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Andrewsiphiinae
The Andrewsiphiinae is an extinct subfamily of early whales of the family Remingtonocetidae Remingtonocetidae is a diverse family of early aquatic mammals of the order Cetacea. The family is named after paleocetologist Remington Kellogg. Description Remingtonocetids have long and narrow skulls with the external nare openings located .... Thiewessen & Bajpai (2009) proposed the clade when ''Andrewsiphius'' and ''Kuchicetus'' were accepted as separate genera. ''Kuchicetus'' was originally synonymized with ''Andrewsiphius'' in 2001 by Gingerich ''et al.'', but later authors, however, still accept both as separate genera. References Further reading * * * {{Taxonbar, from=Q33141777 Remingtonocetidae Transitional fossils Fossil taxa described in 2009 Mammal subfamilies ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Andrewsiphius
''Andrewsiphius'' is an extinct Remingtonocetidae, remingtonocetid Archaeoceti, early whale known from the Eocene (Lutetian, ) of Gujarat and Kutch, India and Balochistan, Pakistan. Discovery and naming The first specimen was collected by who described it as mandible, mandibular fragments of ''Protocetus sloani''. described two new species, ''Andrewsiphius kutchensis'' and ''A. minor'' based on their previous material and new mandibular fragments. Later researchers interpreted the same mandibular specimens as belonging to ''Remintonocetus''. reinterpreted these specimens as fragments from maxillae, and determined that the described "confluence of the mandibular canals anteriorly" was in fact the nare, narial passages. Gingerich et al. also determined that the variations in size among proposed species were within the normal variation for a single species and therefore attributed a number of referred specimens as belonging to ''Andrewsiphius sloani''. Gingerich et al. also noted ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kutchicetus
''Kutchicetus'' is an extinct genus of early whale of the family Remingtonocetidae that lived during Early-Middle Eocene (Lutetian and Ypresian) in what is now the coastal border of Pakistan and India (, paleocoordinates ). It is closely related to ''Andrewsiphius'' with which it was synonymized by . proposed a new clade, Andrewsiphiinae, for the two species. Later authors, however, still accept both as separate genera. ''Kutchicetus'' is smaller than other remingtonocetids, and probably is the smallest Eocene cetacean. With its extremely narrow snout, it resembles ''Remingtonocetus'' and ''Dalanistes'', but its strong tail distinguishes it from both ''Remingtonocetus'' and ''Andrewsiphius''. Its limbs were short. ''Kutchicetus''' vertebral formula is 7, 15, 8, 4, 20–25. Its four fused sacral vertebrae were probably articulated to the hip bone and the numerous tail vertebrae were robust and elongated in contrast to its short and relatively gracile limb bones. This mo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Remingtonocetidae
Remingtonocetidae is a diverse family of early aquatic mammals of the order Cetacea. The family is named after paleocetologist Remington Kellogg. Description Remingtonocetids have long and narrow skulls with the external nare openings located on the front of the skull. Their frontal shields are narrow and their orbits small. Their mouth has a convex palate and an incompletely fused mandibular symphysis. The dental formula is . The anterior teeth are flattened mediolaterally, making them appear shark-like. In the postcranial skeleton, the cervical vertebrae are relatively long and the sacrum is composed of four vertebrae of which at least three are fused. The acetabular notch is narrow or closed and on the femoral head the fovea is absent. Cranial fossils are common but dental remains are rare. The postcrania morphology is based entirely on a single specimen of ''Kutchicetus'' which was small and had a long and muscular back and tail. Perhaps remintonocetids swam like t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eocene
The Eocene ( ) Epoch is a geological epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from about 56 to 33.9 million years ago (mya). It is the second epoch of the Paleogene Period (geology), Period in the modern Cenozoic Era (geology), Era. The name ''Eocene'' comes from the Ancient Greek (''ēṓs'', "dawn") and (''kainós'', "new") and refers to the "dawn" of modern ('new') fauna that appeared during the epoch. The Eocene spans the time from the end of the Paleocene Epoch to the beginning of the Oligocene Epoch. The start of the Eocene is marked by a brief period in which the concentration of the carbon isotope Carbon-13, 13C in the atmosphere was exceptionally low in comparison with the more common isotope Carbon-12, 12C. The end is set at a major extinction event called the ''Grande Coupure'' (the "Great Break" in continuity) or the Eocene–Oligocene extinction event, which may be related to the impact of one or more large bolides in Popigai impact structure, Siberia and in what is now ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hans Thewissen
Hans Thewissen is a Dutch-American paleontologist. His field work has discovered fossils for the steps in the transition from land to water in whales: '' Ambulocetus'', '' Pakicetus'', ''Indohyus'' and '' Kutchicetus''. He now studies modern bowhead and beluga whales in Alaska to learn about their biology and their implications for management and conservation. Early life Thewissen has always been interested in paleontology and natural history. His mother said that when Thewissen was a small boy, she had to sort through his pockets before laundry time to take out the rocks and worms he collected. His father used to take him to the town of Maastricht, and they collected fossils from the Maastrichtian period. 12th birthday present was a rock hammer, which has accompanied him on all collecting trips since. He grew up just 2 miles from Liessel, a fossil locale that yielded the first whales he ever collected. Educational background After finishing Gymnasium secondary education in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Archaeoceti
Archaeoceti ("ancient whales"), or Zeuglodontes in older literature, is a paraphyletic group of primitive cetaceans that lived from the Early Eocene to the late Oligocene (). Representing the earliest cetacean radiation, they include the initial amphibious stages in cetacean evolution, thus are the ancestors of both modern cetacean suborders, Mysticeti and Odontoceti. This initial diversification occurred in the shallow waters that separated India and Asia , resulting in some 30 species adapted to a fully oceanic life. Echolocation and filter-feeding evolved during a second radiation . All archaeocetes from the Ypresian (56–47.8 mya) and most from the Lutetian (47.8–41.3 mya) are known exclusively from Indo-Pakistan, but Bartonian (41.3–38.0 mya) and Priabonian (38.0–33.9 mya) genera are known from across Earth, including North America, Egypt, New Zealand, and Europe. Although no consensus exists regarding the mode of locomotion of which cetaceans were capable during ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Family (biology)
Family ( la, familia, plural ') is one of the eight major hierarchical taxonomic ranks in Linnaean taxonomy. It is classified between order and genus. A family may be divided into subfamilies, which are intermediate ranks between the ranks of family and genus. The official family names are Latin in origin; however, popular names are often used: for example, walnut trees and hickory trees belong to the family Juglandaceae, but that family is commonly referred to as the "walnut family". What belongs to a family—or if a described family should be recognized at all—are proposed and determined by practicing taxonomists. There are no hard rules for describing or recognizing a family, but in plants, they can be characterized on the basis of both vegetative and reproductive features of plant species. Taxonomists often take different positions about descriptions, and there may be no broad consensus across the scientific community for some time. The publishing of new data and opini ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Philip D
Philip, also Phillip, is a male given name, derived from the Greek (''Philippos'', lit. "horse-loving" or "fond of horses"), from a compound of (''philos'', "dear", "loved", "loving") and (''hippos'', "horse"). Prominent Philips who popularized the name include kings of Macedonia and one of the apostles of early Christianity. ''Philip'' has many alternative spellings. One derivation often used as a surname is Phillips. It was also found during ancient Greek times with two Ps as Philippides and Philippos. It has many diminutive (or even hypocoristic) forms including Phil, Philly, Lip, Pip, Pep or Peps. There are also feminine forms such as Philippine and Philippa. Antiquity Kings of Macedon * Philip I of Macedon * Philip II of Macedon, father of Alexander the Great * Philip III of Macedon, half-brother of Alexander the Great * Philip IV of Macedon * Philip V of Macedon New Testament * Philip the Apostle * Philip the Evangelist Others * Philippus of Croton (c. 6th centur ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Transitional Fossils
A transitional fossil is any fossilized remains of a life form that exhibits traits common to both an ancestral group and its derived descendant group. This is especially important where the descendant group is sharply differentiated by gross anatomy and mode of living from the ancestral group. These fossils serve as a reminder that taxonomic divisions are human constructs that have been imposed in hindsight on a continuum of variation. Because of the incompleteness of the fossil record, there is usually no way to know exactly how close a transitional fossil is to the point of divergence. Therefore, it cannot be assumed that transitional fossils are direct ancestors of more recent groups, though they are frequently used as models for such ancestors. In 1859, when Charles Darwin's ''On the Origin of Species'' was first published, the fossil record was poorly known. Darwin described the perceived lack of transitional fossils as "the most obvious and gravest objection which can be ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fossil Taxa Described In 2009
A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserved in amber, hair, petrified wood and DNA remnants. The totality of fossils is known as the ''fossil record''. Paleontology is the study of fossils: their age, method of formation, and evolutionary significance. Specimens are usually considered to be fossils if they are over 10,000 years old. The oldest fossils are around 3.48 billion years old to 4.1 billion years old. Early edition, published online before print. The observation in the 19th century that certain fossils were associated with certain rock strata led to the recognition of a geological timescale and the relative ages of different fossils. The development of radiometric dating techniques in the early 20th century allowed scientists to quantitatively measure the absolute ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
