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Basilosaurinae
Basilosaurinae is a subfamily of cetaceans archaeocetes containing two genera: ''Basilosaurus'' and ''Basiloterus''.. Retrieved July 2013. They were characterized by elongated distal thoracic vertebrae, lumbar, and proximal sacrococcygeal. All known members of the subfamily are larger than their relatives of the Dorudontinae subfamily except ''Cynthiacetus''. Classification * Subfamily Basilosaurinae ** Genus ''Basilosaurus'' *** ''Basilosaurus cetoides'' *** ''Basilosaurus isis'' ** Genus ''Basiloterus ''Basiloterus'' is an extinct genus of late-Eocene primitive whale from the Drazinda Formation, Pakistan and possibly also the Barton Group (originally Barton Beds) of England.Gingerich ''et al.'', 1997 ''Basiloterus husseini'' is the closest k ...'' *** ''Basiloterus hussaini'' Notes References * * Basilosauridae Eocene first appearances Eocene extinctions {{paleo-whale-stub ... [...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] |
Basilosaurus
''Basilosaurus'' (meaning "king lizard") is a genus of large, predatory, prehistoric archaeocete whale from the late Eocene, approximately 41.3 to 33.9 million years ago (mya). First described in 1834, it was the first archaeocete and prehistoric whale known to science. Fossils attributed to the type species ''B. cetoides'' were discovered in the United States. They were originally thought to be of a giant reptile, hence the suffix "-saurus", Ancient Greek for "lizard". The animal was later found to be an early marine mammal, which prompted attempts at renaming the creature, which failed as the rules of zoological nomenclature dictate using the original name given. Fossils were later found of the second species, ''B. isis'', in 1904 in Egypt, Western Sahara, Morocco, Jordan, Tunisia, and Pakistan. Fossils have also been unearthed in the southeastern United States and Peru. ''Basilosaurus'' is considered to have been common in the Tethys Ocean. It was one of the largest, if not t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Basilosauridae
Basilosauridae is a family of extinct cetaceans. They lived during the middle to the early late Eocene and are known from all continents, including Antarctica. They were probably the first fully aquatic cetaceans.Buono M, Fordyce R.E., Marx F.G., Fernández M.S. & Reguero M. (2019). "Eocene Antarctica: a window into the earliest history of modern whales". ''Advances in Polar Science'' 30(3): p. 293-302. doi10.13679/j.advps.2019.0005/ref> The group is noted to be a paraphyletic assemblage of stem group whales from which the monophyletic Neoceti are derived. Characteristics Basilosaurids ranged in size from and were fairly similar to modern cetaceans in overall body form and function. Some genera tend to show signs of convergent evolution with mosasaurs by having long serpentine body shape, which suggests that this body plan seems to have been rather successful. Basilosaurid forelimbs have broad and fan-shaped scapulae attached to a humerus, radius, and ulna which are flatte ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Middle Eocene
The Eocene ( ) Epoch is a geological epoch that lasted from about 56 to 33.9 million years ago (mya). It is the second epoch of the Paleogene Period in the modern Cenozoic 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 13C in the atmosphere was exceptionally low in comparison with the more common isotope 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 Siberia and in what is now Chesapeake Bay. As with other geologic periods, the strata that define the start and end of the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Late Eocene
The Eocene ( ) Epoch is a geological epoch that lasted from about 56 to 33.9 million years ago (mya). It is the second epoch of the Paleogene Period in the modern Cenozoic 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 13C in the atmosphere was exceptionally low in comparison with the more common isotope 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 Siberia and in what is now Chesapeake Bay. As with other geologic periods, the strata that define the start and end of t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Basiloterus
''Basiloterus'' is an extinct genus of late-Eocene primitive whale from the Drazinda Formation, Pakistan and possibly also the Barton Group (originally Barton Beds) of England.Gingerich ''et al.'', 1997 ''Basiloterus husseini'' is the closest known relative of ''Basilosaurus'', but was not as large or elongated. The holotype is known from partial post cranial remains including two lumbar vertebrae. See also * Evolution of cetaceans The evolution of cetaceans is thought to have begun in the Indian subcontinent from even-toed ungulates 50 million years ago (mya) and to have proceeded over a period of at least 15 million years. Cetaceans are fully aquatic marine mammals bel ... References Bibliography * Basilosauridae Prehistoric cetacean genera Bartonian genera Eocene mammals of Asia Fossils of Pakistan Eocene mammals of Europe Fossils of England Fossil taxa described in 1997 {{paleo-whale-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Subfamily
In biological classification, a subfamily (Latin: ', plural ') is an auxiliary (intermediate) taxonomic rank, next below family but more inclusive than genus. Standard nomenclature rules end subfamily botanical names with "-oideae", and zoological names with "-inae". See also * International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants * International Code of Zoological Nomenclature * Rank (botany) * Rank (zoology) In biological classification, taxonomic rank is the relative level of a group of organisms (a taxon) in an ancestral or hereditary hierarchy. A common system consists of species, genus, family, order, class, phylum, kingdom, domain. While ... Sources {{biology-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cetacea
Cetacea (; , ) is an infraorder of aquatic mammals that includes whales, dolphins, and porpoises. Key characteristics are their fully aquatic lifestyle, streamlined body shape, often large size and exclusively carnivorous diet. They propel themselves through the water with powerful up-and-down movement of their tail which ends in a paddle-like fluke, using their flipper-shaped forelimbs to maneuver. While the majority of cetaceans live in marine environments, a small number exclusively reside in brackish water or fresh water. Having a cosmopolitan distribution, they can be found in some rivers and all of Earth's oceans, and many species inhabit vast ranges where they migrate with the changing of the seasons. Cetaceans are famous for their high intelligence and complex social behaviour as well as for the enormous size of some of the group's members, such as the blue whale which reaches a maximum confirmed length of 29.9 meters (98 feet) and a weight of 173 tonnes (190 short to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Genus
Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family (taxonomy), family. In binomial nomenclature, the genus name forms the first part of the binomial species name for each species within the genus. :E.g. ''Panthera leo'' (lion) and ''Panthera onca'' (jaguar) are two species within the genus ''Panthera''. ''Panthera'' is a genus within the family Felidae. The composition of a genus is determined by taxonomy (biology), taxonomists. The standards for genus classification are not strictly codified, so different authorities often produce different classifications for genera. There are some general practices used, however, including the idea that a newly defined genus should fulfill these three criteria to be descriptively useful: # monophyly – all descendants ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dorudontinae
Dorudontinae are a group of extinct cetaceans that are related to ''Basilosaurus''.. Retrieved July 2013. Classification * Subfamily Dorudontinae ** Genus ''Ancalecetus'' *** ''Ancalecetus simonsi'' ** Genus ''Chrysocetus'' *** ''Chrysocetus fouadassii'' *** ''Chrysocetus healyorum'' ** Genus ''Cynthiacetus'' *** ''Cynthiacetus maxwelli'' *** ''Cynthiacetus peruvianus'' ** Genus ''Dorudon'' *** ''Dorudon atrox'' *** ''Dorudon serratus'' ** Genus ''Masracetus'' *** ''Masracetus markgrafi'' ** Genus ''Saghacetus'' *** ''Saghacetus osiris'' ** Genus ''Stromerius'' *** ''Stromerius nidensis'' ** Genus ''Zygorhiza ''Zygorhiza'' ("Yoke-Root") is an extinct genus of basilosaurid early whale known from the Late Eocene (Priabonian, 38–34 Ma) of Louisiana, Alabama, and Mississippi, United States, and the Bartonian (43–37 Ma on the New Zealand geologic time ...'' *** ''Zygorhiza kochii'' Notes References * Basilosauridae {{paleo-whale-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cynthiacetus
''Cynthiacetus'' is an extinct genus of basilosaurid early whale that lived during the Late Eocene (Bartonian-Priabonian, .) Specimens have been found in the southeastern United States and Peru ( Otuma Formation). Description ''Cynthiacetus'' was named after the town of Cynthia, Mississippi, close to where the type specimen for the species ''C. maxwelli'' was discovered. The skull of ''C. maxwelli'' was similar in size and morphology to that of ''Basilosaurus cetoides'', but ''Cynthiacetus'' lacked the elongated vertebrae of ''Basilosaurus''. erected the genus to avoid the ''nomen dubium'' ''Pontogeneus'' (which was based on poorly described and now vanished specimens). ''Cynthiacetus'' was smaller than ''Masracetus ''Masracetus'' (from Arabic ''Masr'', "Egypt", and Greek ''ketos'', "whale") is an extinct genus of basilosaurid ancient whale known from the Late Eocene (Priabonian, ) of Egypt. ''Masracetus'' was briefly described in an addendum by and is k ...''. The ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eocene First Appearances
The Eocene ( ) Epoch is a geological epoch that lasted from about 56 to 33.9 million years ago (mya). It is the second epoch of the Paleogene Period in the modern Cenozoic 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 13C in the atmosphere was exceptionally low in comparison with the more common isotope 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 Siberia and in what is now Chesapeake Bay. As with other geologic periods, the Stratum, strata that define the start and en ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
