RaoellidaeRaoellidae () is a family of extinct semiaquatic artiodactyls from the middle Eocene (early Lutetian) closely related to cetaceans. They are known primarily from northern India and Pakistan, especially in the Subathu Group of India, although potential remains of the raoellid Khirtharia have been found in northern China. They are relatively small animals; on average, raoellids were the size of a red fox.
Hans ThewissenJohannes Gerardus Marie (Hans) Thewissen is a Dutch-American paleontologist known for his significant contributions to the field of whale evolution. Thewissen's fieldwork has led to the discovery of key fossils that have shed light on the transition of whales from land to water, including the discovery of Ambulocetus, Pakicetus, and Kutchicetus.
FossilPreserved remains or traces of organisms from a past geological ageExamples of animal fossils. Clockwise from top left: Onychocrinus, Palaeosinopa, Gryphaea, and HarpactocarcinusA fossil (from Classical Latinfossilis, lit. 'obtained by digging') is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age.
SuinaSuina (also known as Suiformes) is a suborder of omnivorous, non-ruminantartiodactyl mammals that includes the domestic pig and peccaries. A member of this clade is known as a suine. Suina includes the family Suidae, termed suids, known in English as pigs or swine, as well as the family Tayassuidae, termed tayassuids or peccaries.
PigThe pig (Sus domesticus), also called swine (pl.: swine) or hog, is an omnivorous, domesticated, even-toed, hoofed mammal. It is named the domestic pig when distinguishing it from other members of the genus Sus. Some authorities consider it a subspecies of Sus scrofa (the wild boar or Eurasian boar); other authorities consider it a distinct species. Pigs were domesticated independently twice during the Neolithic, in the Near East around the Tigris Basin, and in China.
EoceneThe Eocene (IPA: EE-ə-seen, EE-oh-) is a geological epoch that began about 56 million years ago (Ma). It is the second epoch of the Paleogene Period in the modern Cenozoic Era. The end point of the Eocene is the Eocene-Oligocene transition (EOT), between 33.9 and 33.4 Ma. Precise boundaries between the epochs are sometimes given at 33.9 or 33.7 Ma. The Eocene spans the time from the end of the Paleocene Epoch to the beginning of the Oligocene Epoch.
KashmirKashmir ( KASH-meer or kash-MEER) is the northernmost geographical region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term Kashmir denoted only the Kashmir Valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir Panjal Range.
GenusGenus (; pl.: genera) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family as used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. 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.
IndiaCountry in South AsiaIndia, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the world's seventh-largest country by area and the largest by population. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the southwest, and the Bay of Bengal on the southeast, it shares land borders with Pakistan to the west; China, Nepal, and Bhutan to the north; and Bangladesh and Myanmar to the east. In the Indian Ocean, India is near Sri Lanka and the Maldives.
Ancient GreekAncient Greek (Ἑλληνική, Hellēnikḗ [hellɛːnikɛ̌ː]) includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (c. 1400 – c. 1200 BC), Dark Ages (c. 1200 – c. 800 BC), the Archaic or Homeric period (c. 800 – c. 500 BC), and the Classical period (c. 500 – c. 300 BC).
AsiaContinentAsia ( , UK also ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which has long been home to the majority of the human population, was the site of many of the first civilisations. Its 4.7 billion people constitute roughly 60% of the world's population.
ArtiodactylaArtiodactyla ( AR-tee-oh-DAK-tih-lə; from Ancient Greek ἄρτιος ártios 'even' and δάκτυλος dáktylos 'finger, toe') is an order of placental mammals. Typically, they are ungulates which bear weight equally on two (an even number) of their five toes (the third and fourth, often in the form of a hoof). The other three toes are either present, absent, vestigial, or pointing posteriorly.*As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.