Pliopedia pacifica is an extinct species of walrus found in what is now Central Valley, California, United States, which lived during the late Miocene. It was an amphibious carnivore.[1]

Pliopedia
Temporal range: Late Miocene
Pliopedia pacifica
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Carnivora
Clade: Pinnipedia
Family: Odobenidae
Genus: Pliopedia
Kellogg, 1921
Species:
P. pacifica
Binomial name
Pliopedia pacifica
Kellogg, 1921

Discovery edit

The holotype specimen (USNM 13627) was collected in 1909 by Robert Anderson, and consists of pieces of both forelimbs.[2]

Known Pliopedia fossils include a humerus, pieces of radius and ulna from both forelimbs, metacarpals, metatarsals, and phalanges. They were discovered in the Paso Robles Formation of San Luis Obispo County, California.

References edit

  1. ^ Kellogg, R. (November 1921). "A New Pinniped from the Upper Pliocene of California". Journal of Mammalogy. 2 (4): 212–226. doi:10.2307/1373555. JSTOR 1373555.
  2. ^ Repenning, C.A.; Tedford, R.H. (1977). "Otarioid Seals of the Neogene: Classification, Historical Zoogeography, and Temporal Correlation of the Sea Lions and Walruses from the North Pacific Region". Geological Survey.