| Nihohae Temporal range: Late Oligocene.
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|---|---|
Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Artiodactyla |
| Infraorder: | Cetacea |
| Family: | †Waipatiidae |
| Genus: | †Nihohae Coste, Fordyce, & Loch, 2023 |
| Species: | †N. matakoi
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| Binomial name | |
| †Nihohae matakoi Coste, Fordyce, & Loch, 2023
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Nihohae (meaning “slashing teeth”; pronounced Nee-Ho-Hah-Ey) is an extinct genus of waipatiid dolphin that was native to the waters surrounding New Zealand during the Oligocene. It possessed long, tusk-like teeth unlike those of any extant cetacean, which were likely used like the “saw” of a sawfish to stun and injure prey. The genus contains a single species, N. matakoi, known from a partial skull and skeleton.