A new type of primitive baleen whale (Cetacea; Mysticeti) from Kyushu, Japan

Abstract An important and relatively complete fossil mysticete cetacean specimen was collected from the Oligocene age Ashiya Group in Kyushu, Japan. The specimen includes a complete skull, with the anterior part of the vertebral column, several ribs, and the left pectoral limb. It provides significant information about the early evolution of cetotheres and transitional steps from the Archaeoceti to Mysticeti. Several features of the specimen, such as the anterior position of the nasal opening and large mandibular foramen, are primitive, but others are derived, such as the wide maxilla, broad supraorbital process of the frontal, occipital shield overhanging the temporal fossae, and the flat articulation of the distal end of the humerus. This animal, therefore, has a mixture of primitive and derived characters. It represents a stage of evolution in mysticetes that has been previously unrecognized.