| Nanokogia | |
|---|---|
| Dorsal view of holotype skull ofNanokogia isthmia. | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Artiodactyla |
| Infraorder: | Cetacea |
| Family: | Kogiidae |
| Genus: | †Nanokogia Velez-Juarbe et al. 2015 |
| Species | |
| |
Nanokogia is an extinctgenus ofpygmy sperm whale that lived off the coast ofPanama during theLate Miocene.
Nanokogia is distinguished from other kogiids in lacking functional teeth in the upper jaw, antorbital notches forming a narrow slit, antorbital notches within the supracranial basin, and the left premaxilla excluded from the sagittal facial crest. The absence of functional teeth is also seen in modern pygmy sperm whales and the extinct genusScaphokogia.[1]
Nanokogia relied on suction-feeding to capture squid and diel-migrating fishes, given the absence of functional teeth in the upper jaw.