Incakujira
Incakujira (meaning Inca whale) is a genus of rorqual whales that lived during the Late Miocene epoch in what are now the coasts of Peru, about 8 million to 7.3 million years ago. It contains a single species, Incakujira anillodefuego, named and described in 2016 with known specimens coming from the Pisco Formation.
Incakujira | |
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Holotype specimen exhibited at Gamagori, Japan | |
Scientific classification ![]() | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Mammalia |
Order: | Artiodactyla |
Infraorder: | Cetacea |
Superfamily: | Balaenopteroidea |
Family: | Balaenopteridae |
Genus: | †Incakujira Marx & Kohno, 2016 |
Type species | |
†Incakujira anillodefuego Marx & Kohno, 2016 |
Description
![](../I/Incakujira_paratype.jpg.webp)
Incakujira differs from other rorquals (fossil and extant) in having a less attenuated rostrum and the features of the maxilla, supraorbital, and remainder of the cranium. Kujira in the genus name means "whale" in Japanese.[1]
Paleobiology
The twisted postglenoid process of the squamosal suggests that the lunge-feeding capabilities of Incakujira were not as great as those of extant rorquals, and that Incakujira itself also pursued additional krill-feeding strategies like skimming.[1]
References
- Marx, F. G.; Kohno, N. (2016). "A new Miocene baleen whale from the Peruvian desert". Royal Society Open Science. 3 (10): 1–27. Bibcode:2016RSOS....360542M. doi:10.1098/rsos.160542. PMC 5098998. PMID 27853573.
External links
Media related to Incakujira at Wikimedia Commons
Data related to Incakujira at Wikispecies