Fordycetus

Fordycetus Temporal range: Early Miocene, ~21.7–15.9 Ma PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N
Holotype skull seen from above
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Infraclass:	Placentalia
Order:	Artiodactyla
Infraorder:	Cetacea
Family:	†Squalodelphinidae
Genus:	†Fordycetus Tanaka et al., 2026
Type species
Fordycetus taitonga Tanaka et al., 2026

Fordycetus is an extinct genus of squalodelphinid dolphin, known from the Early Miocene (Aquitanian–Burdigalian ages) Mount Harris Formation of North Otago, New Zealand. The genus contains a single species, Fordycetus taitonga, described in 2026 based on a partial skull and cervical (neck) vertebra. It is the first squalodelphinid to be discovered in New Zealand and the southwest Pacific region.^[1]

The holotype specimen of F. taitonga is estimated to belong to an individual with at 2.7 metres (8.9 feet) total body length. The closest living relatives of Fordycetus are the river dolphins in the family Platanistidae.^[1]

Classification

As Fordycetus is a squalodelphinid, its closest extant relatives are the Ganges and Indus river dolphins, the only living species of the river dolphin family Platanistidae, native to the Indian subcontinent. A simplified version of the phylogenetic analysis done by Tanaka et al. (2026) is shown in the cladogram below:^[1]

Platanistoidea	†Allodelphinidae Platanidelphidi Platanistidae †Squalodelphinidae †Miodelphinus miensis †Phocageneus venustus †Macrosqualodelphis ukupachai †Fordycetus taitonga †Squalodelphis fabianii †Notocetus vanbenedeni †Furcacetus flexirostrum MUSM 1395 3896 3897 1484 †Huaridelphis raimondii †Medocinia tetragorhina †Aondelphis talen †Araeodelphis natator †Dilophodelphis fordycei

References

1. Tanaka, Yoshihiro; Ortega, Megan; Fordyce, R. Ewan (2026-04-23). "A new squalodelphinid species with a domed supraorbital process from the Lower Miocene of New Zealand". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. doi:10.1080/02724634.2026.2641081. ISSN 0272-4634.