<i>Balaena ricei</i>, a New Species of Bowhead Whale from the Yorktown Formation (Pliocene) of Hampton, Virginia

Abstract

Fossil species of <i>Balaena</i> have previously been named on the basis of material from the Western Hemisphere, but all are founded upon undiagnostic material. The holotype of <i>B. ricei</i> new species consists of a partial skull, partial mandible, all major flipper bones, and representatives of all types of vertebrae, allowing comparison with the two best-known European species. This study, together with the known occurrence of <i>Balaena </i>species in the Pliocene of Europe, strengthens the conclusion that bowhead whales were present on both sides of the North Atlantic Ocean at that time. By contrast, remains of <i>Balaena</i> have not been reported from Miocene deposits of the Atlantic coast of North America.