OBJECT DOSSIER · SMITHSONIAN OPEN ACCESS

Walrus-whale — Odobenocetops peruvianus

SAGE Museum Deep Time scientific dossier

Artist / Creator

Diana Ochoa, Rodolfo Salas-Gismondi, Thomas J. DeVries, Patrice Baby, Christian de Muizon, Alí Altamirano, Angel Barbosa-Espitia, David A. Foster, Kelly Quispe, Jorge Cardich, Dimitri Gutiérrez, Alexander Perez, Juan Valqui, Mario Urbina & Matthieu Carré

Date / Period

Pliocene · Early Pliocene for the species; Smithsonian material comes from the Pisco Formation of Peru.

Object Type

skull cast

Medium

unknown_needs_review

About This Object

Geologic period: Pliocene

Age: Early Pliocene for the species; Smithsonian material comes from the Pisco Formation of Peru.

Feeding: Benthic feeding is strongly inferred from cranial anatomy.

Evidence: The specialized skull, palate and tusks are fossil evidence. Walrus-like feeding behavior is an anatomical interpretation.

Why it matters: Odobenocetops is a dramatic example of convergent evolution: a whale lineage independently evolved features resembling those of walruses.

Plain Language Identity: A bizarre Pliocene toothed whale that evolved a skull strikingly convergent with modern walruses.

What You Are Looking At: A cast of the unusual skull with tusks of Odobenocetops peruvianus.

Ecosystem: Pliocene marine ecosystem of coastal Peru.

Source Urls: https://naturalhistory.si.edu/visit/virtual-tour/current-exhibits/deep-time-virtual-tour-fossil-list; https://www.si.edu/es/object/3d/odobenocetops-peruvianus-de-muizon:3b896f42-b8f5-4798-af90-ad46e5d9fcb3; https://repository.si.edu/items/c4f6eb65-6eed-4e6c-b769-a3f19f08933f

Formation: Pisco Formation

Find Location: Peru

Enrichment Method: SAGE curated research pass; title + scientific name + source scene matched; chronology and taxonomy conflicts retained rather than silently corrected; evidence separated from inference

Scientific name: Odobenocetops peruvianus

Evidence / representation: comparative_taxon_visual

Why It Is In This SAGE Exhibit

comparative_taxon_visual

After the Dinosaurs: Mammals, Ice Ages and the World We Inherited.

Provenance

Smithsonian Deep Time source scene: Costs and Benefits of Living Large

Visual source institution: Wikimedia Commons

Exhibition History

Included in the SAGE Museum Dinosaurs & Deep Time staging exhibit.

Collection & Credit

Media license: CC BY 4.0

https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0

Subjects & Themes

Odobenocetops peruvianus Pliocene skull cast Costs and Benefits of Living Large After the Dinosaurs

ORIGINAL COLLECTION SOURCE

This object page stays inside SAGE Museum. The Smithsonian link below is provided only as the original scholarly collection record. It opens separately.

VIEW ORIGINAL SMITHSONIAN RECORD ↗