Skeleton of the Oldest Known Pinniped, Enaliarctos mealsi

1989/04/07 by Annalisa Berta, Clayton E. Ray, André R. Wyss · 6 citations
Agricultural and Biological Sciences · Earth and Planetary Sciences · #Anatomy #Ancestor #Archaeology #Bat Biology and Ecology Studies #Biology #Evolution and Paleontology Studies #Evolutionary biology #Geography #Paleontology #Paleontology and Evolutionary Biology #Skeleton (computer programming) #Zoology

paper · doi:10.1126/science.244.4900.60

openalex publication_date 1989/04/07 · openalex created_date 2016/06/24 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/23

Abstract

A nearly complete skeleton of the archaic pinniped Enaliarctos, found in late Oligocene or early Miocene rocks (approximately 23 million years old) of California, provides new evidence on the origin of pinnipeds. Enaliarctos retains many primitive features expected in the hypothesized common ancestor of pinnipeds. Skeletal modifications seen in Enaliarctos document swimming adaptations and indicate that pinnipeds primitively used the axial skeleton and both fore and hindflippers as sources of propulsion. Elongate hindlimbs with prominent bony processes (reflecting powerful musculature) suggest that Enaliarctos was more active on land than modern pinnipeds.

Citations

• Mechanics of the limbs of the walrus (Odobenus rosmarus) and the california sea lion (Zalophus californianus)

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• Four New Mitochondrial Genomes and the Increased Stability of Evolutionary Trees of Mammals from Improved Taxon Sampling
• Pinniped [wikipedia]