Goniodelphis
Encyclopedia
Goniodelphis hudsoni is an extinct genus of Iniidae
(river dolphin) known from the waters of Florida
during the Miocene
~14.9—11.5 through 9.1—8.7 Ma (AEO
).
The fossil specimens were found in just four phosphate
mines in Polk County, Florida
. These mines were:
in 2010. It was assigned to Delphinidae by Carroll (1988); and to Iniidae by Allen (1941), Kellogg (1944), de Muizon (1988), Morgan (1994), McKenna and Bell (1997), Hamilton et al. (2001), Fordyce and de Muizon (2001), Uhen et al. (2008) and Mark D. Uhen.
Iniidae
Iniidae is a family of river dolphins containing one living and three extinct genera.-Taxonomy:The family was described by John Edward Gray in 1846.Current classifications include a single living genera, Inia, with one species and three subspecies...
(river dolphin) known from the waters of Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
during the Miocene
Miocene
The Miocene is a geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about . The Miocene was named by Sir Charles Lyell. Its name comes from the Greek words and and means "less recent" because it has 18% fewer modern sea invertebrates than the Pliocene. The Miocene follows the Oligocene...
~14.9—11.5 through 9.1—8.7 Ma (AEO
Appearance Event Ordination
Appearance Event Ordination or AEO is a scientific method for biochronology through the ordering of the appearance of fossil mammal genera by multivariate analysis, using conjunctional and disconjunctional range distributions in large sets of data.-Process:AEO is based on faunal overlap and...
).
The fossil specimens were found in just four phosphate
Phosphate
A phosphate, an inorganic chemical, is a salt of phosphoric acid. In organic chemistry, a phosphate, or organophosphate, is an ester of phosphoric acid. Organic phosphates are important in biochemistry and biogeochemistry or ecology. Inorganic phosphates are mined to obtain phosphorus for use in...
mines in Polk County, Florida
Polk County, Florida
Polk County is located in central Florida between the Tampa Bay and Greater Orlando metropolitan areas. The county was established by the state government in 1861 on the eve of the American Civil War and named after former United States president James K. Polk. The county seat is Bartow and its...
. These mines were:
- American Agricultural Chemical Company (SerravallianSerravallianThe Serravallian is in the geologic timescale an age or a stage in the middle Miocene epoch/series, that spans the time between 13.65 ± 0.05 Ma and 11.608 ± 0.005 Ma...
) - Fort Green (HemphillianHemphillianThe Hemphillian North American Stage on the geologic timescale is the North American faunal stage according to the North American Land Mammal Ages chronology , typically set from 10,300,000 to 4,900,000 years BP, a period of . It is usually considered to overlap the Tortonian epoch of the Late...
) - Payne Creek (Hemphillian)
- Gardinier (ZancleanZancleanThe Zanclean is the lowest stage or earliest age on the geologic time scale of the Pliocene. It spans the time between 5.332 and 3.6 Ma ± 0.005 Ma . It is preceded by the Messinian age of the Miocene epoch, and followed by the Piacenzian age....
)
Taxonomy
Goniodelphis was named by Allen (1941). Its type is Goniodelphis hudsoni. It was considered monophyletic by Mark D. Uhen, Ph.D. of George Mason UniversityGeorge Mason University
George Mason University is a public university based in unincorporated Fairfax County, Virginia, United States, south of and adjacent to the city of Fairfax. Additional campuses are located nearby in Arlington County, Prince William County, and Loudoun County...
in 2010. It was assigned to Delphinidae by Carroll (1988); and to Iniidae by Allen (1941), Kellogg (1944), de Muizon (1988), Morgan (1994), McKenna and Bell (1997), Hamilton et al. (2001), Fordyce and de Muizon (2001), Uhen et al. (2008) and Mark D. Uhen.