Kawas benegasorum
Extinct species of pinniped
Kawas benegasorum
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Scientific classification
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Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Mammalia |
Order: | Carnivora |
Clade : | Pinnipedia |
Family: | Phocidae |
Genus: |
†
Kawas
Cozzuol, 2001 |
Species: |
†
K.
benegasorum
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Binomial name | |
†
Kawas benegasorum
Cozzuol, 2001
[1]
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Kawas is an extinct genus of phocid from the Miocene of Argentina . It contains a single species known as Kawas benegasorum .
Etymology
Kawas comes from the Tehuelche language and is the feminine form of 'Kawa' (elephant seal). 'Kawas' can also be translated to mean 'mermaid'. [2]
Description
Kawas was described from an articulated partial skeleton that has been dated to the middle Miocene around 12-14 million years ago. The skeleton is notable by the fact that it shares features in common with "northern hemisphere" seals ( Phocinae ) then it does other seals from the southern hemisphere, all traditionally placed in the subfamily Monachinae . This may suggest the Monachinae is paraphyletic . [2]
Another notable aspect of Kawas is the discovery of preserved gut content, which indicate a diet primarily of bony fish. It is one of only two fossil pinnipeds with preserved content. [3]
References
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↑
"
Kawas benegasorum
"
.
Fossilworks
. Retrieved
26 July
2022
from the
Paleobiology Database
.
{{ cite web }}
: CS1 maint: postscript ( link ) - 1 2 Cozzuol, Mario A. (2001). "A "Northern" Seal from the Miocene of Argentina: Implications for Phocid Phylogeny and Biogeography". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology . 21 (3): 415–421.
- ↑ Berta, Annalisa (2017). The Rise of Marine Mammals: 50 Million Years of Evolution . Johns Hopkins University Press. p. 106. ISBN 9781421423265 .