| Atopotarus Temporal range:
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|---|---|
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| Holotype skeleton of Atopotarus courseni at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County | |
Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Carnivora |
| Clade: | Pinnipedia |
| Family: | †Desmatophocidae |
| Genus: | †Atopotarus Downs, 1956 |
| Species | |
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Atopotarus is an extinct genus of pinniped from the middle Miocene known from one specimen (holotype LACM 1376) from Los Angeles County, California. It belongs to the extinct family Desmatophocidae, an early lineage of seal-like pinnipeds from the North Pacific.[1]
It is a monotypic genus, with the only known species being Atopotarus courseni, or commonly referred to as 'Coursen's Strange Seal.' The species name 'courseni' is attributed to the Coursen family that discovered the fossil in 1952 on their Palos Verdes residence.[2] It is currently on display at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County.[3]
The specimen was discovered in the rocks of the Altamira Shale of the Monterey Formation.[4]
- ^ Boessenecker, Robert W; Churchill, Morgan (2018-09-01). "The last of the desmatophocid seals: a new species of Allodesmus from the upper Miocene of Washington, USA, and a revision of the taxonomy of Desmatophocidae". Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. 184 (1): 211–235. doi:10.1093/zoolinnean/zlx098. ISSN 0024-4082.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
Downswas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Kurland, Zoe (2022-05-06). "This Exhibit Lets You Tour LA — When It Was Underwater And Populated With Giant Sea Creatures". LAist. Retrieved 2023-08-29.
- ^ Barnes, Lawrence G.; Hirota, Kiyoharu (1994). "Miocene pinnipeds of the otariid subfamily Allodesminae in the North Pacific Ocean: Systematics and relationships". The Island Arc. 3 (4): 329–360. Bibcode:1994IsArc...3..329B. doi:10.1111/j.1440-1738.1994.tb00119.x. ISSN 1038-4871.