Finds of skulls of juvenile Kurdalagonus maicopicus (Сetacea, Cetotheriidae) in the upper Miocene of the Republic of Adygea
Year: 2024
Type: article
Abstract: Fragments of two skulls of young cetotherium baleen whales have been described from the Fortep’yanka 2 locality (Russia, Republic of Adygea, Maikop district, Fortep’yanka river valley, Upper Miocene, Upper Sarmatian, Blinovskaya Formation). Based on the morphology of the posterior (mastoid) process of the petrous bone, the structure of the posterior edge of the temporal fenestra, and the S-shaped shape of the superoccipital ridges, the finds were attributed to Kurdalagonus maicopicus (Spasskii, 1951). The proportions of the skull and the degree of closure of the sutures of the skull made it possible to determine the individual age of these whales within a year. New findings significantly complement the data on the structure of the sutures of the lateral wall of the skull and age-related variability of cranial morphology in representatives of the genus Kurdalagonus.
Author: K. K. Tarasenko
Language: English
Subfield: Paleontology
Field: Earth and Planetary Sciences
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: bronze
OpenAlex ID: W4404212523