Desmatophocidae

Desmatophocidae is an extinct family of pinnipeds closely related to either the eared seals and walruses^[1] or to the earless seals.^[2][3] These animals were the first group of large-bodied pinnipeds to evolve, first appearing in the Early Miocene, with no direct modern descendants.^[4] Desmatophocids have only been found to live in the North Pacific, with fossils being found in Baja California, California, Oregon, Washington, and Japan.^[5]

Desmatophocidae Temporal range: Early to Late Miocene
Skeleton of Allodesmus sp. at the National Museum of Nature and Science, Tokyo, Japan
Holotype skeleton of Atopotarus courseni at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Carnivora
Clade:	Pinnipedia
Superfamily:	Otarioidea
Family:	†Desmatophocidae
Genera
Allodesmus Atopotarus Desmatophoca Eodesmus

The group is generally known for having large orbits, bulbous cheek teeth, and forelimbs similar to extant eared seals.^[4]

Genera

• Allodesmus
• Atopotarus
• Desmatophoca
• Eodesmus

References

1. Encyclopedia of Marine Mammals, ed. William F. Perrin, Bernd Würsig, J.G.M. Thewissen
2. Park, T.; Burin, G.; et al. (1 July 2024). "Charting the course of pinniped evolution: insights from molecular phylogeny and fossil record integration". Evolution. 78 (7): 1212–1226. doi:10.1093/evolut/qpae061.
3. Berta, Annelisa. "Encyclopedia of Marine Mammals, 2nd ed. Pinniped Evolution" (PDF). San Diego State University. Retrieved 1 September 2024.
4. Boessenecker, Robert W; Churchill, Morgan (2018-09-01). "The last of the desmatophocid seals: a new species of Allodesmus from the upper Miocene of Washington, USA, and a revision of the taxonomy of Desmatophocidae". Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. 184 (1): 211–235. doi:10.1093/zoolinnean/zlx098. ISSN 0024-4082.
5. Barnes, Lawrence G.; Hirota, Kiyoharu (1995). "Miocene pinnipeds of the otariid subfamily Allodesminae in the North Pacific Ocean: Systematics and relationships". The Island Arc. 3 (4): 329–360. doi:10.1111/j.1440-1738.1994.tb00119.x. ISSN 1038-4871.