Chonecetus

Name: Chonecetus ‭(‬Funnel whale‭)‬.
Phonetic: Chon-e-see-tus.
Named By: L.‭ ‬S.‭ ‬Russel‭ ‬-‭ ‬1968.
Classification: Chordata,‭ ‬Mammalia,‭ ‬Cetacea,‭ ‬Aetiocetidae.
Species: C.‭ ‬sookensis‭ (‬type‭)‬.
Diet: Uncertain.
Size: Skull about‭ ‬40‭ ‬centimetres long.
Known locations: Canada,‭ ‬British Columbia‭ ‬-‭ ‬Sooke Formation,‭ ‬and the USA,‭ ‬Washington‭ ‬-‭ ‬Pysht Formation.
Time period: Chattian of the Oligocene.
Fossil representation: Almost complete skulls and partial post cranial remains.

       Chonecetus is a whale genus that is usually attributed to the Aetiocetidae a group of primitive ancestors of Baleen whales.‭ ‬There has however been speculation that Chonecetus might be a member of the Archaeoceti,‭ ‬a more ancient group of toothed predatory whales that included genera such as Dorudon and Basilosaurus.‭ ‬If the latter interpretation turns out to be correct,‭ ‬then Chonecetus would actually be a very late surviving member of this group.
       A former species of Chonecetues, C. goedertorum, has now been moved into the Fucaia genus.

Further reading
-‭ ‬A new cetacean from the Oligocene Sooke Formation of Vancouver Island,‭ ‬British Colombia.‭ ‬-‭ ‬Canadian Journal of Earth Science‭ ‬5:929-933‭ ‬-‭ ‬L.‭ ‬S.‭ ‬Russel‭ ‬-‭ ‬1968.
-‭ ‬Classification and distribution of Oligocene Aetiocetidae‭ (‬Mammalia‭; ‬Cetacea‭; ‬Mysticeti‭) ‬from western North America and Japan‭ ‬-‭ ‬The Island Arc‭ ‬3‭(‬4‭)‬:392-431‭ ‬-‭ ‬L.‭ ‬G.‭ ‬Barnes,‭ ‬M.‭ ‬Kimura,‭ ‬H.‭ ‬Furusawa‭ & ‬H.‭ ‬Sawamura‭ ‬-‭ ‬1995.



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