Mysticeti

Baleen whales, also known as whalebone whales, are marine mammals of the parvorder Mysticeti in the infraorder Cetacea, which use baleen plates in their mouths to sieve plankton from the water. Mysticeti comprises the families Balaenidae, Balaenopteridae (rorquals), Eschrichtiidae and Cetotheriidae. There are 16 species of baleen whales. While cetaceans were historically thought to have descended from mesonychians, molecular evidence instead supports them as a clade of even-toed ungulates (Artiodactyla). Baleen whales split from toothed whales (Odontoceti) around 34 million years ago.

Mysticeti

PaleoNeolitic (montage creator) · 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
NeocetiPBDB
Diet
carnivore, suspension feederPBDB
Life habit
aquaticPBDB
Motility
actively mobilePBDB, for Cetacea
Environment
marinePBDB

Time the record covers

At least 36 million years on record.

The record covers at least 36.7 Mya to 11.7 ka. No occurrence read is dated outside 39.1 Mya to 0 Mya.

Eocene — about 5 of 2030 occurrencesEoceneOligocene — about 174 of 2030 occurrencesOligoceneMiocene — about 647 of 2030 occurrencesMiocenePliocene — about 406 of 2030 occurrencesPleistocene — about 221 of 2030 occurrences40–39 Mya — about 0.2 occurrences39–37 Mya — about 1 occurrence37–36 Mya — about 2 occurrences36–35 Mya — about 1 occurrence35–33 Mya — about 3 occurrences33–32 Mya — about 4 occurrences32–31 Mya — about 4 occurrences31–29 Mya — about 4 occurrences29–28 Mya — about 4 occurrences28–27 Mya — about 31 occurrences27–25 Mya — about 53 occurrences25–24 Mya — about 42 occurrences24–23 Mya — about 31 occurrences23–21 Mya — about 8 occurrences21–20 Mya — about 13 occurrences20–19 Mya — about 23 occurrences19–17 Mya — about 25 occurrences17–16 Mya — about 26 occurrences16–15 Mya — about 54 occurrences15–13 Mya — about 68 occurrences13–12 Mya — about 100 occurrences12–11 Mya — about 77 occurrences11–9.3 Mya — about 67 occurrences9.3–8.0 Mya — about 68 occurrences8.0–6.6 Mya — about 62 occurrences6.6–5.3 Mya — about 57 occurrences5.3–4.0 Mya — about 195 occurrences4.0–2.7 Mya — about 197 occurrences2.7–1.3 Mya — about 82 occurrences1.3–0 Mya — about 728 occurrences36.7 Mya11.7 ka39.9 Mya0 Mya

2,030 occurrences of Mysticeti on record, most of them in the Miocene. 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

2,030 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

297 formations

Calvert — 38.58°N, 76.52°WCalvert — 38.50°N, 76.51°WCalvert — 38.17°N, 76.85°WCalvert — 38.54°N, 76.73°WCalvert — 37.77°N, 77.28°WCalvert — 37.93°N, 77.51°WCalvert — 38.67°N, 76.53°WCalvert — 38.17°N, 76.87°WCalvert — 38.61°N, 76.67°WCalvert — 37.78°N, 77.52°WPisco — 15.58°S, 74.72°WPisco — 15.44°S, 74.87°WPisco — 15.50°S, 74.80°WPisco — 15.55°S, 74.80°WPisco — 14.56°S, 75.67°WPisco — 14.35°S, 75.72°WPisco — 14.36°S, 75.71°WPisco — 14.45°S, 75.69°WPisco — 14.34°S, 75.91°WPisco — 14.35°S, 75.88°WPisco — 14.79°S, 75.51°WPisco — 14.70°S, 75.32°WPisco — 15.06°S, 74.08°WPisco — 14.43°S, 75.77°WPisco — 15.50°S, 74.88°WDiest — 51.19°N, 4.46°EDiest — 51.21°N, 4.43°EDiest — 51.18°N, 4.83°EKokoamu Greensand — 44.92°S, 170.62°EKokoamu Greensand — 44.87°S, 170.72°EKokoamu Greensand — 44.67°S, 170.36°EKokoamu Greensand — 44.78°S, 170.95°EKokoamu Greensand — 44.68°S, 170.49°EKokoamu Greensand — 44.80°S, 170.97°EKokoamu Greensand — 44.64°S, 170.65°EKokoamu Greensand — 44.66°S, 170.65°EKokoamu Greensand — 43.63°S, 170.85°EKokoamu Greensand — 43.08°S, 170.63°EKokoamu Greensand — 44.68°S, 170.77°EKokoamu Greensand — 43.39°S, 171.27°ESan Diego — 32.74°N, 117.17°WSan Diego — 32.63°N, 117.10°WSan Diego — 32.90°N, 117.10°WSan Diego — 32.76°N, 117.14°WSan Diego — 32.64°N, 117.01°WSan Diego — 32.68°N, 117.10°WYorktown — 36.33°N, 77.58°WYorktown — 35.93°N, 77.57°WYorktown — 36.45°N, 77.09°WYorktown — 35.36°N, 76.82°WYorktown — 37.20°N, 76.91°WYorktown — 37.04°N, 76.36°WYorktown — 37.29°N, 77.30°WYorktown — 37.08°N, 76.36°WGroote Heide — 52.04°N, 6.67°EEl Cien — 24.39°N, 111.09°WEl Cien — 24.38°N, 110.75°WEl Cien — 24.34°N, 110.99°WEl Cien — 24.36°N, 111.02°WEl Cien — 25.19°N, 110.91°WEl Cien — 24.44°N, 110.70°WEl Cien — 24.47°N, 110.70°WJan Juc — 38.20°S, 144.27°EJan Juc — 38.37°S, 144.28°EJan Juc — 38.33°S, 144.30°EJan Juc — 35.97°S, 145.00°EPurisima — 38.05°N, 122.94°WPurisima — 38.03°N, 122.96°WPurisima — 36.96°N, 121.96°WPurisima — 37.28°N, 122.41°WPurisima — 36.97°N, 121.95°WMonterey — 34.61°N, 120.44°WMonterey — 36.60°N, 121.89°WMonterey — 33.56°N, 117.71°WMonterey — 37.11°N, 122.33°WMonterey — 33.60°N, 117.80°WOtekaike Limestone — 44.87°S, 170.71°EOtekaike Limestone — 44.85°S, 170.62°EOtekaike Limestone — 44.96°S, 170.65°EOtekaike Limestone — 44.51°S, 170.37°EOtekaike Limestone — 44.66°S, 170.65°EOtekaike Limestone — 44.68°S, 170.49°EOtekaike Limestone — 44.70°S, 170.37°EOtekaike Limestone — 44.97°S, 170.98°EOtekaike Limestone — 42.69°S, 173.26°EVarswater — 33.67°S, 18.43°EVarswater — 32.98°S, 18.15°EVarswater — 33.00°S, 18.00°EBreda — 52.15°N, 6.61°EBreda — 51.97°N, 6.72°EBreda — 51.37°N, 3.91°ERed Crag — 51.96°N, 1.35°EBerchem — 51.15°N, 4.63°EBerchem — 51.21°N, 4.43°EBerchem — 51.22°N, 4.46°EChoptank — 38.46°N, 76.47°WChoptank — 38.16°N, 76.77°WChoptank — 38.17°N, 76.87°WChoptank — 38.39°N, 76.57°WKattendijk — 51.21°N, 4.43°EKattendijk — 51.26°N, 4.27°EKattendijk — 51.17°N, 4.85°EOmma — 36.57°N, 136.69°EOmma — 36.54°N, 136.73°EOmma — 36.54°N, 136.77°EPort Campbell Limestone — 38.39°S, 142.61°EPort Campbell Limestone — 37.72°S, 141.93°EPort Campbell Limestone — 38.67°S, 143.12°EPort Campbell Limestone — 38.45°S, 142.93°EPort Campbell Limestone — 38.37°S, 141.63°EBahía Inglesa — 27.08°S, 70.84°WBahía Inglesa — 27.14°S, 70.88°WBahía Inglesa — 27.04°S, 70.79°WSan Mateo — 33.20°N, 117.37°WSabbie d'Asti — 44.96°N, 8.26°ESabbie d'Asti — 45.03°N, 11.85°ESabbie d'Asti — 44.99°N, 8.02°ESabbie d'Asti — 44.96°N, 8.06°ESabbie d'Asti — 44.85°N, 8.25°EHaraichi — 36.32°N, 138.88°EHaraichi — 36.25°N, 138.98°EHaraichi — 36.17°N, 138.67°E

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The named rock units Mysticeti has been recovered from, largest first. Drawn where the rock is now, not where it formed. 273 further formations hold fewer occurrences each and are not listed. 1,009 occurrences have no formation on record, which is common for older literature.

Mysticeti and its relatives

Miocene

Where Mysticeti and its relatives were recorded in the Miocene.

Found in the same rock

1,986 taxa

The Paleobiology Database records 1,411 sites for Mysticeti, and this reads 240 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

630 references

Each of the 2,030 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. 618 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 Mysticeti

Credit
PaleoNeolitic (montage creator)
Licence
CC BY-SA 4.0
Commercial use
the licence allows it

3D model

Source
Sketchfab
Licence
CC Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs
Commercial use
the licence does not allow it

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 itNeoceti through timeFormations of the MioceneThe world it lived on

Occurrence data from the Paleobiology Database, CC BY 4.0. (Cope 1891)