Llanocetus
| Llanocetus Temporal range: | |
|---|---|
| Skull of Llanocetus denticrenatus at the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Artiodactyla |
| Suborder: | Whippomorpha |
| Infraorder: | Cetacea |
| Parvorder: | Mysticeti |
| Family: | †Llanocetidae |
| Genus: | †Llanocetus Mitchell, 1989 |
| Type species | |
| †Llanocetus denticrenatus Mitchell, 1989 | |
Llanocetus ( "Llano's whale" ) is a genus of extinct toothed baleen whales from the Late Eocene of Antarctica. The type species, Llanocetus denticrenatus, reached gigantic proportions, with the juvenile specimen reaching an estimated 8 m (26 ft) in length; a second, unnamed species, known only from three isolated premolar teeth, reached an estimated total body length of up to 12 m (39 ft). Like other contemporary baleen whales of the Eocene, Llanocetus completely lacked baleen in its jaws. It was probably a suction feeder like the modern beaked and pygmy right whales.