Rhaphicetus
Genus of toothed whales
Rhaphicetus is an extinct genus of physeteroid whale that lived in Peru in the lower Miocene epoch around 19-18 million years ago. This genus contains one species, Raphicetus valenciae, representing one of the earliest branching stem physteroid.
01Description
This genus is medium sized with an estimated length of 4.7-5.7 metres (15-19 ft). It has a narrow and cylindrical rostrum that comprises nearly 75% of the condylobasal length. The upper jaw has at least 36 teeth per quadrant.
Sources and credits
This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article “Rhaphicetus”, 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:
- Rhaphicetus valenciae.png by Srosr2002, CC BY 4.0
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