Gryphoca Van Beneden 1877
Creators: name: Koretsky, I.
name: Rahmat, S.
name: Peters, N.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2014
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Chordata
Mammalia
Carnivora
Phocidae
Gryphoca

description: Genus <i>Gryphoca</i> Van Beneden, 1877 1876 a <i>Gryphoca</i> — Van Beneden: 798 (nom. nud.); *1877 <i>Gryphoca</i> Van Beneden: 69, atlas pl. 13; 1897 <i>Gryphoca</i> — Toula: 52, 55; 1897 <i>Halichoerus (Gryphoca</i>): Trouessart, p. 382; 1909 <i>Gryphoca</i> — Dollo: 118; 1922 <i>Gryphoca</i> — Kellogg: 115; 1945 <i>Gryphoca</i> — Simpson: 122; 1947 <i>Halichoerus (Gryphoca</i>): Friant, p. 6; 1958 <i>Gryphoca</i> — Misonne: 22; 1964 <i>Gryphoca</i> — King: 131; 1977 <i>Gryphoca</i> — Ray: 394; 1983 <i>Gryphoca</i> — Savage, Russell: 294; 1992 <i>Gryphoca</i> — Muizon: 36; 1997 <i>Gryphoca</i> — McKenna, Bell: 258; 2008 <i>Gryphoca</i> — Koretsky, Ray: 89–90. T y p e s p e c i e s a n d l o c a l i t y: <i>Gryphoca similis</i> Van Beneden, 1877, holotype from the 3rd section of Borgerhout, Antwerp area, Belgium. S t r a t i g r a p h i c a l r a n g e. Apart from the type locality of <i>Gryphoca similis</i>, the genus <i>Gryphoca</i> is known from the Pliocene (Scaldisian) of the Antwerp area, Belgium, from the late Miocene (early-middle Tortonian, 8.0–11.5 ma) Gram Formation of Gram, Jutland, western Denmark, from the late Miocene or early Pliocene of Mill-Langenboom, The Netherlands, and from the Pliocene (5.0–5.8 ma) Yorktown Formation, eastern United States. R e f e r r e d m a t e r i a l. Humeri, scapula, innominate, femora, tibia and fibula from the Antwerp area, Belgium, from western Denmark, from Mill-Langenboom, The Netherlands, and from the eastern United States (Koretsky, Ray, 2008). E m e n d e d d i a g n o s i s. Phocine of medium size similar to modern <i>Halichoerus grypus</i>. Deltoid crest of humerus short, narrow, and thin, terminating about 1/2 length of bone; its distal end gently broadening and somewhat overhanging the bone; lesser tubercle located slightly above head and proximal part of deltoid crest; intertubercular groove narrow and deep; medial epicondyle reaches distal end of deltoid crest; entepicondylar foramen present. Femoral greater trochanter higher than head; minimal width of shaft located in middle part of femur; epicondyles very thin D i s c u s s i o n. The rare taxon <i>Gryphoca similis</i> is represented in Van Beneden’s collection only by a few fragmentary bones: humeri and femora, scapula, innominate, tibia and fibula. All bones show very distinctive morphological features and the same applies to the material from the eastern United States (Koretsky, Ray, 2008). Although the morphologies of the fossils from Western Denmark and The Netherlands described in this paper are very similar, the bones also differ in several aspects. Nonetheless, we are sure about the assignment of these new fossils to a new species of the genus <i>Gryphoca.</i>
description: Published as part of <i>Koretsky, I., Rahmat, S. &amp; Peters, N., 2014, Rare Late Miocene Seal Taxa (Carnivora, Phocidae) From The North Sea Basin, pp. 419-432 in Vestnik Zoologii 48 (5)</i> on pages 423-424, DOI: 10.2478/vzoo-2014-0050, http://zenodo.org/record/6449169
description: {"references": ["Van Beneden, P. J. Description des ossements fossiles des environs d'Anvers, 1. Pinnipedes ou amphitheriens // Musee Royal d'Histoire Naturelle de Belgique, Annales. - 1877. - 1. - P. 1 - 88.", "Van Beneden, P. J. Les phoques fossiles du bassin d'Anvers // Bulletins de l'Academie Royale des Sciences, des Lettres et des Beaux-Arts de Belgique - 1876 a. - 41. - P. 783 - 802.", "Koretsky, I. A., Ray, C. E. Phocidae of the Pliocene of eastern USA // Geology and paleontology of the Lee Creek Mine, North Carolina IV / Eds C. E. Ray, D. A. Bohaska, I. A. Koretsky et al. - Virginia Museum of Natural History, 2008. - 15 (Special Publication). - P. 81 - 140."]}