Incakujira
Temporal range: Miocene
(Tortonian-Messinian), ~
Holotype specimen exhibited at Gamagori, Japan
Scientific classification Edit this 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

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.

Description

Paratype specimen

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

  1. 1 2 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.
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