Meherrinia is an extinct genus of inioid river dolphin from the Meherrin River, North Carolina, in the United States. First described in 2012, the dolphin is, in most respects, intermediate in form between the living Amazon river dolphin and the La Plata dolphin, although it is probably more closely related to the former. However, the fossil was discovered in what are believed to be marine deposits, dating from the late Miocene, whereas the Amazon river dolphin is an exclusively freshwater species. Meherrinia therefore was, as of 2012, the only known marine genus of the family Iniidae,[1] although others have been discovered since.[2] Only one species is known.
| Meherrinia Temporal range:
| |
|---|---|
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Artiodactyla |
| Infraorder: | Cetacea |
| Family: | incertae sedis |
| Genus: | †Meherrinia Geisler, et al., 2012 |
| Species: | †M. isoni
|
| Binomial name | |
| †Meherrinia isoni Geisler, et al., 2012
| |
References
edit
- ^ Geisler, J.H. (2012). "A new genus and species of late Miocene inioid (Cetacea, Odontoceti) from the Meherrin River, North Carolina, U.S.A.". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 32 (1): 198–211. Bibcode:2012JVPal..32..198G. doi:10.1080/02724634.2012.629016. S2CID 85886880.
- ^ Pyenson, Nicholas D.; Vélez-Juarbe, Jorge; Gutstein, Carolina S.; Little, Holly; Vigil, Dioselina; O'Dea, Aaron (2015). "Isthminia panamensis, a new fossil inioid (Mammalia, Cetacea) from the Chagres Formation of Panama and the evolution of 'river dolphins' in the Americas". PeerJ. 3: e1227. doi:10.7717/peerj.1227. PMC 4562255. PMID 26355720.
 | This prehistoric cetacean-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |