Simocetus is an extinct genus of odontocete cetacean that lived 30 million years ago during the Oligocene. It is described from a fossil skull found on the banks of the Yaquina River in Oregon, United States, in 1977.
Considering that the skull of Simocetus is approximately the same size as that of the bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus), the two species could have similar body proportions, so Simocetus would have reached an estimated body length of 2 to 3 meters.
This genus contains a single species, Simocetus rayi, and its teeth and jaw were found to be different from those of any other known whale, suggesting that it may have been a bottom-feeding animal that suctioned marine invertebrates and may have had echolocation capabilities comparable to those of modern whales.
Approximate measurements of the Simocetus:
Considering that the skull of Simocetus is approximately the same size as that of the bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus), the two species could have similar body proportions, so Simocetus would have reached an estimated body length of 2 to 3 meters.
This genus contains a single species, Simocetus rayi, and its teeth and jaw were found to be different from those of any other known whale, suggesting that it may have been a bottom-feeding animal that suctioned marine invertebrates and may have had echolocation capabilities comparable to those of modern whales.
Approximate measurements of the Simocetus:
- Scale 1:35 Complete
- Length 83mm
- Height 43mm
- Snout-tail length 97 mm
- Scale 1:20 Complete
- Length 151mm
- Height 63mm
- Snout-tail length 175 mm
