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Extinct genus of mammals

Physeterula
Temporal range: Late Miocene–Early Pliocene
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Infraclass: Placentalia
Order: Artiodactyla
Infraorder: Cetacea
Family: Physeteridae
Subfamily: Physeterinae
Genus: Physeterula
Van Beneden, 1877
Type species
Physeterula dubusi
Other species[1]

P. neolassicus Veatch and Stephenson, 1911[2]

Physeterula was a prehistoric close relative of the sperm whale that lived in Europe and the United States during the Late Miocene-Early Pliocene. It is similar in size to Idiorophus, Zygophyseter and Brygmophyseter.[3]

References

[edit]
  1. Physeterula in the Paleobiology Database
  2. Physeterula neolassicus in the Paleobiology Database
  3. Lambert, Olivier (January 2008). "Sperm whales from the Miocene of the North Sea: A re-appraisal". Bulletin de l'Institut Royal des Sciences Naturelles de Belgique, Sciences de la Terre. 78: 277–316.