Atopotarus Temporal range:
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Holotype skeleton of Atopotarus courseni at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County | |
Scientific classification ![]() | |
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]
Downs
was invoked but never defined (see the help page).