Superregnum: Eukaryota
Cladus: Opisthokonta
Regnum: Animalia
Subregnum: Eumetazoa
Cladus: Bilateria
Cladus: Nephrozoa
Cladus: Deuterostomia
Phylum: Chordata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Infraphylum: Gnathostomata
Superclassis: Tetrapoda
Classis: Mammalia
Subclassis: Theria
Infraclassis: Placentalia
Superordo: Cetartiodactyla
Ordo: Cetacea
Subordo: Mysticeti
Familia: Cetotheriidae
Genus: Cetotherium
Cetotheriidae is an extinct family of baleen whales in the suborder Mysticeti.[1] The family existed from the Late Oligocene to the Late Pliocene before going extinct.
Taxonomy
Since its description by Brant in 1872, Cetotheriidae was used as a wastebasket taxon for baleen whales which were not assignable to extant whale families.[2] Starting in the early 2000's a number of studies on the phylogeny has reduced the included genera down to thirteen in two subfamilies.[3]
Cetotheriidae (Brandt, 1872)
* Subfamily Cetotheriinae Whitmore and Barnes, 2008
o Cetotherium Brandt 1843
o Heterocetus Capellini 1877
o Hibacetus Otsuka and Ota 2008
o Joumocetus Kimura and Hasegawa 2010[4]
o Mixocetus Kellogg 1934
o Palaeobalaena Moreno 1882
o Piscobalaena Pilleri and Siber 1989
o Plesiocetopsis (Brandt 1873)
o Titanocetus Bisconti 2006
* Subfamily Herpetocetinae Steeman, 2007
o Cephalotropis Cope 1896
o Herpetocetus Van Beneden 1872
o Metopocetus Cope 1896
o Nannocetus Kellogg 1929
References
1. ^ The Paleobiology Database Cetotheriidae entry Accessed on 27 December 2010
2. ^ Steeman, M.E. (2010). "The extinct baleen whale fauna from the Miocene-Pliocene of Belgium and the diagnostic cetacean ear bones". Journal of Systematic Palaeontology 8 (1): 63–80. doi:10.1080/14772011003594961.
3. ^ Bouetel, V.; Muizon, C.de (2006). "The anatomy and relationships of Piscobalaena nana (Cetacea, Mysticeti), a Cetotheriidae s.s. from the early Pliocene of Peru". Geodiversitas 28 (2): 319–395. http://www.mnhn.fr/museum/front/medias/publication/8119_g06n2a8.pdf.
4. ^ Kimura, T.; Hasegawa, y. (2010). "A New Baleen Whale (Mysticeti: Cetotheriidae) from the Earliest Late Miocene of Japan and a Reconsideration of the Phylogeny of Cetotheres". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 30 (2): 577–591. doi:10.1080/02724631003621912.
