A new record of Notocetus vanbenedeni (Squalodelphinidae, Odontoceti, Cetacea) from the Early Miocene of Peru

An almost complete skull with associated periotics and one cervical vertebra from theEarly Miocene strata of the Chilcatay Formation (Pisco Basin, Peru) is described here andreferred to Notocetus vanbenedeni, a species previously recorded from Argentina, belong-ing to the extinct odontocete family Squalodelphinidae (Platanistoidea). The fossil wascollected in the same locality and approximately the same stratigraphical horizon as Huar-idelphis raimondii, suggesting the sympatric coexistence of two squalodelphinids during theEarly Miocene along the Pacific coast of South America. Considering the new record heredescribed, N. vanbenedeni lived both along the Atlantic and Pacific coasts of South America,two marine areas in wide contact during the Late Oligocene and Early Miocene. Despitethe relative commonness of squalodelphinids in the Chilcatay Fm., the worldwide recordof this family remains globally rather scarce and significant specimens were only found inItaly, France, along the East Coast of USA, Argentina, Peru, and possibly New Zealand.