Desmatophocidae Explained

Desmatophocidae is an extinct family of pinnipeds closely related to either the eared seals and walruses^[1] or to the earless seals.^{[2] [3]} These animals were the first group of large-bodied pinnipeds to evolve, first appearing in the Early Miocene, with no direct modern descendants.^[4] Desmatophocids have only been found to live in the North Pacific, with fossils being found in Baja California, California, Oregon, Washington, and Japan.^[5]

The group is generally known for having large orbits, bulbous cheek teeth, and forelimbs similar to extant eared seals.

Genera

• Allodesmus
• Atopotarus
• Desmatophoca
• Eodesmus

Notes and References

1. https://books.google.com/books?id=2rkHQpToi9sC&q=%22Desmatophocidae%22 Encyclopedia of Marine Mammals
2. Park . T. . Burin . G. . etal . 1 July 2024 . Charting the course of pinniped evolution: insights from molecular phylogeny and fossil record integration . Evolution . 78 . 7 . 1212-1226 . 10.1093/evolut/qpae061. free .
3. Web site: Encyclopedia of Marine Mammals, 2nd ed. Pinniped Evolution . Berta . Annelisa . San Diego State University . 1 September 2024.
4. Boessenecker . Robert W . Churchill . Morgan . 2018-09-01 . The last of the desmatophocid seals: a new species of Allodesmus from the upper Miocene of Washington, USA, and a revision of the taxonomy of Desmatophocidae . Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society . en . 184 . 1 . 211–235 . 10.1093/zoolinnean/zlx098 . 0024-4082.
5. Barnes . Lawrence G. . Hirota . Kiyoharu . 1995 . Miocene pinnipeds of the otariid subfamily Allodesminae in the North Pacific Ocean: Systematics and relationships . The Island Arc . 3 . 4 . 329–360 . 10.1111/j.1440-1738.1994.tb00119.x . 1038-4871.