Metaxytherium subapenninum
| Metaxytherium subapenninum Temporal range: Pliocene | |
|---|---|
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| Fossil of Metaxytherium subapenninum | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Sirenia |
| Family: | Dugongidae |
| Genus: | Metaxytherium |
| Species: | M. subapenninum |
| Binomial name | |
| Metaxytherium subapenninum (Bruno, 1839) [1] | |
| Synonyms[2] | |
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Metaxytherium subapenninum is an extinct species of dugongs belonging to the family Dugongidae.
Fossil record
Metaxytherium subapenninum lived in the early and late Pliocene of Italy and Spain (age range: 3.6 to 2.588 million years ago).[2] It is the only species of sirenians that lived in the northwestern coasts of the Mediterranean Sea in the Pliocene. It disappeared from the Mediterranean around 3 million years ago because of the progressive climate cooling. Fossils of these dugongs have been found, from the second half of the nineteenth century, in Piedmont, Emilia-Romagna, Liguria and Tuscany.[3][4][5][6][7]
Description
This relict species represents the last stage of evolution of Metaxytherium, showing an increase in body size and in tusk size and a rostral reinforcement responding to a long-term climatic cooling.[8] These aquatic herbivores lived in warm coastal waters and inland waterways, feeding on seagrass.[2]
See also
References
- ↑ Bruno, G. D. 1839. Illustrazione di un nuovo cetaceo fossile. Memorie dell'Accademia di Scienze Torino 1:143–160.
- 1 2 3 Paleobiology Database
- ↑ GAMPS La sirena Plioenica
- ↑ Paleontologia: trovato fossile sirenio di 5 milioni anni fa
- ↑ La Nazione - Ha 5 milioni di anni il fossile trovato nel grossetano
- ↑ Quando inMaremma nuotavano le mucche di mare
- ↑ Il Tirreno - Scoperto lo scheletro di una "sirena" di cinque milioni di anni fa
- ↑ Silvia Sorbi, Daryl P. Domning, Stefano Claudio Vaiani and Giovanni Bianucci Metaxytherium subapenninum (Bruno, 1839) (Mammalia, Dugongidae), the Latest Sirenian of the Mediterranean Basin Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 32(3):686-707. 2012
Bibliography
- G. A. Bruno. 1839. Illustrazione di un nuovo Cetaceo fossile. Mem. Reale Accad. Sci. Torino, Cl. Sci. Mat. ser. 2, 1:143-160
- G. Pilleri. 1988. The Pliocene Sirenia of the Po Basin in Contributions to the paleontology of some Tethyan Cetacea and Sirenia (Mammalia), Brain Anatomy Institute, University of Berne, Ostermundigen, Switzerland.
- Manatees and Dugongs of the World by Jeff Ripple
- Encyclopedia of Marine Mammals by William F. Perrin, Bernd Wursig, and J. G.M. Thewissen
- Marine Mammals: Evolutionary Biology by Annalisa Berta, James L. Sumich, and Kit M. Kovacs
- Marine Mammal Biology: An Evolutionary Approach by A. Rus Hoelzel