Berardiinae

Bianucci, Giovanni, Lambert, Olivier & Post, Klaas, 2007, A high diversity in fossil beaked whales (Mammalia, Odontoceti, Ziphiidae) recovered by trawling from the sea floor off South Africa, Geodiversitas 29 (4), pp. 561-618 : 568

Berardiinae indet.

REFERRED SPECIMEN. — SAM PQ 2198, a partial skull including the rostrum base, the premaxillary sac fossae, and the vertex.

LOCALITY. — No data. Trawled off the South African coast.

DESCRIPTION AND DISCUSSION ( FIG. 5 ; TABLE 1) This specimen shows a severely worn rostrum and a damaged vertex with poorly preserved premaxillary crests. The rostrum base is similar to that of Nenga n. gen. (see below). However, differences within the cranium prevent an attribution to the latter genus: the premaxillary sac fossa is much longer (quantified as the distance between the anterior margin of the bony nares and the premaxillary foramen); the elevation of the premaxilla towards the lower vertex is more progressive and the nasals are longer and transversely narrower. Posterior to the nasals, the sutures between the transversely compressed frontals and a median rounded bone could be distinguished. As in Berardius arnuxii and Microberardius n. gen., this bone is interpreted as the interparietal. This character is our main reason to include SAM PQ 2198 in the subfamily Berardiinae .

Figures

FIG. 5. — Skull of Berardiinae indet. (SAM PQ 2198): A, dorsal view; B, anterior view; C, lateral view; D, detail of the vertex in dorsal view; E, corresponding line drawing. Scale bars: A-C, 10 cm; D, E, 5 cm.