| Herpetocetus
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| Herpetocetus bramblei | |
Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Artiodactyla |
| Infraorder: | Cetacea |
| Family: | Cetotheriidae |
| Subfamily: | †Herpetocetinae |
| Genus: | †Herpetocetus van Beneden, 1872 |
| Species[1] | |
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†H. scaldiensis van Beneden, 1872 (type) | |
Herpetocetus is a genusofcetotheriid mysticete in the subfamily Herpetocetinae.
There are four recognized species of Herpetocetus: H. scaldiensis,[2] H. transatlanticus,[3] H. bramblei,[3] and H. morrowi.[4] An additional unnamed species from Japan has been referred to the nomen dubium Mizuhoptera sendaicus in the past,[5] but the undiagnostic nature of the holotype of the latter means that it cannot be confidently referred to M. sendaicus.[6]
A recently discovered specimen of Herpetocetus from the Lower-Middle Pleistocene (Gelasian) Falor Formation of northern California indicates that Herpetocetus survived into the early Pleistocene, shedding light on the diversity of mysticetes in the early Pleistocene.[7] Since other cetotheriids became extinct by the end of the Neogene, it's therefore possible that some Pliocene representatives of Cetotheriidae made it into the Pleistocene to co-exist with extant mysticete species.
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Genera of baleen whales and their extinct allies
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| Herpetocetus |
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