Phylum Chordata Order Even-toed ungulate | Family Balaenopteridae (?) Rank Genus | |
Similar Eomysticetus, Cetotheriopsis, Cetotheriidae, Diorocetus, Llanocetus | ||
Mauicetus is a genus of extinct baleen whale from the Late Oligocene of New Zealand.
Taxonomy
Mauicetus was originally named Lophocephalus by William Benham, but that name was already used for a beetle, and Benham provided the replacement name Mauicetus. Three more species were named in 1956: M. brevicollis, M. lophocephalus, and M. waitakiensis. Nowadays, Mauicetus parki is considered a stem-balaenopteroid, while M. lophocephalus and M. waitakiensis have been reclassified in Eomysticetidae, with M. lophocephalus and M. waitakiensis being assigned to Tokarahia and Tohoraata.
References
Mauicetus Wikipedia(Text) CC BY-SA