Noriphoca


Noriphoca is an extinct genus of phocid belonging to the subfamily Monachinae. It is known from the late Oligocene to early Miocene of Italy.

Species

The type species of Noriphoca, N. gaudini, was originally named Phoca gaudini on the basis of a skull from late Oligocene to earliest Miocene deposits in Chiento, Italy. Later authors referred it to either Monotherium, Pristiphoca, or the physeteroid genus Paleophoca. However, Dewaele et al. clearly demonstrated that P. gaudini cannot be referred to Monotherium due to lack of overlap with the M. delognii type material, which they recognized as phocine and not monachine, and erected Noriphoca for P. gaudini.