title: Kekenodon
text: # Kekenodon
  
  Kekenodon is an extinct kekenodontid early whale from the Late Oligocene (Chattian) of New Zealand. Measuring 8–9 m (26–30 ft) long, it was a large raptorial whale which hunted marine mammals and penguins. Although at times classified as a basilosaurid, mysticete, or odontocete, recent work suggests that it represents a phylogenetic intermediate form between Basilosauridae and Neoceti.
  
  ## Classification
  
  Kekenodon was considered a member of the basilosaurid subfamily Dorudontinae in the classic monograph on Archaeoceti by Kellogg (1936).
  
  "Squalodon" gambierensis from Australia is a close relative of Kekenodon.
  
  Phylogenetic analysis suggests that Kekenodon is the "latest-surviving archaeocete, sister-taxon to the Neoceti."
  
  