83488 83489 83490 83491 83492 83493 83494 83495 83496 83497 83498 83499)
Holocene0.0117 - 0.0Peru P. macrocephalus (168256)
Holocene0.0117 - 0.0Greenland (Qeqertasussuk) P. macrocephalus (187755)
Holocene0.0117 - 0.0Italy (Sicily) P. macrocephalus (175523)
Holocene0.0117 - 0.0French Polynesia (Loyalty Islands) P. macrocephalus (83487)
Holocene0.0117 - 0.0India P. macrocephalus (168261)
Holocene0.0117 - 0.0Antarctica P. macrocephalus (168263)
Holocene0.0117 - 0.0Japan P. macrocephalus (82088 168258)
Holocene0.0117 - 0.0USA (California) P. macrocephalus (168255)
Holocene0.0117 - 0.0Morocco P. macrocephalus (79917)
Holocene0.0117 - 0.0Brazil P. macrocephalus (168253)
Holocene0.0117 - 0.0Svalbard and Jan Mayen P. macrocephalus (168262)
Holocene0.0117 - 0.0Italy P. macrocephalus (168259 196903)
Holocene0.0117 - 0.0USA (Michigan) P. sp. (51030)
Holocene0.0117 - 0.0United Kingdom (Scotland) P. macrocephalus (86904)
Holocene0.0117 - 0.0Angola P. macrocephalus (168252)
Holocene0.0117 - 0.0Somalia P. macrocephalus (168260)
Holocene0.0117 - 0.0Portugal P. macrocephalus (168251)
Holocene0.0117 - 0.0Denmark P. macrocephalus (159716 159719)
Holocene0.0117 - 0.0Mexico (Baja California) P. catodon (201786)
Holocene0.0117 - 0.0Italy (Sardinia) P. macrocephalus (224272)
Holocene0.0117 - 0.0USA (North Carolina) P. macrocephalus (168254)
Holocene0.0117 - 0.0New Zealand P. macrocephalus (168257)