Valenictus

Taxobox
name = "Valenictus"
fossil_range = Pliocene


image_caption =
regnum = Animalia
phylum = Chordata
classis = Mammalia
ordo = Carnivora
subordo = Caniformia
superfamilia = Pinnipedia
familia = Odobenidae
genus = "Valenictus"
subdivision_ranks = Species
subdivision = "V. chulavistensis"
"V. imperialensis"

"Valenictus" is an extinct genus of Odobenidae from the Pliocene of California.

Description

Valenictus is related to the modern-day walrus, buy Valenictus lacked all teeth both in the lower and upper jaw except for the two tusks.

ources

*"Evolution: What the Fossils Say and Why It Matters" by Donald R. Prothero and Carl Buell
*"Marine Mammal Biology: An Evolutionary Approach" by A. Rus Hoelzel
*"Marine Mammals: Evolutionary Biology" by Annalisa Berta, James L. Sumich, and Kit M. Kovacs
*"Encyclopedia of Marine Mammals" by William F. Perrin, Bernd Wursig, and J. G.M. Thewissen
*"Classification of Mammals" by Malcolm C. McKenna and Susan K. Bell
*"Neptune's Ark: From Ichthyosaurs to Orcas" by David Rains Wallace
*"Evolution of Tertiary Mammals of North America: Volume 2, Small Mammals, Xenarthrans, and Marine Mammals" by Christine M. Janis, Gregg F. Gunnell, and Mark D. Uhen

Links

* [http://www.sdnhm.org/exhibits/mystery/fg_walrus.html SDNHM Fossil Mysteries Field Guide: Chula Vista Walrus]
* [http://www.sdnhm.org/research/paleontology/finds-2001oct19.html SDNHM: Recent Paleo Finds - Walrus Fall 2001]