Kekenodon

Kekenodon; Temporal range: Late Oligocene PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N ↓
	Teeth of Kekenodon onamata
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Artiodactyla
Infraorder:	Cetacea
Family:	†Kekenodontidae
Genus:	†Kekenodon; Hector, 1881
Species
	†K. onamata; Hector, 1881;

Kekenodon is an extinct kekenodontid early whale from Late Oligocene (Chattian) of New Zealand. Although at times classified as a basilosaurid, mysticete, or odontocete, recent work suggests that is represents a phylogenetic intermediate form between Basilosauridae and Neoceti.

Classification

Kekenodon was considered a member of the basilosaurid subfamily Dorudontinae in the classic monograph on Archaeoceti by Kellogg (1936).^[1]

"Squalodon" gambierensis from Australia is a close relative of Kekenodon.^[2]

References

^ R. Kellogg. 1936. A Review of the Archaeoceti. Carnegie Institution of Washington 482:1-366
^ R. E. Fordyce. 2006. A southern perspective on Cetacean Evolution and Zoogeoraphy. Evolution and Biogeography of Australasian Vertebrates 755-782

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[1] R. Kellogg. 1936. A Review of the Archaeoceti. Carnegie Institution of Washington 482:1-366

[2] R. E. Fordyce. 2006. A southern perspective on Cetacean Evolution and Zoogeoraphy. Evolution and Biogeography of Australasian Vertebrates 755-782

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