Analysis of the teeth suggests the newly described walrus relative was a suction feeder and once roamed the North Sea. <\/p>
Teeth found in Norwich (UK) and Antwerp (Belgium) have been identified as belonging to a newly described species of extinct marine carnivore, much like a modern-day walrus.<\/strong><\/p> The animal, named Ontocetus posti<\/em>, may have shared the walrus\u2019 unique method of suction feeding, according to a new paper<\/a> published today in\u00a0PeerJ Life & Environment<\/em>.<\/p> The walrus<\/a> (Odobenus rosmarus<\/em>) is one of the most well-known animals of the Arctic, thanks to its sheer size \u2013 and the heart-breaking sequence in an episode of Netflix\u2019s\u00a0Our Planet<\/a><\/em>, where David Attenborough<\/a> narrates the tragic fall of several walruses from a cliff in an attempt to return to the sea. The species is unique in its suction feeding ability for extracting the flesh of molluscs.\u00a0<\/p> Although the walrus is the only surviving member of the Obodenidae family, the fossil record is relatively diverse with species spread over a wider distribution than the extant walrus.\u00a0<\/p> The taxonomy of the extinct\u00a0Ontocetus<\/em>\u00a0genus has been under debate for decades, and will likely continue to change as known fossils are re-examined and new fossils are discovered. The fossil specimens had been described as different species, then later grouped under\u00a0Ontocetus emmonsi.<\/em><\/p>