Noriphoca is an extinct genus of phocid belonging to the subfamily Monachinae. It is known from the late Oligocene to early Miocene of Italy.

Noriphoca
Temporal range: late Oligocene–early Miocene
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Carnivora
Clade: Pinnipedia
Family: Phocidae
Subfamily: Monachinae
Genus: Noriphoca
Dewaele, Lambert, and Louwye, 2018
Species
  • N. gaudini (type)
    (Guiscardi, 1870)

Species

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The type species of Noriphoca, N. gaudini, was originally named Phoca gaudini on the basis of a skull from late Oligocene to earliest Miocene deposits in Chiento, Italy.[1] Later authors referred it to either Monotherium, Pristiphoca, or the physeteroid genus Paleophoca.[citation needed] However, it was later shown that P. gaudini cannot be referred to Monotherium as the latter was probably phocine and not monachine, and erected Noriphoca for the stem-monachine species P. gaudini.[2]

References

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  1. ^ G. Guiscardi. 1870. Sopra una Foca fossile. Accademia delle Scienze Fisiche e Matematiche di Napoli 5(6):207
  2. ^ Dewaele, Leonard; Lambert, Oliver; Louwye, Stephen (2018). "A critical revision of the fossil record, stratigraphy and diversity of the Neogene seal genus Monotherium (Carnivora, Phocidae)". Royal Society Open Science. 5 (5): 171669. doi:10.1098/rsos.171669. PMC 5990722.