Otriazhyi Pavlo, Vasilyan Davit, Vishnyakova Karina, Gladilina Elena, Gol'din Pavel
Department of Evolutionary Morphology, Schmalhausen Institute of Zoology, National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Kyiv, Ukraine.
Department of Geosciences, University of Fribourg, Chemin du musée 6, Fribourg 1700, Switzerland.
R Soc Open Sci. 2025 Mar 19;12(3):242261. doi: 10.1098/rsos.242261. eCollection 2025 Mar.
More than 170 years have passed since the description of the dwarf Miocene seal . However, its cranial materials were rarely found and described. This paper re-describes and discusses its ecological adaptations. is among the latest seals that survived in the epicontinental sea Eastern Paratethys during the Khersonian biotic crisis. Newly examined materials from Ukraine, being exceptional in their completeness, show previously unknown traits of its morphology, unique among subfamily Phocinae. is distinguished by its small body size (85-105 cm long), long snout and long deltoid crest of the humerus. Dental morphology shows that was using raptorial methods of catching prey. However, the pattern of tooth wear also indicates suction feeding. The unusually small body size could be interpreted as a result of the decreasing size of the basin and the absence of predators. High crests on limb bones show evidence of the development of musculature driven by pachyosclerosis of the skeleton. Phylogenetic analysis placed at the base of the crown Phocinae, crownward to the most known Miocene seals.
自中新世矮海豹被描述以来，已经过去了170多年。然而，其头骨材料很少被发现和描述。本文对其进行了重新描述并讨论了其生态适应性。它是在赫尔松生物危机期间在东特提斯陆缘海生存下来的最晚的海豹之一。来自乌克兰的新检查材料非常完整，显示出其形态上以前未知的特征，在海豹亚科中独一无二。它的特点是体型小（体长85 - 105厘米）、吻长和肱骨三角嵴长。牙齿形态表明它采用猛扑的方式捕食猎物。然而，牙齿磨损模式也表明它会采用吸食的方式进食。异常小的体型可以解释为盆地面积减小和缺乏捕食者的结果。四肢骨骼上高高的嵴显示出由骨骼肥厚硬化驱动的肌肉组织发育的证据。系统发育分析将其置于海豹亚科冠群的基部位置，比最著名的中新世海豹更靠近冠群。
