Denebola brachycephala

This article is about an extinct whale. For other uses, see Denebola (disambiguation).

Denebola is an extinct genus of whale belonging to the family Monodontidae. It contains a single known species, Denebola brachycephala. It is the earliest known ancestor of the beluga, Delphinapterus leucas, and dates from the Upper Miocene period.^[2] A fossil was found in the Baja California peninsula, indicating that the family once existed in warmer waters.^[3]

Denebola brachycephala Temporal range: Late Miocene PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N
D. brachycephala and Praekogia
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Artiodactyla
Suborder:	Whippomorpha
Infraorder:	Cetacea
Family:	Monodontidae
Genus:	†Denebola Barnes, 1984
Species:	†D. brachycephala
Binomial name
†Denebola brachycephala Barnes, 1984[1]