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Morphology of the Petrosal in Late Miocene Baleen Whales of Northwestern Ciscaucasia

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Abstract

Morphological features of the membranous labyrinth in extinct and extant baleen whales and their ancestors are discussed. The tomography of the membranous labyrinth of two species of Late Miocene baleen whales from Adygea has shown that Kurdalagonus, Zygiocetus, and Cetotherium have a comparable number of cochlear turns with representatives of herpetocetins, i.e., about three turns. Representatives of the genus Kurdalagonus differ from Zygiocetus in the structure of semicircular canals, the longer crus commune (much shorter in Zygiocetus), and in the size of the ampulla of the lateral semicircular canal. In addition, representatives of the genus Kurdalagonus differ from Zygiocetus and Cetotherium in the structure of the round window, which is much wider and has a more rounded shape.

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

We are grateful to A.V. Pakhnevich (PIN) for discussion of results and practical advice, to T.B. Golubeva (Department of Vertebrate Zoology, Moscow State University) for valuable advice and discussions of results.

This study was supported by the Russian Foundation for Basic Research, project no. 18-35-00206 mol_a. Measurements were performed at the unique scientific facility Kurchatov Synchrotron Radiation Source supported by the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation (project code RFMEFI61917X0007).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Borissiak Paleontological Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences, 117647, Moscow, Russia

    K. K. Tarasenko

  2. National Research Center “Kurchatov Institute”, 123182, Moscow, Russia

    E. S. Kovalenko, A. A. Kaloyan & K. M. Podurets

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  1. K. K. Tarasenko
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  2. E. S. Kovalenko
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  3. A. A. Kaloyan
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  4. K. M. Podurets
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Correspondence to K. K. Tarasenko.

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Translated by G. Rautian

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Tarasenko, K.K., Kovalenko, E.S., Kaloyan, A.A. et al. Morphology of the Petrosal in Late Miocene Baleen Whales of Northwestern Ciscaucasia. Paleontol. J. 52, 1440–1444 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1134/S0031030118120195

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