Eschrichtius akishimaensis

Eschrichtius akishimaensis, described in 2017, is one of two species, with the modern day gray whale, of the genus Eschrichtius, and is the first and only fossil species of the genus, dating to around 1.77–1.95 million years ago (mya) in the Early Pleistocene.

Eschrichtius akishimaensis

漱石の猫 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · via Wikipedia/Commons. May be a photograph of a specimen, or an artist’s reconstruction — an interpretation of a skeleton, since colour and soft tissue are almost never preserved.

On record

Recorded, not inferred
Sits inside
EschrichtiusPBDB
Diet
carnivore, suspension feederPBDB, for Mysticeti
Life habit
aquaticPBDB, for Mysticeti
Motility
actively mobilePBDB, for Cetacea
Environment
marinePBDB, for Mysticeti

Time the record covers

At most 1.9 million years on record.

The one occurrence read is dated to somewhere between 2.58 Mya and 774 ka, which is a dating window rather than a span.

Pliocene — about 0 of 1 occurrencePleistocene — about 1 of 1 occurrencePleistocene2.6–2.5 Mya — about 0.0 occurrences2.5–2.4 Mya — about 0.1 occurrences2.4–2.3 Mya — about 0.1 occurrences2.3–2.2 Mya — about 0.1 occurrences2.2–2.1 Mya — about 0.1 occurrences2.1–2.1 Mya — about 0.1 occurrences2.1–2.0 Mya — about 0.1 occurrences2.0–1.9 Mya — about 0.1 occurrences1.9–1.8 Mya — about 0.1 occurrences1.8–1.7 Mya — about 0.1 occurrences1.7–1.6 Mya — about 0.1 occurrences1.6–1.5 Mya — about 0.1 occurrences1.5–1.4 Mya — about 0.1 occurrences1.4–1.3 Mya — about 0.1 occurrences1.3–1.2 Mya — about 0.1 occurrences1.2–1.1 Mya — about 0.1 occurrences1.1–1.0 Mya — about 0.1 occurrences1.0–929 ka Mya — about 0.1 occurrences929 ka–835 ka Mya — about 0.1 occurrences835 ka–742 ka Mya — about 0.0 occurrences3.08 Mya274 ka

1 occurrence of Eschrichtius akishimaensis on record, most of them in the Pleistocene. Bar height is expected occurrences, not a count: each fossil is spread across the span it is dated to, so a tall narrow bar means tight dating and a low wide one means loose.

When

1 occurrences

These are dates about fossils, not the animal: the record can only begin after it arose and end before it died out, so either end may reach further. Shares are expected occurrences: a fossil dated to a span is counted partly in each period it straddles. More on what this infers.

Found in

1 formation

Komiya — 35.70°N, 139.37°E

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The named rock units Eschrichtius akishimaensis has been recovered from, largest first. Drawn where the rock is now, not where it formed.

Eschrichtius akishimaensis and its relatives

Pleistocene

Where Eschrichtius akishimaensis and its relatives were recorded in the Pleistocene.

Found in the same rock

5 taxa

The Paleobiology Database records 1 site for Eschrichtius akishimaensis, and this reads all of them. The number is how many of those sites it was catalogued from too.

This is not a list of everything alive at the time. It is only what has come out of the same ground as this animal and been written down.

Entered from

1 reference

Each of the 1 occurrence read was entered from one of these publications, ordered by how many each accounts for. This is not a search for papers mentioning the name. Each entry links to doi.org. Relayed as the Paleobiology Database holds them, not checked against what they resolve to.

Media and terms

Media content1

Picture of Eschrichtius akishimaensis

Credit
漱石の猫
Licence
CC BY-SA 4.0
Commercial use
the licence allows it

No 3D scan of Eschrichtius akishimaensis was found in MorphoSource and Sketchfab.

Smithsonian Open Access was not reached for this taxon, so this list is what the others held rather than everything there is.

The description on this site

Licence
CC BY-SA 4.0

This is what the site found, which is not the same as what exists.

Keep going

What may have been alongside itEschrichtius through timeFormations of the PleistoceneThe world it lived on

Occurrence data from the Paleobiology Database, CC BY 4.0. Kimura et al. 2018