Cornwallius is an extinct herbivorous marine

Marine (ocean)

Marine is an umbrella term. As an adjective it is usually applicable to things relating to the sea or ocean, such as marine biology, marine ecology and marine geology...

 mammal

Mammal

Mammals are members of a class of air-breathing vertebrate animals characterised by the possession of endothermy, hair, three middle ear bones, and mammary glands functional in mothers with young...

 of the family

Family (biology)

In biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus. As for the other well-known ranks, there is the option of an immediately lower rank, indicated by the...

 Desmostylidae

Desmostylidae

Desmostylidae is an extinct family of herbivorous marine mammal belonging to the order of Desmostylia living along the coast of the Pacific Ocean from the Rupelian stage of the Early Oligocene through the Chattian stage of the Late Oligocene existing for approximately .Desmostylidae are...

. Cornwallius lived along the North America

North America

North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...

n Pacific Coast from the Chattian

Chattian

The Chattian is, in the geologic timescale, the youngest of two ages or upper of two stages of the Oligocene epoch/series. It spans the time between and . The Chattian is preceded by the Rupelian and is followed by the Aquitanian .-Stratigraphic definition:The Chattian was introduced by Austrian...

 stage of the Early Oligocene through the Oligocene (28.4 mya—20.6 Mya) and existing for approximately .

Fossil dfistribution

Like Desmostylus

Desmostylus

Desmostylus is a monotypic extinct genus of herbivorous mammal of the family Desmostylidae living from the Chattian stage of the Late Oligocene subepoch through the Late Miocene subepoch and in existence for approximately ....

, fossils have been discovered from Baja, Mexico, Oregon

Oregon

Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...

 and Washington coasts, and Aleutians West County, Alaska.

Sister genera

Behemotops

Behemotops

Behemotops is an extinct genus of herbivorous marine mammal of the family Desmostylidae living from the Rupelian stage of the Early Oligocene subepoch through the Late Oligocene subepoch and in existence for approximately ....

, Desmostylus

Desmostylus

Desmostylus is a monotypic extinct genus of herbivorous mammal of the family Desmostylidae living from the Chattian stage of the Late Oligocene subepoch through the Late Miocene subepoch and in existence for approximately ....

, Kronokotherium

Kronokotherium

Kronokotherium is an extinct herbivorous marine mammal of the genus Desmostylia of the family Desmostylidae. Kronokotherium lived along the North American Pacific Coast from the Chattian stage of the Late Oligocene through the Aquitanian stage of the Early Miocene and existing for approximately...

, Paleoparadoxia

Paleoparadoxia

Paleoparadoxia is a genus of large, herbivorous marine mammals that inhabited the northern Pacific coastal region during the Miocene epoch . It ranged from the waters of Japan , to Alaska to the north, and down to Baja California, Mexico...

, Vanderhoofius

Vanderhoofius

Vanderhoofius is an extinct genus of herbivorous marine mammal of the family Desmostylidae living from the Middle Miocene subepoch and in existence for approximately .-Morphology:...

.

Reference

• Beatty, B.L. 2006. Rediscovered specimens of Cornwallius (Mammalia, Desmostylia) from Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada. Vertebrate Palaeontology 1 (1): 1-6.