Prototaria planicephala is an extinct pinniped of the walrus family Odobenidae that lived in what is now Japan during the Middle Miocene. It belongs to the genus Prototaria, whose members look more like modern fur seals and sea lions than walruses, with a slender build and no long tusks. The Japanese palaeontologist Naoki Kohno described it in 1994 and concluded from its skeletal traits that it is more derived than the type species Prototaria primigena. Compared with that species it has a wider rostrum, more specialised cheek teeth and a flatter tympanic bulla. Its fossils come from Miyagi Prefecture in Japan.
Facts
Classification
System (Realm) Living or Extinct Conservation Status Connections
Child Taxon Of
Source Prototaria (Wikipedia)
In Biome
Marine, Biomes Source List of fossil pinnipedimorphs (Wikipedia)
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Found In
Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.
Source Prototaria (Wikipedia)Lead, where it livesQuote, Lead, where it lives
lived approximately 15.97 to 13.65 mya during the Middle Miocene in what is now Japan
Sources
1. Prototaria (Wikipedia)
Lead
Prototaria is an extinct genus of pinniped
Lead, diet
members of Prototaria were primarily piscivorous carnivores
Lead, where it lives
lived approximately 15.97 to 13.65 mya during the Middle Miocene in what is now Japan
View the Source2. List of fossil pinnipedimorphs (Wikipedia)
LeadQuote, Lead
Pinnipeds are marine mammals that evolved from arctoid carnivorans that includes seals, eared seals, and walruses.
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