Nalacetus Explained
Nalacetus is an extinct pakicetid early whale, fossils of which have been found in Lutetian red beds in Punjab, Pakistan (paleocoordinates).[1] [2] Nalacetus lived in a fresh water environment, was amphibious, and carnivorous. It was considered monophyletic by .It was said to be wolf-sized and one of the earliest forms of the order Cetacea.
Nalacetus is known mostly from dental remains from the Lutetian of the Kala Chitta Hill, Punjab, Pakistan:
- H-GSP[3] 96055, right palatal fragment with P4 and M1−2.
- H-GSP 30306, right maxillary fragment with P2 and partial P3−4; a fragmentary mandible with fragmented teeth together with some isolated lower teeth.
In the cheek teeth of Pakicetus, the protocone lobe increases from the first molar to the third. In Nalacetus, in contrast, the protocone lobe is larger in the first molar than in the second.
References
- Cooper . Lisa Noelle . Hans Thewissen . Thewissen . J. G. M. . Hussain . S. T. . New middle Eocene archaeocetes (Cetacea: Mammalia) from the Kuldana Formation of northern Pakistan . 2009 . Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology . 104 . 4 . 1289–99 . https://wayback.archive-it.org/all/20120714043702/http://www.neomed.edu/DEPTS/ANAT/Thewissen/pdf/HT%2024.pdf . dead . 14 July 2012 . 1 June 2013 . 10.1671/039.029.0423 . 2009JVPal..29.1289C . 84127292 . 506008976 .
- Thewissen. J. G. M. . Hussain . S. T. . Systematic review of the Pakicetidae, Early and middle Eocene Cetacea (Mammalia) from Pakistan and India . 1998 . Bulletin of the Carnegie Museum . 34 . 220–38 . Hans Thewissen .
Notes and References
- . Retrieved June 2013.
- . Retrieved June 2013.
- Howard University-Geological Survey of Pakistan Project