Odobenocetops - Video Learning - WizScience.com

• published: 12 Aug 2015
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""Odobenocetops"" was a small toothed whale known from the Late Miocene of Peru and Chile. It had two tusks, and, in some fossils, one tusk was longer than the other. "Odobenocetops" can be identified as a cetacean based several features unique to this order: # The presence of large air sinuses in the auditory region connected to large pterygoid sinuses. # The large supraorbital process of the frontal bone overhanging the orbital region. # Narial fossae opening dorsally # The absence of a true cribriform plate . In "Odobenocetops", a group of foramina in this plate allows the passage of olfactory nerves connected to the small olfactory lobes in the brain. In other cetaceans, the olfactory nerves are similarly present but strongly reduced. # The elbow joint is immobile, as shown by a single partial forelimb. placed Odobenocetopssidae in a large clade together with Phocoenidae , Monodontidae , and Albireonidae . This clade originated in the Pacific Ocean in the Langhian and diversified from there during the Serravallian and Tortonian . According to the morphological analysis of Murakami et al., "Odobenocetops" belongs to the middle Pliocene. The generic name "Odobenocetops" comes from Greek "odon", "tooth", and "baino", "walk" and Latin "cetus", "whale", and "ops", "like", meaning "cetacean that seems to walk on its teeth" but is also referring to the similarity to the walrus . "Odobenocetops" was an early member of the dolphin superfamily, more closely related to narwhals than dolphins, with tusks projecting towards the rear of its body. It measured about 2.1 m long and weighted between 150 and 650 kg. Its neck articulations show that it was very flexible, being able to turn its head over 90 degrees. This, coupled with its broad snout, similar to that of a walrus, suggests that it was a bottom feeder, searching for mollusks and sucking them out of their shells with a powerful tongue. The rostrum of "Odobenocetops" is short and rounded, in contrast to the elongated rostra found in other cetaceans. The bony nares are located near the tip of the skull, in contrast to the blowholes of whales and dolphins located on the top of the skull. The palate is arched and toothless like in walruses. The eye-sockets are oriented upwards and sideways, and not laterally like in other dolphins. In other odontocetes, parts of the frontal and maxillae cover the temporal fossae. In "Odobenocetops", these bones are reduced and narrowed so that the temporal fossae is open dorsally. The periotic and tympanic bones are similar to those in other dolphins. No mandible has been recovered and only few postcranial elements. The body length has been estimated to 3 -. Wiz Science™ is "the" learning channel for children and all ages. SUBSCRIBE TODAY Disclaimer: This video is for your information only. The author or publisher does not guarantee the accuracy of the content presented in this video. USE AT YOUR OWN RISK. Background Music: "The Place Inside" by Silent Partner (royalty-free) from YouTube Audio Library. This video uses material/images from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Odobenocetops, which is released under Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/ . This video is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/ . To reuse/adapt the content in your own work, you must comply with the license terms.