''Crenatocetus'' (from Latin: ''crena'', "notch", and ''cetus'', "whale") is an extinct

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...

protocetid Protocetidae, the protocetids, form a diverse and heterogeneous group of extinct cetaceans known from Asia, Europe, Africa, South America, and North America. Description There were many genera, and some of these are very well known (e.g., ''R ...

early whale containing one species, ''Crenatocetus rayi'', that lived along the Atlantic Coastal Plain of the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

during the

Lutetian The Lutetian is, in the geologic timescale, a stage or age in the Eocene. It spans the time between . The Lutetian is preceded by the Ypresian and is followed by the Bartonian. Together with the Bartonian it is sometimes referred to as the ...

in the late 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'', " ...

. The species is named in honour of paleontologist Clayton E. Ray, former curator at the

National Museum of Natural History The National Museum of Natural History is a natural history museum administered by the Smithsonian Institution, located on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., United States. It has free admission and is open 364 days a year. In 2021, with 7 ...

. The skull is estimated to be long, which makes ''Crenatocetus'' a mid-sized protocetid. ''

Georgiacetus ''Georgiacetus'' is an extinct genus of ancient whale known from the Eocene period of the United States. Fossils are known from Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi and protocetid fossils from the right time frame, but not yet confirmed as ''Georg ...

'' (from

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

) is an older and more primitive close relative, while '' Pappocetus'' (from

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

) is a younger and more derived relative. The

holotype A holotype is a single physical example (or illustration) of an organism, known to have been used when the species (or lower-ranked taxon) was formally described. It is either the single such physical example (or illustration) or one of sever ...

USNM 392014, recovered in 1985 in a truck load of "marine marl" probably transported from New Bern, North Carolina, is two incomplete dentaries with a left P₄ and broken M_1-3; a right partial P₄, partial M_1-2, and a complete M₃. The type locality is the Martin Marietta New Bern Quarry, Craven County, North Carolina (, paleocoordinates ).. Retrieved March 2013.

References

Protocetidae Fossil taxa described in 2008 Prehistoric monotypic mammal genera Prehistoric cetacean genera Extinct mammals of North America {{paleo-whale-stub