Best In Class-- Marine Mammals

This is for @SailWorldbuilds's Best In Class seed-world project

While the Yangtze finless porpoise was the only marine mammal introduced to Gaiademou, other mammals have also taken to the ocean in the intervening 25 million years since life was first seeded on the planet. While none of these have yet achieved the dimensions of the great whales of our world, they have diversified significantly and now fill a number of niches.

Greater Kelphorse

(Hippophoca algophaga)

Length: 2.5 meters

Diet: Seaweed-eating herbivore

One unexpected group of marine mammals that evolved on Gaiademou was descended from the water chevrotain, a semiaquatic hoofed mammal. Now, the western coastlines of Imanishia is home to this curious herbivore, which spends most of its time paddling about in shallow water in search of seaweed to eat. It is capable of hauling out on land, but is rather clumsy when doing so, and rarely comes ashore unless forced. Mating and birth both occur in the water. In its way of life, the closest ecological equivalents of this species are the extinct desmostylians of Earth's past.

Panda Whale

(Conchocetus globidens)

Length-- 4 m

Diet-- Shellfish

Native to the archipelago connecting Wallacea and Darwinia, this descendant of the Yangtze River Porpoise is named for its distinct black and white markings. However, it has another thing in common with its mammalian namesake-- its limited diet. While most of Gaiademou's porpoise descendants have fairly generalized diets, the Panda Whale has rounded, blunt teeth that are specialized for eating shellfish, especially the marine mussels that dwell on the seabed along the coasts where it lives.

Ahuizotl

(Ahuizotl suchops)

Length-- 2 m

Diet-- Fish and other small water animals

A descendant of the giant otter shrew, the Ahuizotl is a common sight along the southern coasts of Wallacea, where it occupies a niche similar to that of Earth's seals and sea lions. It feeds entirely in the water, hunting fish, squid, and other such prey with remarkable agility. Like sea lions, but unlike the kelphorses with which it coexists, it is still fairly competent out of water, and gives birth on land. When hunting underwater, its sensitive whiskers can pick up the movements of prey from a distance, after which it will immediately attack.