Monodontidae

The cetacean family Monodontidae comprises two living whale species, the narwhal and the beluga whale and at least four extinct species, known from the fossil record. Beluga and narwhal are native to coastal regions and pack ice around the Arctic Ocean. Both species are relatively small whales, 3–5 m (9.8–16.4 ft) in length, with a forehead melon, and a short or absent snout. Premaxillary teeth are absent. They do not have a true dorsal fin, but do have a narrow ridge running along the back, which is much more pronounced in the narwhal. They are highly vocal animals, communicating with a wide range of sounds. Like other whales, they also use echolocation to navigate. Belugas can be found in the far north of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans; the distribution of narwhals is restricted to the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans.

Monodontidae

Marine Mammal Commission / National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration · Public Domain · 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
DelphinoideaPBDB
Diet
piscivorePBDB
Life habit
aquatic, depth=surfacePBDB, for Cetacea
Motility
actively mobilePBDB, for Cetacea
Environment
marine,freshwaterPBDB, for Odontoceti

Time the record covers

At least 15 million years on record.

The record covers at least 15.98 Mya to 11.7 ka. No occurrence read is dated outside 20.45 Mya to 0 Mya.

Miocene — about 12 of 116 occurrencesMiocenePliocene — about 15 of 116 occurrencesPliocenePleistocene — about 44 of 116 occurrencesPleistocene21–20 Mya — about 0.0 occurrences20–20 Mya — about 0.2 occurrences20–19 Mya — about 0.2 occurrences19–18 Mya — about 0.2 occurrences18–17 Mya — about 0.2 occurrences17–17 Mya — about 0.2 occurrences17–16 Mya — about 0.2 occurrences16–15 Mya — about 0.2 occurrences15–15 Mya — about 0.2 occurrences15–14 Mya — about 0.2 occurrences14–13 Mya — about 0.2 occurrences13–13 Mya — about 0.2 occurrences13–12 Mya — about 0.2 occurrences12–11 Mya — about 0.6 occurrences11–10 Mya — about 0.9 occurrences10–9.8 Mya — about 0.9 occurrences9.8–9.1 Mya — about 1.0 occurrences9.1–8.4 Mya — about 1 occurrence8.4–7.7 Mya — about 1 occurrence7.7–7.0 Mya — about 1 occurrence7.0–6.3 Mya — about 1 occurrence6.3–5.6 Mya — about 1 occurrence5.6–4.9 Mya — about 4 occurrences4.9–4.2 Mya — about 5 occurrences4.2–3.5 Mya — about 5 occurrences3.5–2.8 Mya — about 1 occurrence2.8–2.1 Mya — about 3 occurrences2.1–1.4 Mya — about 3 occurrences1.4–698 ka Mya — about 3 occurrences698 ka–0 Mya — about 80 occurrences15.98 Mya11.7 ka20.9 Mya0 Mya

116 occurrences of Monodontidae on record. The Paleobiology Database records this as a living group. 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

116 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

14 formations

Yorktown — 35.36°N, 76.82°WYorktown — 37.04°N, 76.36°WCromer Forest Bed — 52.92°N, 1.34°ECromer Forest Bed — 52.88°N, 1.44°EMonterey — 33.60°N, 117.80°WMonterey — 33.56°N, 117.71°WSanta Margarita — 37.00°N, 122.00°WSanta Margarita — 36.20°N, 121.08°WKattendijk — 51.21°N, 4.43°EKattendijk — 51.25°N, 4.23°EAlmejas — 28.11°N, 115.18°WSan Diego — 32.74°N, 117.17°WDrakes Bay — 37.99°N, 123.00°WPisco — 15.56°S, 74.69°WSan Mateo — 33.20°N, 117.38°WPurisima — 38.05°N, 122.94°WGubik — 70.50°N, 153.50°WRed Crag — 51.96°N, 1.35°EEmbetsu — 44.35°N, 141.73°E

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The named rock units Monodontidae has been recovered from, largest first. Drawn where the rock is now, not where it formed. 90 occurrences have no formation on record, which is common for older literature.

Found in the same rock

940 taxa

The Paleobiology Database records 103 sites for Monodontidae, and this reads all of them. The number is how many of those sites it was catalogued from too. The 24 sharing the most are listed.

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

61 references

Each of the 116 occurrences 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. 49 further references are not listed. Entries link to doi.org where the Paleobiology Database holds an identifier, and to its own record where it does not. Relayed as the Paleobiology Database holds them, not checked against what they resolve to.

Media and terms

Media content2

Picture of Monodontidae

Credit
Marine Mammal Commission / National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Licence
Public Domain
Commercial use
the licence allows it

CT scan

Licence
In Copyright
Commercial use
cannot be read from the licence given — check the record
Specimen
Monodontidae indet. · sdnhm:21113

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 itDelphinoidea through timeThe world it lived on

Occurrence data from the Paleobiology Database, CC BY 4.0. (Gray 1821)