The extinct giant shark Otodus megalodon is the last member of the predatory megatoothed
lineage and is reported from Neogene sediments from nearly all continents. The timing of …

Cetaceans are remarkable among mammals for their numerous adaptations to an entirely
aquatic existence, yet many aspects of their phylogeny remain unresolved. Here we merged …

Tuscany has a rich Pliocene record of marine megafauna (MM), including mysticetes,
odontocetes, sirenians and seals among the mammals, and six orders of sharks among the …

The killer whale (Orcinus orca) and false killer whale (Pseudorca crassidens) are the only
extant cetaceans that hunt other marine mammals, with pods of the former routinely preying …

Background Unlike most mammals, toothed whale (Odontoceti) skulls lack symmetry in the
nasal and facial (nasofacial) region. This asymmetry is hypothesised to relate to …

The diversity of the dolphin family was established during a short window of time. We
investigated delphinid skull shape evolution, map** shapes on an up-to-date nuclear …

Zygophyseter varolai, a new genus and species of Physeteroidea (Cetacea, Odontoceti), is
based on an almost complete skeleton from the Late Miocene (Tortonian) in southern Italy …

The newly discovered Upper Miocene to Upper Pliocene San Gregorio assemblage of the
Purisima Formation in Central California has yielded a diverse collection of 34 marine …

The blue whale, Balaenoptera musculus, is the largest animal known to have ever existed,
making it an important case study in longevity and resistance to cancer. To further this and …

The South Asian river dolphin (Platanista gangetica) is the only extant survivor of the large
clade Platanistoidea, having a well-diversified fossil record from the Late Oligocene to the …