Aulophyseter
Genus of mammals
Aulophyseter is an extinct genus of sperm whales from the subfamily Physeterinae that existed during the Miocene.
01History of discovery
Fossils of Aulophyseter have been found in:
02Description
Aulophyseter is estimated to have been 6.4 metres (21 ft) long, and weighed approximately 1,100 kilograms (2,400 lb).
03Paleobiology
Aulophyseter's small teeth lack enamel, which suggests that its feeding habits were more similar to those of modern sperm whales than to other early sperm whales. The diet of Aulophyseter was largely limited to cephalopods and fish.
Sources and credits
This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article “Aulophyseter”, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.
Images, from Wikimedia Commons:
- Aulophyseter morricei LACM.jpg by Jonathan Chen, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Aulophyseter BW.jpg by Nobu Tamura, CC BY 3.0
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