''Ocucajea'' is an

extinct Extinction is the termination of a kind of organism or of a group of kinds (taxon), usually a species. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of the species, although the capacity to breed and ...

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 com ...

basilosaurid 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. ...

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 them ...

n from

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 ...

(

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 definitio ...

stage) deposits of southern

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal , national_motto = "Fi ...

. ''Ocucajea'' is known from 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 several ...

MUSM 1442, a partial

skeleton A skeleton is the structural frame that supports the body of an animal. There are several types of skeletons, including the exoskeleton, which is the stable outer shell of an organism, the endoskeleton, which forms the support structure inside ...

. It was collected in the Archaeocete Valley site, from the Paracas Formation of the

Pisco Basin Pisco Basin ( es, Cuenca de Pisco) is a sedimentary basin extending over in southwestern Peru.Solís Mundaca, 2018, p.1 The basin has a thick sedimentary fill, which is about half the thickness of more northern foreland basins in Peru. The old ...

about .''Ocucajea''
at

Fossilworks Fossilworks is a portal which provides query, download, and analysis tools to facilitate access to the Paleobiology Database The Paleobiology Database is an online resource for information on the distribution and classification of fossil animals ...

.org The genus was named after the town Ocucaje in the

Ica Province The Ica Province is the largest of five provinces of the Ica Region in Peru. The capital of the province is the city of Ica. Huacachina is a small town, oasis and resort in this region. Political division The Ica Province is divided into fou ...

near the type locality, and the species after José Luis Pickling Zolezzi, naturalist, artist, and an important contributor to Peruvian palaeontology. ''Ocucajea'' is smaller than all other dorudontines. It differs from ''

Saghacetus ''Saghacetus'' is an extinct genus of basilosaurid early whale, fossils of which have been found in the Upper Eocene (middle Priabonian, ) Qasr el Sagha Formation, Egypt (, paleocoordinates ). In 1879, German botanist Georg August Schweinfurt ...

'' and ''

Dorudon ''Dorudon'' ("spear-tooth") is a genus of extinct basilosaurid ancient whales that lived alongside ''Basilosaurus'' 40.4 to 33.9 million years ago in the Eocene. It was a small whale, with ''D. atrox'' measuring long and weighing . ''Dorudon'' ...

'' in cranial morphology; in ''Ocucajea'' the

nasals In phonetics, a nasal, also called a nasal occlusive or nasal stop in contrast with an oral stop or nasalized consonant, is an occlusive consonant produced with a lowered velum, allowing air to escape freely through the nose. The vast majorit ...

extends farther posteriorly than the

maxilla The maxilla (plural: ''maxillae'' ) in vertebrates is the upper fixed (not fixed in Neopterygii) bone of the jaw formed from the fusion of two maxillary bones. In humans, the upper jaw includes the hard palate in the front of the mouth. The t ...

e, and there is no narial process of the

frontal Front may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''The Front'' (1943 film), a 1943 Soviet drama film * ''The Front'', 1976 film Music * The Front (band), an American rock band signed to Columbia Records and active in the 1980s and e ...

like in ''Saghacetus''.

References

Bibliography

* Basilosauridae Prehistoric cetacean genera Eocene mammals of South America Divisaderan Paleogene Peru Fossils of Peru Fossil taxa described in 2011 {{paleo-whale-stub