Isthminia (named after the Republic of Panama and its people) is a genus of medium-sized river dolphin cetaceans that lived during the Late Miocene epoch in what is now the coasts of Panama, about 6.1 million to 5.8 million years ago. The type species is I. panamensis, known from the littoral Chagres Formation.[1]
| Isthminia | |
|---|---|
| |
| Holotype skull (digital model) in right lateral view | |
Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Artiodactyla |
| Infraorder: | Cetacea |
| Superfamily: | Inioidea |
| Family: | Iniidae |
| Genus: | †Isthminia Pyenson et al., 2015 |
| Type species | |
| †Isthminia panamensis Pyenson et al., 2015
| |
Description
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Fossils of Isthminia were found in the Chagres Formation in Panama. On the basis of the fossil material, including a partial skull, the length of Isthminia is estimated to be about 2.85 m (9.4 ft) long. Isthminia probably had a predominantly marine lifestyle.[1]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b Pyenson, Nicholas D.; Vélez-Juarbe, Jorge; Gutstein, Carolina S.; Little, Holly; Vigil, Dioselina; O'Dea, Aaron (2015). "Isthminia panamensis, a new fossil inioid (Mammalia, Cetacea) from the Chagres Formation of Panama and the evolution of 'river dolphins' in the Americas". PeerJ. 3: e1227. doi:10.7717/peerj.1227. PMC 4562255. PMID 26355720.
External links
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