<i>Caviziphius altirostris</i>, a new beaked whale from the Miocene southern North Sea basin

An odontocete cranium from Miocene deposits in northern Belgium is examined and referred to Caviziphius altirostris, a new genus and species of beaked whale. In the general architecture of its vertex and closed mesorostral canal, Caviziphius resembles the fossil genera Ziphirostrum and Choneziphius, but differs from all known ziphiids by a very deep excavated prenarial basin with a semicircular outline in lateral view. This peculiar cranial architecture of Caviziphius might indicate an advanced and efficient mechanism of sound production in this fossil ziphiid