Physeter
Appearance
Physeter Temporal range: [1]
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Skeleton of a sperm whale, the only extant member of the genus | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Mammalia |
Order: | Artiodactyla |
Infraorder: | Cetacea |
Family: | Physeteridae |
Subfamily: | Physeterinae |
Genus: | Physeter Linnaeus, 1758 |
Physeter is a genus of toothed whales. There is only one living species in this genus: the sperm whale (Physeter macrocephalus).[2] Two fossil species are currently known that are placed in the same genus: Physeter antiquus (5.3 – 2.6 mya) from the Pliocene of France,[3] and Physeter vetus (2.6 mya – 12 ka) from the Quaternary of Georgia.[4]
References
- ^ "Physeter macrocephalus Linnaeus 1758 (sperm whale)". Fossilworks: Gateway to the Paleobiology Database. Retrieved 12 August 2018.
- ^ "Physeter Linnaeus 1758 (sperm whale)". Fossilworks.
- ^ "Physeter antiquus Gervais 1849". Fossilworks.
- ^ "Physeter vetus Leidy 1869". Fossilworks.