Ankylorhiza

Name: Ankylorhiza ‭(‬fused roots‭)‬.
Phonetic: An-ky-lo-ry-sah.
Named By: Robert W.‭ ‬Boessenecker,‭ ‬Morgan Churchill,‭ ‬Emily A.‭ ‬Buchholtz,‭ ‬Brian L.‭ ‬Beatty‭ & ‬Jonathan H.‭ ‬Geisler‭ ‬-‭ ‬2020.
Synonyms: Squalodon tiedemani.
Classification: Chordata,‭ ‬Mamamlia,‭ ‬Artiodactyla,‭ ‬Cetacea,‭ ‬Odontoceti.
Species: A.‭ ‬tiedemani‭ (‬type‭)‬.
Diet: Piscivore/carnivore.
Size: Estimated to be about‭ ‬4.8‭ ‬meters long.
Known locations: USA,‭ ‬South Carolina‭ ‬-‭ ‬Ashley Formation.
Time period: Oligocene.
Fossil representation: Partial remains of several individuals.

       Ankylorhiza is a genus of dolphin known to have lived in waters around eastern North America during the Oligocene.‭ ‬Ankylorhiza was one of the larger toothed whales for its time and would have likely been a predator of everything from fish to other large marine creatures,‭ ‬possibly even whales.‭ ‬The incisor teeth of Ankylorhiza point forwards leading to speculation that Ankylorhiza may have rammed prey animals so that the teeth would cut into the body of their prey causing grievous injuries.

Further reading
-‭ ‬Convergent Evolution of Swimming Adaptations in Modern Whales Revealed by a Large Macrophagous Dolphin from the Oligocene of South Carolina.‭ ‬-‭ ‬Current Biology.‭ ‬-‭ ‬Robert W.‭ ‬Boessenecker,‭ ‬Morgan Churchill,‭ ‬Emily A.‭ ‬Buchholtz,‭ ‬Brian L.‭ ‬Beatty‭ & ‬Jonathan H.‭ ‬Geisler‭ ‬-‭ ‬2020.

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