Pontophoca Explained

Pontophoca is an extinct genus of earless seals from the middle-late Miocene of the eastern Paratethys basin and the North Sea.

Fossils

There are two recognized species of Pontophoca, P. sarmatica and P. jutlandica. P. sarmatica is known from middle Miocene marine deposits in the eastern Paratethys basin, while fossils of P. jutlandica have been found in the Tortonian-age Gram Formation in Denmark.^{[1] [2]}

Notes and References

1. I. Koretsky. 2001. Morphology and systematics of Miocene Phocinae (Mammalia: Carnivora) from Paratethys and the North Atlantic region. Geologica Hungarica Series Palaeontologica 54:1-109
2. I. Koretsky, S. Rahmat, and N. Peters. 2014. Rare late Miocene seal taxa (Carnivora, Phocidae) from the North Sea Basin. Vestnik zoologii 48(5):419-432