Brandtocetus

Brandtocetus is a genus of cetotheriid mysticete in the subfamily Cetotheriinae. The type and only species is Brandtocetus chongulek from the late Miocene (Tortonian) of the Kerch Peninsula in Crimea.

Brandtocetus Temporal range: Miocene PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N
Brandtocetus chongulek, the holotype skull
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Artiodactyla
Suborder:	Whippomorpha
Infraorder:	Cetacea
Family:	Cetotheriidae
Genus:	†Brandtocetus Gol’din & Startsev 2014
Species:	†B. chongulek
Binomial name
†Brandtocetus chongulek Gol'din & Startsev 2014

Brandtocetus chongulek was a whale approximately 4–5 m long differing from all Cetotheriidae by having a transversely expanded lateral portion of the squamosal bone; a rhomboid temporal fossa; an occipital shield extending anterior to the center of the temporal fossa; and an elongated posterior process of the tympanoperiotic with a proximodistally extended, and distally expanded, distal portion exposed as an oval surface on the posterolateral skull wall.^[1]