Basilosaurus

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Basilosaurus
Temporal range: Late Eocene
A skull of Basilosaurus cetoides
Scientific classification
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Basilosaurinae

Cope, 1868
Genus:
Basilosaurus

Harlan, 1834

Basilosaurus is a genus of cetacean that lived from 40 to 34 million years ago in the Late Eocene. The first Basilosaurus fossils were found in Louisiana, USA, but another species was soon discovered preserved in large numbers in the Fayum deposits of Egypt.

The first fossil of B. cetoides was discovered in the United States and was initially believed to be some sort of reptile, hence the suffix -"saurus", but it was later found to be a marine mammal.[1] Richard Owen wanted to rename the creature Zeuglodon ("yoked tooth"), but by taxonomic rules the creature's first name remained permanent. Fossils of B. isis have been found in Egypt and Jordan.[2]

Far from being a marine reptile, Basilosaurus is a stage in the evolution of whales. At 15–20 m (49–66 ft), Basilosaurus was one of the largest oceanic animals of its time.[3][4][5][6] Basilosaurus went extinct during the Eocene Extinction.

References[change | change source]

  • Kellogg, R. (1936). A review of the Archaeoceti (PDF, 46.3 Mb). Washington: Carnegie Institution of Washington. OCLC 681376.
  1. "Basilosaurus". BBC Nature. Archived from the original on 21 September 2010. Retrieved 10 September 2014.
  2. Zalmout I.S; Mustafa H.A. & Gingerich P.D. 2000. Priabonian Basilosaurus isis (Cetacea) from the Wadi Esh-Shallala Formation: first marine mammal from the Eocene of Jordan. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 20 (1): 201–204. [1][permanent dead link]
  3. Gingerich, P. D. (2012). "Evolution of Whales from Land to Sea". Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society. 156 (3): 309–323. JSTOR 23558092.
  4. Gingerich, P. D. (2008). "Early Evolution of Whales: A Century of Research in Egypt" (PDF). In Fleagle, J. G.; Gilbert, C. C. (eds.). Elwyn Simons: A Search for Origins. Developments in Primatology: Progress and Prospects. pp. 107–124. ISBN 978-0-387-73895-6.
  5. Voss, Manja; Antar, Mohammed Sameh M.; Zalmout, Iyad S.; Gingerich, Philip D. (2019). "Stomach contents of the archaeocete Basilosaurus isis: Apex predator in oceans of the late Eocene". PLOS ONE. 14 (1): e0209021. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0209021. PMC 6326415. PMID 30625131.
  6. Kellogg 1936