Odontoceti

The toothed whales are a parvorder of cetaceans that includes dolphins, porpoises, and all other whales with teeth, such as beaked whales and the sperm whales. 73 species of toothed whales are described. They are one of two living groups of cetaceans, with the other being the baleen whales (Mysticeti), which have baleen instead of teeth. The two groups are thought to have diverged around 34 million years ago (mya).

Odontoceti

PaleoNeolitic (montage creator) · CC BY 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
Also called
toothed whalePBDB
Sits inside
NeocetiPBDB
Diet
carnivorePBDB
Life habit
aquatic, depth=surfacePBDB, for Cetacea
Motility
actively mobilePBDB, for Cetacea
Environment
marine,freshwaterPBDB

Time the record covers

At least 27 million years on record.

The record covers at least 27.3 Mya to 11.7 ka. No occurrence read is dated outside 33.9 Mya to 0 Mya.

Eocene — about 0 of 3006 occurrencesOligocene — about 162 of 3006 occurrencesOligoceneMiocene — about 1641 of 3006 occurrencesMiocenePliocene — about 426 of 3006 occurrencesPleistocene — about 212 of 3006 occurrences35–33 Mya — about 2 occurrences33–32 Mya — about 5 occurrences32–31 Mya — about 5 occurrences31–30 Mya — about 5 occurrences30–29 Mya — about 5 occurrences29–28 Mya — about 5 occurrences28–27 Mya — about 25 occurrences27–25 Mya — about 35 occurrences25–24 Mya — about 36 occurrences24–23 Mya — about 36 occurrences23–22 Mya — about 46 occurrences22–21 Mya — about 43 occurrences21–20 Mya — about 85 occurrences20–18 Mya — about 100 occurrences18–17 Mya — about 102 occurrences17–16 Mya — about 104 occurrences16–15 Mya — about 137 occurrences15–14 Mya — about 142 occurrences14–13 Mya — about 145 occurrences13–12 Mya — about 188 occurrences12–10 Mya — about 103 occurrences10–9.2 Mya — about 102 occurrences9.2–8.1 Mya — about 105 occurrences8.1–6.9 Mya — about 103 occurrences6.9–5.8 Mya — about 99 occurrences5.8–4.6 Mya — about 154 occurrences4.6–3.5 Mya — about 183 occurrences3.5–2.3 Mya — about 147 occurrences2.3–1.2 Mya — about 73 occurrences1.2–0 Mya — about 683 occurrences27.3 Mya11.7 ka34.6 Mya0 Mya

3,006 occurrences of Odontoceti 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

3,006 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

312 formations

Calvert — 38.60°N, 77.16°WCalvert — 39.20°N, 75.60°WCalvert — 38.67°N, 76.53°WCalvert — 38.50°N, 76.51°WCalvert — 38.54°N, 76.73°WCalvert — 38.74°N, 76.56°WCalvert — 38.22°N, 76.97°WCalvert — 37.54°N, 77.43°WCalvert — 37.93°N, 77.51°WCalvert — 38.60°N, 76.51°WCalvert — 38.20°N, 76.94°WCalvert — 38.29°N, 77.03°WCalvert — 38.29°N, 77.15°WCalvert — 38.02°N, 77.06°WCalvert — 38.46°N, 77.01°WCalvert — 38.40°N, 76.50°WCalvert — 37.77°N, 77.37°WCalvert — 37.66°N, 77.11°WCalvert — 38.17°N, 76.81°WCalvert — 37.22°N, 76.96°WCalvert — 38.07°N, 76.92°WCalvert — 38.38°N, 76.99°WCalvert — 38.75°N, 76.97°WCalvert — 37.78°N, 77.52°WCalvert — 38.44°N, 76.44°WCalvert — 38.42°N, 76.62°WCalvert — 38.42°N, 76.90°WCalvert — 38.77°N, 76.78°WPisco — 15.58°S, 74.72°WPisco — 15.50°S, 74.80°WPisco — 15.44°S, 74.87°WPisco — 14.56°S, 75.67°WPisco — 15.55°S, 74.80°WPisco — 14.52°S, 75.71°WPisco — 14.33°S, 75.90°WPisco — 14.31°S, 75.81°WPisco — 14.45°S, 75.75°WPisco — 14.79°S, 75.51°WYorktown — 35.36°N, 76.82°WYorktown — 36.33°N, 77.58°WYorktown — 35.60°N, 77.37°WYorktown — 35.90°N, 77.82°WYorktown — 36.45°N, 77.08°WYorktown — 37.04°N, 76.36°WMonterey — 33.56°N, 117.71°WMonterey — 34.40°N, 119.72°WMonterey — 33.79°N, 118.35°WMonterey — 35.95°N, 120.41°WMonterey — 33.60°N, 117.80°WMonterey — 33.78°N, 118.39°WMonterey — 34.95°N, 120.14°WMonterey — 33.60°N, 117.33°WPietra Leccese — 40.33°N, 18.19°EPietra Leccese — 40.35°N, 18.17°EPietra Leccese — 40.16°N, 18.29°EPietra Leccese — 40.14°N, 18.07°EPietra Leccese — 39.89°N, 18.33°EPietra Leccese — 40.15°N, 18.50°EBerchem — 51.17°N, 4.46°EBerchem — 51.22°N, 4.42°EBerchem — 51.15°N, 4.63°EBerchem — 51.29°N, 4.27°EPeace River — 27.75°N, 81.98°WPeace River — 27.89°N, 81.97°WPeace River — 27.83°N, 81.84°WPeace River — 27.84°N, 81.86°WPeace River — 27.90°N, 81.80°WPeace River — 27.68°N, 81.95°WChilcatay — 14.77°S, 75.39°WChilcatay — 14.59°S, 75.64°WChilcatay — 14.65°S, 75.65°WChilcatay — 14.38°S, 75.90°WRed Crag — 51.96°N, 1.35°ERed Crag — 51.87°N, 1.29°ERed Crag — 52.09°N, 1.31°ERed Crag — 51.97°N, 1.25°ERed Crag — 52.06°N, 1.23°EPungo River — 35.40°N, 76.80°WGaiman — 42.78°S, 65.04°WGaiman — 43.30°S, 65.42°WGaiman — 43.33°S, 65.32°WGaiman — 43.44°S, 65.10°WGaiman — 43.40°S, 65.05°WGaiman — 43.65°S, 65.33°WGaiman — 42.33°S, 65.40°WGaiman — 43.54°S, 65.21°WGaiman — 43.05°S, 71.95°WChandler Bridge — 32.90°N, 80.07°WChandler Bridge — 33.03°N, 80.27°WChandler Bridge — 32.96°N, 80.15°WChandler Bridge — 32.89°N, 80.39°WChandler Bridge — 32.81°N, 80.11°WChandler Bridge — 32.85°N, 79.97°WChandler Bridge — 32.97°N, 80.15°WBahía Inglesa — 27.08°S, 70.84°WBahía Inglesa — 27.14°S, 70.88°WBahía Inglesa — 27.16°S, 70.89°WBahía Inglesa — 27.04°S, 70.79°WAshley — 32.96°N, 80.09°WAshley — 32.90°N, 80.13°WAshley — 32.93°N, 79.83°WAshley — 33.05°N, 80.40°WAshley — 32.83°N, 79.99°WAshley — 32.95°N, 80.18°WAshley — 32.92°N, 79.95°WAshley — 33.03°N, 80.27°WAshley — 33.83°N, 79.88°WAshley — 32.84°N, 80.07°WAshley — 33.02°N, 80.17°WPurisima — 36.92°N, 121.85°WPurisima — 36.95°N, 122.04°WPurisima — 38.05°N, 122.94°WPurisima — 38.06°N, 122.97°WPurisima — 37.29°N, 122.41°WPurisima — 36.97°N, 121.92°WLibano Sandstone — 46.14°N, 12.22°EDiest — 51.19°N, 4.46°EDiest — 51.21°N, 4.43°EDiest — 51.18°N, 4.83°ESalsomaggiore — 44.73°N, 10.03°EGroote Heide — 52.04°N, 6.67°EGroote Heide — 52.10°N, 6.65°ETemblor — 35.30°N, 118.50°WTemblor — 35.44°N, 118.88°WTemblor — 35.47°N, 119.45°WTemblor — 35.46°N, 118.92°WAlmejas — 28.37°N, 115.18°WAlmejas — 28.11°N, 115.18°WCromer Forest Bed — 52.92°N, 1.34°ECromer Forest Bed — 52.91°N, 1.36°ECromer Forest Bed — 52.45°N, 1.73°EBreda — 51.97°N, 6.73°EBreda — 52.15°N, 6.61°EBreda — 51.70°N, 5.73°EBreda — 51.37°N, 3.91°EKirkwood — 40.17°N, 74.15°WKirkwood — 39.30°N, 75.20°WKirkwood — 39.74°N, 75.22°W

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The named rock units Odontoceti has been recovered from, largest first. Drawn where the rock is now, not where it formed. 288 further formations hold fewer occurrences each and are not listed. 1,377 occurrences have no formation on record, which is common for older literature.

Odontoceti and its relatives

Miocene

Where Odontoceti and its relatives were recorded in the Miocene.

Found in the same rock

1,888 taxa

The Paleobiology Database records at least 1,062 sites for Odontoceti, 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

995 references

Each of the 3,006 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. 983 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 Odontoceti

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

3D model

Source
Sketchfab
Licence
CC Attribution
Commercial use
cannot be read from the licence given — check the record

Smithsonian Open Access and MorphoSource were 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 itNeoceti through timeFormations of the MioceneThe world it lived on

Occurrence data from the Paleobiology Database, CC BY 4.0. (Flower 1867)