''Natchitochia'' is an extinct

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 known from the

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'', "da ...

(

Bartonian The Bartonian is, in the ICS's geologic time scale, a stage or age in the middle Eocene Epoch or Series. The Bartonian Age spans the time between . It is preceded by the Lutetian and is followed by the Priabonian Age. Stratigraphic defini ...

, )

Cook Mountain Formation The Cook Mountain Formation is a geologic formation in Alabama. It preserves fossils dating back to the Paleogene period. See also * List of fossiliferous stratigraphic units in Alabama This article contains a list of fossil-bearing stratigr ...

Natchitoches Parish Natchitoches Parish (french: Paroisse des Natchitoches or ) is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. As of the 2010 census, the population was 39,566. The parish seat is Natchitoches. The parish was formed in 1805. The Natchito ...

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...

(, paleocoordinates ).. Retrieved July 2013. ''Natchitochia'' is known from three incomplete ribs and thirteen vertebrae of which four are thoracics, five lumbars, one sacral, two caudals, and one of indeterminable position. ''Natchitochia'' is significantly larger than most other early protocetids, except ''

Eocetus ''Eocetus'' is an extinct protocetid early whale known from the early late Eocene (Bartonian, ) Giushi Formation in Gebel Mokattam, (, paleocoordinates ) outside Cairo, Egypt. The specimen was first named by Fraas as ''Mesocetus schweinfurth ...

'' and ''

Pappocetus } ''Pappocetus'' is an extinct protocetid cetacean known from the Eocene of Nigeria and Togo. The type specimen BMNH M11414 an incomplete left mandible with symphysis, a deciduous premolar, and unerupted molars. It was found in Bartonian () la ...

''. The vertebrae of ''Natchitochia'' are smaller than those of ''Eocetus'' and lack (1) elongated lumbar centra and (2) the ventral keel seen on the vertebrae of ''Pappocetus''. The ribs are smaller than those of ''Pappocetus''. The fragmentary specimen was collected in 1943 during a ground water survey and then sent to the

United States National Museum The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums and education and research centers, the largest such complex in the world, created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge". Founded ...

where

Remington Kellogg Arthur Remington Kellogg (5 October 1892 – 8 May 1969) was an American naturalist and a director of the United States National Museum. His work focused on marine mammals. Early life and career Kellogg was born in Davenport, Iowa, and quic ...

identified it as a new genus of archaeocete but never formally described it. finally described and named the genus and the species; the genus for the type locality and the species honors discoverer Paul H. Jones.

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* (including a photo of the lumbar vertebrae of ''Natchitochia'' from Uhen 1998) Protocetidae Fossil taxa described in 1998 Prehistoric cetacean genera Extinct mammals of North America {{paleo-whale-stub