Eschrichtioides
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Eschrichtioides Temporal range: Pliocene |
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| Eschrichtioides gastaldii, from Portis 1885 | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Artiodactyla |
| Infraorder: | Cetacea |
| Family: | Eschrichtiidae |
| Genus: |
†Eschrichtioides Bisconti 2008 |
| Species | |
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†E. gastaldii |
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| Synonyms | |
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†E. gastaldii
Strobel 1881
Eschrichtioides is an extinct genus of eschrichtiid known from the early Pliocene of northern Italy. Its type species, E. gastaldii, had a superfluous taxonomic history, starting as a cetothere, then as an extinct balaenopterid, before being finally recognized as a relative of the gray whale.
Eschrichtioides is one of two eschrichtiids known from the Neogene of Italy, the other being Archaeschrichtius. Its holotype, MRSN 13802, comes from the early Pliocene-age Sabbie d'Asti Formation of the Piedmont region in Italy.
Like other cetaceans from the Italian Pliocene, the classification of Eschrichtioides was highly contentious.
Brandt 1873 described several species of Cetotherium from the Pliocene of northern Italy, including C. cortesi based on a specimen (MSRN 13802) found by Italian geologist Giuseppe Cortesi in 1816 near the town Cortandone (45°00′N 8°06′E / 45.0°N 8.1°E: paleocoordinates 44°54′N 8°00′E / 44.9°N 8.0°E)
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