Desmatophoca fossil map
Where fossils of Desmatophoca have been found, shown on the Earth as it looked about 15 million years ago and on today’s map.
Dots are fossil collections recorded in the Paleobiology Database. The “then” view moves today’s fossil sites back to their positions 15 million years ago (the time slice nearest the median age of the fossils) using the Merdith et al. (2021) plate model; positions are approximate. Open on the timeline map →
| Group | Early mammals |
|---|---|
| Lived | 23.04–13.82 million years ago (Aquitanian to Langhian) |
| Periods | Neogene |
| Family | Desmatophocidae |
| Named by | Condon 1906 |
| Fossil records | 10 occurrences at 5 locations (PBDB) |
| Found in | United States |
| Rock formations | Astoria, Narrow Cape |
About Desmatophoca
Desmatophoca is an extinct genus of early pinniped that lived during the Miocene, and is named from the Greek "phoca", meaning seal. A taxon of the family Desmatophocidae, it shares some morphological similarities with modern true seals. Two species are recognized: Desmatophoca oregonensis and Desmatophoca brachycephala. Little information exists regarding Desmatophoca, due to the small number of fossil samples obtained and identified.
Unlike modern pinnipeds, Desmatophoca did not survive into the Holocene. There is some scientific debate as to whether any Desmatophoca species may have been present in the Oligocene, but without fossil samples obtained from this era, this is based primarily on conjecture. All samples of fossil Desmatophoca were found in marine deposits in Washington and Oregon, in the USA, which could indicate a geographic range of what is now the Pacific Northwest.
Text in “About” is quoted from the Wikipedia article Desmatophoca (revision 1193512046), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0; introduction excerpted verbatim, formatting removed. Ages, family, authority and fossil records: Paleobiology Database, accessed 23 October 2026. Ages are those of the rock layers the fossils were found in. Wikidata: Q1635102.
