Puijila
Extinct genus of primitive pinnipeds / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Puijila darwini is an extinct species of stem-pinniped which lived during the Miocene epoch about 21 to 24 million years ago. Approximately a metre (three feet) in length, the animal possessed only minimal physical adaptations for swimming. Unlike modern pinnipeds, it did not have flippers and its overall form was otter-like, albeit more specialized; its skull and teeth are the features that most clearly indicate that it is a seal.[1]
Puijila | |
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Restored skeleton | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Mammalia |
Order: | Carnivora |
Family: | †Semantoridae |
Genus: | †Puijila Rybczynski et al., 2009 |
Species: | †P. darwini |
Binomial name | |
†Puijila darwini Rybczynski et al., 2009 | |
It is considered to be the most primitive pinnipedimorph yet found. The genus name is an Inuktitut word for a young seal; the species name honours the English naturalist Charles Darwin.[2] The holotype and only known specimen is a nearly complete fossilised skeleton. It is being housed at the Canadian Museum of Nature in Ottawa, Ontario.