Ciuciulea (whale)

Ciuciulea is a genus of cetotheriid mysticete found in middle Miocene marine deposits in Moldova.

Ciuciulea davidi Temporal range: Miocene PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N
Skull of Ciuciulea davidi Gol'din, 2018, dorsal side
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Artiodactyla
Suborder:	Whippomorpha
Infraorder:	Cetacea
Family:	Cetotheriidae
Genus:	†Ciuciulea Gol'din, 2018
Species
†Ciuciulea davidi Gol'din, 2018 (type)

Description

Ciuciulea is a dwarf cetotheriid 3–4 meters in length. It comes from the Badenian deposits (13.8-12.7 Ma) of the Central Paratethys, and this is the earliest world record of the family Cetotheriidae. It differs from the other Cetotheriidae in the presence of a narrow occipital shield, which is as long as wide, and a pars cochlearis of the periotic bone bulging out ventral to fenestra rotunda. Primitive characters include the premaxillae forming a transverse line with the posterior ends of nasals and maxillae rather than constricted or overridden by ascending processes of maxillae.^[1]

Biology

Ciuciulea lived in shallow marine waters in present-day Moldova, earlier than true seals Pontophoca, Sarmatonectes, Histriophoca, Monachopsis, Cryptophoca, and Praepusa, the putative kentriodontid Sarmatodelphis, and the problematic odontocetes Pachypleurus, Phocaena euxinica, and Delphinus bessarabicus.