Kekenodon Explained

Kekenodon is an extinct kekenodontid early whale from the Late Oligocene (Chattian) of New Zealand. Measuring long, it was a large raptorial whale which hunted marine mammals and penguins.^[1] Although at times classified as a basilosaurid, mysticete, or odontocete, recent work suggests that it represents a phylogenetic intermediate form between Basilosauridae and Neoceti.

Classification

Kekenodon was considered a member of the basilosaurid subfamily Dorudontinae in the classic monograph on Archaeoceti by Kellogg (1936).^[2]

"Squalodon" gambierensis from Australia is a close relative of Kekenodon.^[3]

Phylogenetic analysis suggests that Kekenodon is the "latest-surviving archaeocete, sister-taxon to the Neoceti."^[1]

Notes and References

1. Joshua E. . Corrie . R. Ewan . Fordyce. 2022. A redescription and re-evaluation of Kekenodon onamata (Mammalia: Cetacea), a late-surviving archaeocete from the Late Oligocene of New Zealand. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. 196. 4. 1637–1670. 10.1093/zoolinnean/zlac019.
2. R. Kellogg. 1936. A Review of the Archaeoceti. Carnegie Institution of Washington 482:1-366
3. R. E. Fordyce. 2006. A southern perspective on Cetacean Evolution and Zoogeoraphy. Evolution and Biogeography of Australasian Vertebrates 755-782