Archaebalaenoptera is a genus of extinct rorqual known from late Miocene to Pliocene-age marine deposits of the Netherlands, Northern Italy, and Peru.
Classification
The type species, A. castriarquati, was discovered in 1983 from the sediments of the late Pliocene (Piacenzian) Castell’Arquato Formation in northern Italy. A cladistic analysis of Balaenopteridae recovered Archaebalaenoptera as one of if not the most primitive rorqual. == Paleobiology ==
Paleobiology
The primitive morphology of the jaw suggests that Archaebalaenoptera probably was not capable of ram feeding like living rorquals and humpback whales. == References ==