Learning Center What is a mineral?The most common minerals on earth Information for Educators Mindat Articles The Elements The Rock H. Currier Digital Library Geologic Time

Minerals by Properties Minerals by Chemistry Advanced Locality Search Random Mineral Random Locality Search by minID Localities Near Me Search Articles Search Glossary More Search Options

The Mindat Manual Add a New Photo Rate Photos Locality Edit Report Coordinate Completion Report Add Glossary Item

Mining Companies Statistics Users Mineral Museums Clubs & Organizations Mineral Shows & Events The Mindat Directory Device Settings The Mineral Quiz

Photo Search Photo Galleries Search by Color New Photos Today New Photos Yesterday Members' Photo Galleries Past Photo of the Day Gallery Photography

BETA TEST - Fossil data and pages are very much experimental and under development. Please report any problems

Balaenula ✝

Photos

Photo Gallery

Source Data

Source	ID	Link
Global Biodiversity Information Facility ID (GBIF)	Not linked to a GBIF record.
PaleoBioDB ID (PBDB)	36680	https://paleobiodb.org/classic/checkTaxonInfo?taxon_no=36680

Rank

genus (PBDB)

Taxonomy (PBDB)

Life : Animalia : Chordata : Mammalia : Cetacea : Balaenidae : Balaenula

Classification
(PBDB,GBIF)

Rank	Name	Author
-	Eukaryota
-	Opisthokonta	Cavalier-Smith 1987
kingdom	Animalia
-	Triploblastica	Lankester 1877
-	Nephrozoa	Jondelius et al. 2002
-	Deuterostomia	Grobben 1908
phylum	Chordata	Haeckel 1847
subphylum	Vertebrata	Lamarck 1801
superclass	Gnathostomata	Gegenbauer 1874
-	Osteichthyes
-	Sarcopterygii	Romer 1955
subclass	Dipnotetrapodomorpha
subclass	Tetrapodomorpha
-	Tetrapoda
-	Reptiliomorpha	Säve-Söderbergh 1934
-	Anthracosauria	Säve-Söderbergh 1934
-	Batrachosauria
-	Cotylosauria
-	Amniota	Haeckel 1866
-	Synapsida	Osborn 1903
-	Therapsida
infraorder	Cynodontia
-	Epicynodontia	Hopson and Kitching 2001
infraorder	Eucynodontia	Kemp 1982
-	Probainognathia	Hopson 1990
-	Mammaliamorpha	Rowe 1988
-	Mammaliaformes	Rowe 1988
class	Mammalia	Linnaeus 1758
order	Cetacea	Brisson 1762
-	Pelagiceti	Uhen 2008
-	Neoceti	Fordyce and de Muizon 2001
suborder	Mysticeti	Cope 1891
-	Chaeomysticeti
family	Balaenidae	Gray 1821
genus	Balaenula	Van Beneden 1872

Opinions (PBDB)

Name	Rank	Opinion	Evidence	Author
Balaenula	genus	belongs to Balaenidae	stated without evidence	Van Beneden, 1872
Balaenula	genus	subjective synonym of Balaena	stated without evidence	Lydekker, 1887
Balaenula	genus	belongs to Balaenidae	stated without evidence	Palmer, 1904
Balaenula	genus	belongs to Balaeninae	stated without evidence	Hay, 1930
Balaenula	genus	belongs to Balaenidae	stated without evidence	Simpson, 1945
Balaenula	genus	belongs to Balaenidae	implied	Carroll, 1988
Balaenula	genus	belongs to Cetacea	second hand	Sepkoski, 2002
Balaenula	genus	belongs to Balaenidae	stated without evidence	Bisconti, 2003
Balaenula	genus	belongs to Balaenidae	stated with evidence	Marx and Fordyce, 2015
Balaenula	genus	belongs to Balaenidae	stated without evidence	Boessenecker and Fordyce, 2015
Balaenula	genus	belongs to Balaenidae	stated with evidence	Marx et al., 2016
Balaenula	genus	belongs to Balaenidae	stated without evidence	Berta, 2017

Status (PBDB)

extinct

Taxon Size (PBDB)

First Recorded Appearance

20.4 - 16.0 Ma
Miocene

Last Recorded Appearance

0.13 - 0.01 Ma
Pleistocene

Environment

marine (based on Mysticeti)

Motility

actively mobile (based on Cetacea)

Diet

suspension feeder (based on Balaenidae)

Reproduction

viviparous (based on Cetacea)

Ontogeny

modification of parts (based on Cetacea)

Taphonomy

hydroxylapatite (based on Mysticeti)

Primary Reference (PBDB)

P. J. Van Beneden. 1872. Les Baleines fossiles d'Anvers. Bulletins de L'Academie Royale des Sciences, des Lettres et des Beaux-arts 34:6-23

Fossil Distribution

Subtaxa

Name	Status	Fossil Occurrences	Oldest	Youngest
Balaenula astensis ✝ species	accepted (GBIF) listed (PBDB)	1	5.33 Ma Miocene	5.33 Ma Miocene
Balaena balaenopsis ✝ species	accepted (GBIF) listed (PBDB)	8	20.4 Ma Miocene	2.59 Ma Pleistocene
Balaena forsythmajori ✝ species	accepted (GBIF) listed (PBDB)	1	3.60 Ma Pliocene	3.60 Ma Pliocene

Synonymy List

Year	Name and Author
1872	Balaenula Van Beneden p. 11
1904	Balaenula Palmer p. 132
1928	Balaenula Kellogg p. 35 figs. Table 1
1930	Balaenula Hay p. 578
1945	Balaenula Simpson p. 105
1961	Balaenula praediolensis Cuscani Politi p. 18
1977	Balaenula Barnes p. 331
1987	Balaenula Pilleri p. 77
1988	Balaenula Carroll
1997	Balaenula McKenna and Bell p. 378
2002	Balaenula Sepkoski, Jr.

Year	Name and Author
2003	Balaenula Bisconti p. 27
2008	Balaenula Uhen et al. p. 618
2008	Balaenula Whitmore and Kaltenbach p. 253
2009	Balaenula Bisconti p. 153
2012	Balaenula Churchill et al. p. 19
2014	Balaenula Manganelli and Benocci p. 108
2015	Balaenula Boessenecker and Fordyce figs. Table 1
2015	Balaenula Marx and Fordyce p. 4 figs. Figure 2
2016	Balaenula Marx et al. p. 108
2017	Balaenula Berta p. 167

References

Van Beneden P. J. Les Baleines fossiles d'Anvers, Bulletins de L'Academie Royale des Sciences, des Lettres et des Beaux-arts 34, 6-23

Palmer T. S. (1904) Index generum mammalium: a list of the genera and families of mammals, North American Fauna 23, 1-984

Hay O. P. (1930) Second Bibliography and Catalogue of the Fossil Vertebrata of North America, Carnegie Institution of Washington 390 II, 1-1074

Simpson G. G. (1945) The principles of classification and a classification of mammals, Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 85, 1-350

Cuscani Politi P. (1961) Ancora una nuova specie di Balaenula pliocenica con considerazioni introducttive su alcuni misticeti dei nostri musei, Accademia dei fisiocritici in Siena. Sezione agraria 8, 3-31

Barnes L. G. (1977) Outline of eastern North Pacific fossil cetacean assemblages, Systematic Zoology 25 4, 321-343

Pilleri G. (1987) , The Cetacea of the Italian Pliocene, 1-160

Carroll R. L. (1988) , Vertebrate Paleontology and Evolution, 1-698

McKenna M. C., Bell S. K. (1997) , Classification of Mammals Above the Species Level, 1-640

Sepkoski, Jr. J. J. (2002) A compendium of fossil marine animal genera, Bulletins of American Paleontology 363, 1-560

Uhen M. D., Fordyce R. E., et al (2008) Mysticeti, Evolution of Tertiary Mammals of North America II, 607-628

Whitmore F. C., Kaltenbach J. A. (2008) Neogene Cetacea of the Lee Creek Phosphate Mine, North Carolina, Virginia Museum of Natural History Special Publication 14, 181-269

Boessenecker R. W., Fordyce R. E. (2015) A new genus and species of eomysticetid (Cetacea: Mysticeti) and a reinterpretation of ‘Mauicetus’ lophocephalus Marples, 1956: Transitional baleen whales from the upper Oligocene of New Zealand, Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society doi:10.1111/zoj.12297

Marx F. G., Fordyce R. E. (2015) Baleen boom and bust: a synthesis of mysticete phylogeny, diversity and disparity, Royal Society Open Science 2, 140434 doi:10.1098/rsos.140434

Marx F. G., Lambert O., et al (2016) Cetacean Paleobiology, 1-319

Berta A. (2017) , The Rise of Marine Mammals: 50 Million Years of Evolution, 1-198

Data courtesy of: PBDB: The Paleobiology Database, Creative Commons CC-BY licenced. , GBIF: the Global Biodiversity Information Facility, various licences, iDigBio, various licences, and EOL: The Encyclopedia of Life (Open Data Public Domain). Because fossils are made of minerals too!

Quick NavTop Fossil Distribution Subtaxa Synonymy List References

Mindat.org is an outreach project of the Hudson Institute of Mineralogy, a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization.
Copyright © mindat.org and the Hudson Institute of Mineralogy 1993-2024, except where stated. Most political location boundaries are © OpenStreetMap contributors. Mindat.org relies on the contributions of thousands of members and supporters. Founded in 2000 by Jolyon Ralph.
Privacy Policy - Terms & Conditions - Contact Us / DMCA issues - Report a bug/vulnerability Current server date and time: May 2, 2024 12:07:45

Go to top of page