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Odontocete Periotics - Toothed Whales Ear Bones


Harry Pristis

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Here are a couple of periotics (ear bones) from small, toothed whales from the Miocene-Pliocene of South Florida. I don't know more than that about them, so I'm hoping that someone here will have an identification.

Such periotics are found from time to time in the Peace River, but they are not well known to collectors.

post-42-0-21534100-1433187807_thumb.jpg post-42-0-71436400-1433187829_thumb.jpg post-42-0-79661300-1433187861_thumb.jpg

And for comparison:

post-42-0-19000900-1433187910_thumb.jpg

http://pristis.wix.com/the-demijohn-page

 

What seest thou else

In the dark backward and abysm of time?

---Shakespeare, The Tempest

 

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Hi Harry,

The periotic and bulla are both good matches for pygmy/dwarf sperm whales - Kogiidae - there's something called Kogiopsis floridana, but known only from a mandible described in the 40s. There's Aprixokogia from the Pliocene of Lee Creek, but is known from a skull - and not earbones. So, for the time being, we have to accept "Kogiidae indet." for finds like this. AKA Kogiinae in some of the literature. That's a pretty periotc. Bobby

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Bobby . . . Darned if I didn't find another petrosal in my drawer, this one labeled "sperm whale." It's from the Peace River, so it's likely to be Late Miocene to Early Pliocene like the kogiid you identified earlier in this thread.

I've photographed it alongside that kogiid for comparison. What do you think this is?

post-42-0-10356200-1433276719_thumb.jpg post-42-0-61113300-1433276736_thumb.jpg post-42-0-11089800-1433276753_thumb.jpg

http://pristis.wix.com/the-demijohn-page

 

What seest thou else

In the dark backward and abysm of time?

---Shakespeare, The Tempest

 

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That's definitely another sperm whale (Physeteroidea), possibly another kogiid. It looks closer to a kogiid in the spatulate posterior process (bottom feature of the right-most photo).

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Where would we be without Bobby?

P.S. How's life post PhD Bobby? You said earlier that you had submitted. I'm sure you won't have any problems continuing on your academic journey!

Good luck with the job hunt.

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That's definitely another sperm whale (Physeteroidea), possibly another kogiid. It looks closer to a kogiid in the spatulate posterior process (bottom feature of the right-most photo).

Thank you, Bobby! I appreciate the information.

http://pristis.wix.com/the-demijohn-page

 

What seest thou else

In the dark backward and abysm of time?

---Shakespeare, The Tempest

 

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