Name:
Morawanocetus
(Morawan whale - after the Morawan Formation).
Phonetic: Mor-ah-wan-o-see-tuss.
Named By: L. G. Barnes, M. Kimura, H.
Furusawa & H. Sawamura - 1995.
Classification: Chordata, Mammalia, Cetacea,
Aetiocetidae.
Species: M. yabukii (type).
Diet: Carnivore/Piscivore.
Size: Uncertain.
Known locations: Japan - Morawan Formation.
USA, California.
Time period: Chattian of the Oligocene.
Fossil representation: Partial skull, dentary,
as well as some partial post cranial remains of several individuals.
Morawanocetus is a genus of whale that is known to have lived in the waters around what is now Japan as well as California in the USA during the Oligocene. These discoveries indicate that Morawanocetus was widespread across the Pacific Ocean. As a member of the Aetiocetidae, Morawanocetus, would have been a relative of such genera as, Aetiocetus, Willungacetus, Chonecetus and Ashorocetus.
Further reading
- 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.