Mammalodontidae

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Mammalodontidae is an extinct family of early baleen whales that lived during the Late Oligocene in what is now Australia and New Zealand. It includes two genera, Janjucetus and Mammalodon. In 2010, a new analysis by Fitzgerald moved Janjucetus into Mammalodontidae, making Janjucetidae a junior synonym. The jaw bones of these whales show eight distinctive features shared by the family. These features suggest suction feeding with enlarged mouths evolved before the later adaptations for bulk filter feeding, such as kinetic jaw joints.