Balaenella is an extinct genus of balaenid from the early Pliocene of the vicinity of Antwerp, Belgium. Its type species is Balaena brachyrhynchus.

Balaenella
Temporal range: early Pliocene
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Artiodactyla
Infraorder: Cetacea
Family: Balaenidae
Genus: Balaenella
Bisconti, 2005
Species

B. brachyrhynchus Bisconti, 2005 (type)

Classification

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A cladistic analysis of Balaenidae places Balaenella as the sister taxon of the bowhead whale in a clade separate from right whales.[1]

References

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  1. ^ Bisconti, M. (2005). "Skull Morphology and Phylogenetic Relationships of a New Diminutive Balaenid from the Lower Pliocene of Belgium". Palaeontology 48 (4): 793–816. doi:10.1111/j.1475-4983.2005.00488.x. edit