Reference articles on history, science, culture and more
Encyclopedia

Prosqualodon

Extinct genus of mammals

Image credit is listed at the end of this article.

01Description

Prosqualodon was related to and looked like modern toothed whales. It was about 2.3 metres (7.5 ft) long and resembled a dolphin. It had long jaws with interlocking teeth that jutted to the outside, remaining visible when the jaws were closed, like those of a gharial. In the back of the mouth it had triangular teeth similar to those of earlier cetaceans, but in most other respects, it was relatively advanced. It had developed the body form of modern whales, with a short neck and simple jaw structure, and like modern cetaceans, it also had a blowhole. The olfactory apparatus was reduced compared with earlier forms, suggesting that it had already lost much of its sense of smell, presumably relying on sound to catch its prey. The species Prosqualodon australis is distinguished by the autapomorphic feature that is its triangular parafalciform fossa.

P. australis skeleton
P. australis skeleton

02Species

Fossils not assigned to a specific species have also been found in the Calder River Limestone and Jan Juc Formation of Australia.

The nominal species "Prosqualodon" marplesi Dickson, 1964, later treated as a species of the squalodelphinid Notocetus, has been reclassified as a relative of Waipatia and given the new generic name Otekaikea.

Life reconstruction of P. davidis
Life reconstruction of P. davidis
Watch videos about ProsqualodonExplainers and documentaries on YouTube (opens in a new tab)

Sources and credits

This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article Prosqualodon, 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:

Fathomly is not affiliated with or endorsed by the Wikimedia Foundation. Spotted a problem? Tell us.