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Papahu taitapu
Taxonomy
Papahu taitapu was named by Aguirre-Fernández and Fordyce (2014). Its type specimen is OU 22066, a skull (incomplete skull (lacking part of the rostrum), the left periotic, the right mandible, five vertebrae, and a single rib), and it is a 3D body fossil. Its type locality is Hansen Creek, which is in an Aquitanian marine siltstone in the Kaipuke Formation of New Zealand.
Synonymy list
| Year | Name and author |
|---|---|
| 2014 | Papahu taitapu Aguirre-Fernández and Fordyce p. 197 figs. Figs. 2–7, Tables 1–3 |
| 2024 | Papahu taitapu Robinson et al. p. 580 |
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If no rank is listed, the taxon is considered an unranked clade in modern classifications. Ranks may be repeated or presented in the wrong order because authors working on different parts of the classification may disagree about how to rank taxa.
†Papahu taitapu Aguirre-Fernández and Fordyce 2014
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Diagnosis
| Reference | Diagnosis | |
|---|---|---|
| G. Aguirre-Fernández and R. E. Fordyce 2014 | Papahu taitapu is a generalized, medium size odontocete, with ‘archaic’ features including open mesorostral canal, nares partially roofed by nasals, transversely reduced intertemporal region, well-developed infratemporal crest, and pterygoid sinus complex that does not invade the orbit and temporal fossa. Papahu taitapu differs from Xenorophidae in the presence of homodonty, reduced intertemporal constriction, and lacrimal not greatly enlarged; from Agorophiidae in the presence of homodonty and a reduced intertemporal constriction; from Physeteridae and Kogiidae by lacking a wide supracranial basin, pronounced cranial asymmetry, enlarged accessory ossicle on the periotic, and enlarged posterior process of tympanic bulla; from Ziphiidae by the absence of hypertrophied pterygoid sinus fossae, enlarged accessory ossicle on the periotic, and enlarged posterior process of tympanic bulla; from Waipatiidae by lacking double-rooted teeth, nodular nasals, and subcircular periotic fossa, and the apex of premaxilla does not extend posterior to nasals; from Prosqualodontidae and Squalodontidae by the smaller size and the absence of double-rooted teeth, it differs further from Prosqualodontidae in the absence of a deep an- torbital notch; from Squalodelphinidae by not having the thick supraorbital process of the frontal and lacking a square-shaped pars cochlearis of the periotic; from Allodelphinidae by lacking elongated nasals, a vertical supraoccipital, and thin, narrow, feathered proximal ends on premaxillae; and from Delphinida by the lack of the parabullary ridge on the periotic and the lack of orbital extensions of the pterygoid sinus. The Dalpiazinidae are too poorly known to be compared in this diagnosis; many of the features used to diagnose dalpiazinids are not preserved in Papahu taitapu. |
Measurements
No measurements are available
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| Source: subo = suborder, o = order | |||||
| Reference: Uhen 2004 | |||||
Age range: Aquitanian or 23.04000 to 20.45000 Ma
Collections: one only
| Time interval | Ma | Country or state | Original ID and collection number |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aquitanian | New Zealand (South Island) | Papahu taitapu (type locality: 153706) |