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      A redescription and re-evaluation of Kekenodon onamata (Mammalia: Cetacea), a late-surviving archaeocete from the Late Oligocene of New Zealand

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      Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society
      Oxford University Press (OUP)

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          Abstract

          Stem cetaceans (archaeocetes) have a substantial Eocene fossil record but are largely absent since the Eocene–Oligocene boundary. Putative Oligocene archaeocetes are mostly represented by fragmentary denticulate teeth, making systematic classification difficult. The New Zealand species Kekenodon onamata (Wharekuri Greensand, Duntroonian local Stage, Chattian) is one of the most widely mentioned Oligocene archaeocetes and is the single-named species of the family Kekenodontidae. The holotype includes heterodont teeth in addition to cranial and post-cranial elements, and partial tympanoperiotics, with potential for a strong phylogenetic signal. Hitherto, the strikingly disparate Kekenodon onamata has been excluded from published phylogenetic analyses, with its affinities largely remaining speculative. Here, a detailed anatomical account allows a redescription of Kekenodon onamata, and a comprehensive phylogenetic analysis. The phylogenetic analysis shows Kekenodon onamata as the latest-surviving archaeocete, sister-taxon to the Neoceti. The large heterodont teeth with patterns of extensive enamel macrowear suggest Kekenodon onamata utilized a raptorial feeding strategy and hunted hard-boned prey, such as other marine mammals and penguins. Combined with an estimated body size of c. 8 m, Kekenodon onamata probably occupied an apex predator ecological niche similar to the modern killer whale.

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          TNT, a free program for phylogenetic analysis

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            The therian skull : a lexicon with emphasis on the odontocetes

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              Is Open Access

              Baleen boom and bust: a synthesis of mysticete phylogeny, diversity and disparity

              A new, fully dated total-evidence phylogeny of baleen whales (Mysticeti) shows that evolutionary phases correlate strongly with Caenozoic modernization of the oceans and climates, implying a major role for bottom-up physical drivers. The phylogeny of 90 modern and dated fossil species suggests three major phases in baleen whale history: an early adaptive radiation (36–30 Ma), a shift towards bulk filter-feeding (30–23 Ma) and a climate-driven diversity loss around 3 Ma. Evolutionary rates and disparity were high following the origin of mysticetes around 38 Ma, coincident with global cooling, abrupt Southern Ocean eutrophication and the development of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC). Subsequently, evolutionary rates and disparity fell, becoming nearly constant after approximately 23 Ma as the ACC reached its full strength. By contrast, species diversity rose until 15 Ma and then remained stable, before dropping sharply with the onset of Northern Hemisphere glaciation. This decline coincided with the final establishment of modern mysticete gigantism and may be linked to glacially driven variability in the distribution of shallow habitats or an increased need for long-distance migration related to iron-mediated changes in glacial marine productivity.
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                Author and article information

                Journal
                Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society
                Oxford University Press (OUP)
                0024-4082
                1096-3642
                December 01 2022
                November 28 2022
                June 02 2022
                December 01 2022
                November 28 2022
                June 02 2022
                : 196
                : 4
                : 1637-1670
                Article
                10.1093/zoolinnean/zlac019
                22db8042-0075-4e2a-8a0b-39caaafb1a17
                © 2022

                https://academic.oup.com/pages/standard-publication-reuse-rights

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