Eolipotes fossil map
Where fossils of Eolipotes have been found, shown on the Earth as it looked about 5 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 5 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 | 11.63–7.246 million years ago (Tortonian) |
| Periods | Neogene |
| Family | Lipotidae |
| Named by | Kimura and Hasegawa 2024 |
| Fossil records | 4 occurrences at 2 locations (PBDB) |
| Found in | Japan |
| Rock formations | Ogane, Haraichi |
About Eolipotes
Eolipotes is an extinct genus of marine river dolphin of the family Lipotidae. It is the oldest known member of the family, having lived in what is now Japan during the Tortonian stage of the Late Miocene. Fossils of this animal are known from the Tochigi prefecture (Ogane or Tanokura Formation) and the Gunma prefecture (Haraichi Formation). Eolipotes was a small cetacean, with the skull indicating a length of around 2.17 m (7 ft 1 in). In spite of its name, Eolipoteshas been found to be more closely related to the genus Parapontoporia, which could indicate that some species of Paraprotoporia and the baiji became freshwater animals independently from one another. However it is also possible that they all evolved from ancestors that already inhabited estuaries, with Eolipotes simply becoming more marine. The genus only includes a single species: E. japonicus.
Text in “About” is quoted from the Wikipedia article Eolipotes (revision 1306513710), 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: Q125547750.
