Miocaperea pulchra, Bisconti, 2012

Bisconti, Michelangelo, 2012, Comparative osteology and phylogenetic relationships of Miocaperea pulchra, the first fossil pygmy right whale genus and species (Cetacea, Mysticeti, Neobalaenidae), Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 166 (4), pp. 876-911 : 879

MIOCAPEREA PULCHRA SP. NOV.

Holotype. SMNS 46978 of the Palaeontological Collection. The specimen consists of a skull subdivided into two parts: one including the rostrum and the other including the neurocranium. The tympanic bullae are missing.

Type locality. Aguada de Lomas (Sacaco area, Arequipa Department, Peru) is a well-known fossil-bearing site located around 550 km south-east of Lima ( Fig. 1 ) in the Pisco Formation ( De Muizon & Bellon, 1981; De Muizon & DeVries, 1985). The locality is close to the southern coast of Peru and its height is around 250– 300 m a.s.l. The approximate geographic co-ordinates for the locality are: 15°5′S, 74°8′W.

Formation and age. Pisco Formation. The Pisco Formation outcrop at Aguada de Lomas has been extensively studied ( De Muizon & Bellon, 1981; De Muizon & DeVries, 1985; De Muizon et al., 2003) because this locality yielded several well-preserved marine vertebrate fossils, including whales and aquatic sloths ( De Muizon, 1988; Pilleri, 1989; De Muizon et al., 2003). Mollusc and vertebrate biostratigraphies together with radioisotopic dating constrain the age of the sediments to late Tortonian (Late Miocene), 7–8 Mya ( De Muizon & Bellon, 1981; De Muizon & DeVries, 1985).

Diagnosis. As for genus.

Etymology. Pulchra, Latin, beautiful, referring to the exquisite condition of preservation of the type specimen.

Figures

Figure 1. Locality of the discovery of Miocaperea pulchra gen. et sp. nov. A, South America; B, Peruvian territory with Aguada de Lomas indicated by a line; C, close-up view of Aguada de Lomas in Peru.