Dusisiren

Dusisiren is an extinct genus of dugong related to the Steller's sea cow that lived in the North Pacific during the Neogene.[1]

Dusisiren
Temporal range: Middle Miocene to Pliocene, 16–5 Ma
Restoration of Dusisiren jordani
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Sirenia
Family: Dugongidae
Subfamily: †Hydrodamalinae
Genus: †Dusisiren
Type species
Dusisiren jordani
Kellogg, 1925
Species
  • D. dewana Takahashi, Domning, and Saito, 1986
  • D. jordani (Kellogg, 1925) (type)
  • D. reinharti Domning, 1978
  • D. takasatensis Kobayashi, Horikawa, & Miyazaki, 1995

Paleobiology

Dusisiren is a sirenian exemplar of the evolutionary theory of punctuated equilibrium. It evolved from a mangrove-eating ancestor to adapt to cold climates in the North Pacific by developing the capability to feed on kelp beds out on the open coast. The incipient modifications to the cervicals suggest that it was capable of maneuvering and feeding in high-energy environments of surf-swept coasts with deep, cold water.[2][3]

Species

There are four recognized species of Dusisiren:

  • Dusisiren jordani (Kellogg, 1925) (type)[4]
  • Dusisiren reinharti Domning, 1978[2]
  • Dusisiren dewana Takahashi, Domning, and Saito, 1986[5]
  • Dusisiren takasatensis Kobayashi, Horikawa, & Miyazaki, 1995[6]

See also

References
  1. http://fossilworks.org/bridge.pl?a=taxonInfo&taxon_no=36879
  2. D. P. Domning. 1978. Sirenian evolution in the North Pacific Ocean. University of California Publications in Geological Sciences 118:1-176
  3. Wallace, David, 2007. Neptune's Ark: From Ichthyosaurs to Orcas. University of California Press, Berkeley. Pp. 123-124.
  4. R. Kellogg. 1925. A new fossil sirenian from Santa Barbara County, California. Carnegie Institution of Washington 348:9-11
  5. S. Takahashi, D. P. Domning, and T. Saito. 1986. Dusisiren dewana, n. sp. (Mammalia: Sirenia), a new ancestor of Stellers sea cow from the upper Miocene of Yamagata prefecture, northeastern Japan. Transactions and Proceedings of the Palaeontological Society of Japan N. S. 141:296-321
  6. S. Kobayashi, H. Horikawa, and S. Miyazaki. 1995. A new species of Sirenia (Mammalia: Hydrodamalinae) from the Shiotsubo Formation in Takasato, Aizu, Fukushima Prefecture, Japan. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 15(4):815-829
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