Kekenodon is an extinct kekenodontid early whale from the Late Oligocene (Chattian) of New Zealand. Measuring 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).R. Kellogg. 1936. A Review of the Archaeoceti. Carnegie Institution of Washington 482:1-366
"Squalodon" gambierensis from Australia is a close relative of Kekenodon.R. E. Fordyce. 2006. A southern perspective on Cetacean Evolution and Zoogeoraphy. Evolution and Biogeography of Australasian Vertebrates 755-782
Phylogenetic analysis suggests that Kekenodon is the "latest-surviving archaeocete, sister-taxon to the Neoceti."
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