Valenictus

Valenictus is an extinct genus of Odobenidae from the Pliocene of California.

Valenictus
Temporal range: Pliocene
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Carnivora
Clade: Pinnipediformes
Clade: Pinnipedia
Family: Odobenidae
Subfamily: Odobeninae
Genus: Valenictus
Mitchell, 1961
Species

V. chulavistensis
V. imperialensis

Description

Valenictus is related to the modern-day walrus, but lacked all teeth both in the lower and upper jaw except for the two tusks.

Sources

  • Evolution: What the Fossils Say and Why It Matters by Donald R. Prothero and Carl Buell
  • Marine Mammal Biology: An Evolutionary Approach by A. Rus Hoelzel
  • Marine Mammals: Evolutionary Biology by Annalisa Berta, James L. Sumich, and Kit M. Kovacs
  • Encyclopedia of Marine Mammals by William F. Perrin, Bernd Wursig, and J. G.M. Thewissen
  • Classification of Mammals by Malcolm C. McKenna and Susan K. Bell
  • Neptune's Ark: From Ichthyosaurs to Orcas by David Rains Wallace
  • Evolution of Tertiary Mammals of North America: Volume 2, Small Mammals, Xenarthrans, and Marine Mammals by Christine M. Janis, Gregg F. Gunnell, and Mark D. Uhen


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